This is round fourteen for Moto 2. The track and weather conditions are perfect. Marc Marques holds the championship lead. On pole will be Pol Espargaro. He won the most recent Moto 2 race. Toni Elias is back. There are a couple substitutions. It could be that Anthony West replaces Claudio Corti, but that's not too certain. Andrea Ianonne is back in 18th. He crashed in qualifying and in the warmup. But, he could still contend. The bikes set off on their formation lap.
At the start, Marc Marquez stalls on the grid! Who gets the lead? It's Pol Espargaro. Johnny Torres crashes as Scott Redding leads. Marc Marquez will have to go for it. Marquez passes Johann Zarco, passing six riders. Holy smokes! He's tenth now. Redding is in P1. This race will be 23 laps. Redding leads over Espargaro and Tito Rabat. Pol Espargaro ran wide. Rabat is now second. Dropping to tenth is Marc Marquez. He had the bike in neutral right at the start of the race. Marquez follows Mika Kallio. The Redding/Rabat battle for first, continues as Pol Espargaro slides.
Tito Rabat leads and Toni Elias (former world champ) is up to third. Marc Marquez passes Mika Kallio. Pol Espargaro is running well, as Rabat continues to lead. Taki Nakagami is coming up quickly. Rabat runs very well out front at this point. Taki Nakagami pleases his home crowd, passing Johann Zarco for seventh. Tom Luthi passes Marc Marquez. Marquez tries passing Luthi, but can't make it work. Rabat sets fast lap in the 1:51 bracket. Pol Espargaro is now second, chasing his team mate, Tito Rabat. Four laps are complete.
Bradley Smith crashed in practice and is now out of this race. Marc Marquez sets fast lap as Redding goes wide and Marquez makes an easy pass. Marquez passes Toni Elias. Toni Elias might drop back. Coming into the 90 degree corner, Espargaro is just a second behind Tito Rabat. Taki Nakagami and Mika Kallio battle. Marquez runs a 1:51.4. He doesn't need to win this race to get decent points. Pol Espargaro wiggles, getting the bike very loose, and fortunately, saving it! Redding and Elias battle, but Toni Elias brakes late, sliding wide.
Can Tito Rabat hold off Marc Marquez? Rabat is not letting Marquez pass and get away. Marquez can pick his moment to pounce. Marquez has passed Tito Rabat. But, Pol Espargaro might also catch Rabat as Marquez is the leader now. Toni Elias and Tom Luthi battle with Scott Redding. One of the wildcard riders is black flagged. Not sure who. It's a Japanese national rider. Rabat stays with Marquez. Espargaro is back there, too.
Mika Kallio is having mechanical issues with his bike, or not. Hmmm. Kallio slides into the gravel trap. Marquez extends his gap at the front. Just eleven laps remain. Espargaro and Rabat are second and third. Rabat can only focus on getting onto the podium now. Tom Luthi and Taki Nakagami battle and Dominik Aegerter follows. That's eight, ninth, and tenth. Pol Espargaro is not letting Marquez get away. Anthony West is twelfth and Johann Zarco is having issues. Gino Rea and Alex de Angelis are farther down the order. Espargaro sets new fast lap and a new track record at 1:51.3.
Nicolas Terol falls down the order after sliding off course. The track is fully covered in clouds. So, it's cooled off. Pol Espargaro is even quicker, running a 1:51.275. Just seven laps remain in the Moto 2 race. Espargaro closes on Marquez. He has to catch Marquez a tenth of a second a lap for the last laps. Taki Nakagami battles Simone Corsi for seventh. Scott Redding is closing up on Tito Rabat. Anthony West has made it from 20th to 12th. Marc Marquez knows Pol Espargaro is there. When will Espargaro make his move?
Marquez twists the throttle as if to say, "come on, bike! Give me more!" It's Marquez vs. Espargaro. Marquez can win this race, and if he wins next time out in Malaysia, he's champion for Moto 2 for 2012. Five laps left. Pol Espargaro is having some slight brake issues. The Suter chassis is not quite as good on the brakes as the Kalex chassis is. Scott Redding runs wide again. That could be the line he's trying to use. The battle continues between Taki Nakagami and Claudio Corti. Andrea Ianonne is really languishing in this race. He's 18th. Tom Luthi passes Toni Elias, and Elias is out of the race. Elias, crashed.
Johann Zarco and Dominik Aegerter round out the top ten. Two laps remain now. Can Espargaro go for it? No. He runs wide. That's too much time lost. Espargaro will have to settle for second. Even after putting the bike in neutral at the start, Marquez could win another race, coming to the end of his Moto 2 career, preparing for the jump to MotoGP in 2013. This is the last lap. Marquez sets a new fast lap, too. Not sure of the time. Marquez will have a 53 point cushion before the next race. Espargaro is not giving up.
Espargaro won't quit. This race will be decided in five seconds. Marquez blocks. Marquez wins it! He's on his way to the Moto 2 title. Tito Rabat gets third.
#93 Marc Marquez ESP Suter
The next race in Moto 2 is the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang Circuit, this coming weekend.
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