Here are the highlights of the Moto 2 race from Mugello in Italy.
Joan Zarco and Pol Espargaro had a huge crash in qualifying. Fortunately, they are both OK. Pol Espargaro does have pole position for this race. Andrea Ianonne, Marc Marques, Pol Espargaro are on the front row. Third, second and first. Espargaro is on pole. The race will be 21 laps. This is the beginning of the second half of the season.
At the start, Marc Marquez, Tom Luthi and Bradley Smith get good starts into San Donato. Brad Smith gets fourth with Tom Luthi and Bradley Smith behind. Claudio Corti runs wide into the gravel. Dominik Aegerter is running well. Marquez leads over Espargaro as the riders are sizing each other up. Takaaki Nakagami battles Dominik Aegerter. Pol Espargaro runs wide, getting passed by Andrea Ianonne. Pol Espargaro barely hangs onto third place.
Claudio Corti gets into the gravel trap in Poggio Secco (turn three). Esteve Rabat blocks Scott Redding as lap two is in the books. Max Neukirchner had a crash this morning and also went down just now. He rejoins but he's way back along with another Japanese rider, Yuki Takahashi There's a chain of ten bikes running nose to tail. Toni Elias is fifteenth. He's run fast lap. Tom Luthi passes for the lead. Marc Marques is holding back right now coming to to the third lap. Yuki Takahashi was forced off the road. Dominique Aegerter passes Scott Redding.
Nakagami goes to third. The bikes are still single fle for the most part as Ianonne goes by Nakagami. Marc Marquez gets passed by Takaaki Nakagami. He's flying as the bikes come to Casanova and Savelli corners. Nakagami takes the lead into Arrabiatta. Nakagami barely keeps the lead as Luthi and Ianonne challenge. Mika Kallio is twelfth. Mike Di Meglio slides into the gravel and, crunch! He hits the tire barrier. Nakagami still holds the lead. There's a big wreck. Have to see who is in it. Axel Pons and Belgian rider Xavier Simeon. Nakagami follows Luthi and Marc Marquez is also there.
Luthi sets a new fast lap and Nakagami won't really challenge as the bikes come back into San Donato. Pol Espargaro is coming up now, too. ,Massimo Roccoli dumps his bike. Tito Rebat blocked and he fell down. Both of the Pons bikes of Rabat and Axel Pons have gone down. Eleven laps are left. Anthony West is in the pits, out of the race. The race is now half over. Pol Espargaro wants to pass Takaaki Nakagami. Pol Espargaro manages to pass Nakagaami and is now second.
Bradley Smith could get on the podium. Andrea Ianonne passes Marc Marques with ten laps to go. Marquez passes Andrea Ianonne. Bradley Smith runs fastest lap at 1:52.9. Simone Corsi is out of the race from twelfth spot. Scott Redding is now seventh. Joan Zarco is coming up and is eleventh, pulling away from Randy Krummenacher. Pol Espargaro has taken the lead, but no. Luthi ran deep and then, Marquez did likewise. Brad Smith and Scott Redding are moving up. This will be a good finish. Tom Luthi and Andrea Ianonne will be charging. Ditto for Scott Redding, setting his personal best lap time.
Marquez slides and drops drastically. Pol Espargaro might gain in the championship. Bradley Smith pressures Andrea Ianonne. Toni Elias has crashed out. There's an oil flag on the circuit now, too. Tom Luthi is now second. Scott Redding runs another fast lap, right behind Takaaki Nakagami. Pol Espargaro leads. Marquez passes Smith. Smith blocks as Ianonne and Marquez both set personal best lap times. Four laps remain. Bradley Smith runs behind Tom Luthi. Bradley Smith passes Tom Luthi into Bucine (turn fourteen). Andrea Ianonnes sets new fast lap and is just 3/4 of a second behind Espargaro.
Emilio Alzamora (Marquez's team manager) knows this might not be the day the team wants. Alexei Espargaro is cheering on his brother. The championship is very close. Tom Luthi sets fast lap. Three laps to go. Nakagami holds up Scott Redding. Neukirchner and Kallio are also there. Pol Espargaro continues holding off Iannone. Smith is losing ground. Luthi runs really wide into San Donato but recovers. A lap and a half left. It's Pol Espargaro vs. Andrea Ianonne. Scott Redding passes Taki Nakagami. Bradley Smith wants a podium. Can he get by Luthi?
Into Biondetti and Baccini, the battle intensifies. Luthi goes well through turn one. One lap left. Ianonne gets the lead. Can he win this race? Can he light up the Italian crowd? Ianonne won in 2010. Pol Espargaro still has a chance. Espargaro wiggles into Arrabiata. Half a lap left. Andrea Ianonne runs wide and still holds it. Can Espargaro pass? He takes a wide line. Can he get it? No. Ianonne wins it!
#29 Andrea Ianonne ITA Speed Up Vasto
The next race in Moto 2 (to be completely clear), will not be the next round of the MotoGP championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. But, rather, it will be the second race in the United States at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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