It's now time for the Moto 2 race from Argentina and the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo. This is round three of the championship.
Xavier Simeon, Johann Zarco, and Tito Rabat, are on the front row. Rabat, has pole. Nico Terol and Thomas Luthi are at the back of the grid. Anthony West is one of two riders who has experience in Argentina, as he ran the 250cc race in 1999. Track temperatures are going up. Johann Zarco is the only rider to go with a softer rear tire in the heat. Everyone else in this race, seems to be on hard tire compounds on the rear, and also, the front.
We're ready for the first ever Moto 2 race in Argentina. Go! Xavier Simeon has a good start, and so do Jonas Folger and Maverick Vinales as Tito Rabat leads. They stream onto the one kilometer back straight. Simeon leads. Luis Salom is fifth and Johann Zarco is losing spots. The Caterham team needs to finish and needs points. Everyone seems to be through the opening corners cleanly. One lap done and dusted in this 22 lap race.
Dominik Aegerter had a good start, too, as Mattia Passini runs wide. Richard Cardus also runs wide. Tom Luthi has fallen to caboose on the field. Rabat runs a good pace at the front. Simone Corsi is fifth. Maverick Vinales and Jonas Folger are pushing. Alex de Angelis runs seventh. This is very close racing for the 600cc bikes. Tito Rabat continues to lead. Check the race distance. 23 laps. Mika Kallio is 12th in his 200th motorcycle Grand Prix.
Luis Salom passes Simone Corsi. Maverick Vinales was caught by surprise. Xavier Simeon passes Maverick Vinales, too. Rabat leads. Richard Cardus has crashed. Game over. Luis Salom sets fastest lap. Johann Zarco is eleventh after running wide at the start. Rabat, Simeon, Salom... the top three. Cardus did indeed fall off the bike. Salom wants to pass Simeon. Oh rats! Maverick Vinales is out of this race! Disaster for the Spaniard!
Salom passes Simeon, and runs wide. Rabat continues to lead this one. The race is just five laps old. Mika Kallio is up to eighth place. Mika Kallio is flying, but he won't be in contention. Sam Lowes is up to twelfth spot. Game over for Maverick Vinales. Simone Corsi runs fourth. There's still 17 laps left. Corsi runs fast lap of the race. Not sure of the time. Sam Lowes is chasing Jordi Torres. Sandro Cortese (the first Moto 3 champion), is still running well.
Mika Kallio continues to run ahead of Sandro Cortese. Tito Rabat is still pushing. He concentrated on race pace in qualifying, and it seems to be working. Takaaki Nakagami is now ahead of Johann Zarco, who is plummeting down the order. Nico Terol passes Johann Zarco. Franco Morbidelli is also in this battle. Nakagaami and Terol battle. Nakagaami is pushing Zarco, who is on softer tires. But, that is not helping. He's sinking down the order.
Corsi passes Salom for third. Xavier Simeon is the quickest bike in this race, running second. Simeon is coming, and fast. Simeon runs fast lap at 1:44.358. Dominik Aegerter is fifth, closing on Luis Salom as Mika Kallio has passed Jonas Folger. Sandro Cortese rounds out the top ten. Rabat responds to Simeon. Rabat is in control of the pace right now. Dominik Aegerter is running a good race so far, too. We're halfway through this race. Gino Rea runs caboose on the field.
Luis Salom is trapped behind Simone Corsi. Tom Luthi is moving up somewhat, passing Randy Krummenacher. Salom is being held up by Corsi right now. Tito Rabat continues to lead. Kallio is trying to catch Alex de Angelis, having broken away from Anthony West. Ten laps remain. Tito Rabat has dominated this race so far. Alex de Angelis is sixth as West, Cortese, and Folger, battle. Nico Terol, Sam Lowes, and Marcel Schrotter are in a battle of their own.
Lowes battles West, and Nico Terol has passed them both. Sam Lowes hurt his ankle in practice. Lowes has not had a good start to his Moto 2 career, after winning the championship last year in FIM World Supersport. Rabat wants his second win of the year, after winning in Qatar, and finishing second in Austin, Texas at Circuit of the Americas. Salom passes Corsi through turn seven. Corsi comes back, saying, "no way, buddy."
Dominik Aegerter is coming, too. Eight laps left. Cortese, Folger, Lowes, Torres, Schrotter, and West, all scrap. Meanwhile, Corsi and Salom still scrap. Luis Salom needs speed into turn six. He's not close enough. Dominik Aegerter might get on the podium. Tom Luthi is moving up, into 21st place. Franco Morbidelli is running well, and he might get into the points, after almost doing so last year in Valencia, as a wildcard rider.
Tito Rabat is in control of this race. Just six laps remain in this race. Rabat leads Simeon by a second and a half. Five laps left. Xavier Simeon has had a great race. Sam Lowes, Marcel Schrotter, Jordi Torres, and Marcel Schrotter, are also in that group. Tito Rabat runs fast lap at 1:44 flat, with four laps left. Corsi, Salom, and Aegerter, could all be in contention for the final podium spot. Luis Salom passes Simone Corsi, but Salom runs wide.
Corsi, Salom, and Aegerter, are still in this fight. Rabat leads by 1.9 seconds, and he's still running fastest, in the 1:44 range. Corsi runs wide and Salom passes. He's trying to go for it, and get Salom back. Dominik Aegerter, watches all this. Salom is up to third, as Tito Rabat has dominated. He's going to win this race, getting his second victory of 2014 in Moto 2, and his fifth Moto 2 victory. Aegerter is right on top of Simone Corsi now.
Corsi isn't giving up. This is the last lap of the race. Rabat has a 2.2 second lead. Dominik Aegerter wants to pass Simone Corsi. But, odds are, he might not be able to. Tito Rabat will win his second Moto 2 race of 2014.
#53 Esteve Rabat ESP Kalex Barcelona
The next Moto 2 race is in Spain at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit, coming up this weekend.
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