Moto2: Spain

We are ready, for Moto2, at Jerez de la Frontera, in Jerez, Spain.  We've got blue skies and temperatures in the low 70s for this first Moto2 race of the European portion of the 2016 season.  Again, this is the 30th annual Grand Prix at Jerez.  Sam Lowes, has pole in Moto2.  Lowes crashed in the morning warmup, at turn seven (Jorge Martinez Aspar corner).  Jonas Folger and Sandro Cortese join Lowes on row one, and he wants a win, having not won a Moto2 race in over a year.  Johann Zarco is down in 15th place, and Edgar Pons is unfit to race.  Julian Simon won't race either.  He crashed hugely in the warmup, and though he was OK, the motorcycle, was buried in the air fence. 

Lowes ran a pole time of 1:42.408.  In qualifying, the top four riders were split only by 700ths of a second!  Wow!  Tom Luthi qualified fifth.  Jonas Folger is the defending champion in Moto2 here in Spain.  This marks the first time in 20 years, that two German riders, have qualified on the front row, for an intermediate class race in the World Championship.  Ralf Waldmann and Jurgen Fuchs did so, back in 1996, in the 250cc division.  Sandro Cortese scores his first front row start, since Malaysia in 2014. Franco Morbidelli starts fourth.  Morbidelli has his best qualifying effort since the German round at the Sachsenring, last July.  Once again, Tom Luthi, rolls off fifth.

Luthi has three podium places here at Jerez in Moto2.  Lorenzo Baldassari starts sixth.  Alex Rins qualifies seventh, and had trouble in the warmup.  It is his first race in Spain, where he hasn't started on the front row.  Simone Corsi is eighth.  He won here, in 2008 in the 125cc division.  Alex Marquez qualifies ninth, looking for his first podium finish at Jerez.  Luis Salom, completes the top ten.  Luca Marini is next.  He is Valentino Rossi's half brother, and wants championship points.  He has only scored points, in the opener in Qatar, back in March.  Everyone is on the same tire compounds, including soft option rear and hard option front.  Alessandro Tonucci has the harder option rear.

Takaaki Nakagami had good runs on Friday, but lost his edge on Saturday in the final practice and in qualifying.  Marcel Schrotter comes next followed by Miguel Oliveira.  Oliveira was runner up in the Moto3 race in Spain, last year.  Johann Zarco starts fifteenth at the expense of Danny Kent, who was moved down the grid and given a penalty point for blocking Alex Marquez during qualifying.  Again, Sam Lowes, has pole.  Moto2 is, next!

Italian wildcard rider Federico Fuligni, is caboose on the field, here in Moto2.  Again, we are missing two riders.  Edgar Pons and Julian Simon, will not start this race.  Julian Simon had a huge crash, and suffered head trauma.  He got up and walked away, but will need to recover.  Riders have been running under the lap record during the sessions this weekend.  Can they try to challenge Sam Lowes, in the race?  Lowes is the man to beat today, because he was a cut above everyone else at the test here at Jerez de la Frontera, in March.  Johann Zarco has not had his best performances, and has been in damage limitation mode, this weekend. 

The top four in the championship, (Lowes, Rins, Zarco, and Luthi), are split, only by four points.  Sam Lowes has to capitalize on the trouble for his rival riders.  Who will win in Moto2 at Jerez?  We'll know in, oh, another 45 minutes or so.  26 laps distance in Moto2.  The lights are out, and we're racing, at Jerez!  Jonas Folger on the #94 bike launches into the race lead, right away!  Big wiggle, out of the seat for Tom Luthi!  He gathers it up, but that was a scary moment!  He could have easily been flung over the handlebars.  Sandro Cortese gets a bad start and drops places.  Ooh!  We have a huge, multi-bike incident at turn five (Sito Pons corner).  We could see this race stopped while the marshals clean up and sort this one out.

Simone Corsi has moved up five places from eighth to third.  Lorenzo Baldassari and Sandro Cortese got slightly caught out on the start.  Tom Luthi, meanwhile, has dropped to 11th place after that monstrous wiggle mentioned before.  The two riders involved in the wreck at Sito Pons corner are #14 Ratthapark Wilairot, and #97 Xavi Vierge.  Jonas Folger still leads over Sam Lowes.  Simone Corsi runs third at the moment.  Franco Morbidelli is fourth, and Alex Rins, fifth.  In replay of the incident at Sito Pons, Xavi Vierge was a lucky chap indeed, to walk away, after his motorcycle lands square on top of him!  Ouch!  That was a nasty, nasty wreck, and the marshals did a sterling job cleaning up the mess.

Oh dear!  More drama.  Simone Corsi crashes while in third spot.  He's crashed at Michelin corner, and is back on the motorcycle.  But, it will be a long race for Mr. Corsi.  Not the birthday gift he wanted to give himself for his 29th birthday.  Tucking the front end, Corsi slides off the bike.  Sam Lowes is putting a gap on Jonas Folger right now.  Folger was ahead earlier, but Lowes is stretching his lead.  Franco Morbidelli goes wide and Alex Rins will capitalize and move underneath him.  Marcel Schrotter has moved up six spots from 13th to seventh.  Tom Luthi drops from fifth to 11th.  Oh dear!  Alex Marquez drops the bike!  His birthday was the Saturday before the race, but again, this is not a gift.  Three falls in four races for Alex Marquez.

Lowes sets fastest lap so far at 1:43.287.  Jonas Folger left his braking so late into Dry Sac, that Lowes moved right around him.  Game over for Simone Corsi.  He wanted to get some adjustments done on the motorcycle and come back out.  No dice.  Too much time to lose.  The top ten so far is Lowes, Folger, Rins, Morbidelli, Cortese, Schrotter, Baldassari, Oliveira, Marini, and Luthi.  Alex Rins, meanwhile, resets fastest lap with a 1:42.979.  So many riders, have fallen, this weekend, whn the front end of the motorcycle washes out. 

Meanwhile, reigning Moto2 World Champion Johann Zarco runs ahead of Takaaki Nakagami.  Luis Salom has also managed to pass Nakagami.  Lowes completes lap four, coming through the right hand turn at Ferrari.  Folger and Rins are latching on behind Lowes.  Franco Morbidelli can't quite keep pace with the three blokes at the front right now.  We have another rider who has fallen, in turn 13, the Jorge Lorenzo corner.  Another rider loses it in turn one.  Luca Marini falls at the final corner and tries getting aboard the bike again.

Sandro Cortese has also crashed, protected by the airbag installed within his leathers, for safety.  Wow.  With 22 laps remaining, we already have six riders out of this event.  High attrition here in Moto2 at Jerez.  Folger hangs on to Sam Lowes, having run a lap of 1:43.143.  More crashes.  Danny Kent is the latest to ditch his bike.  Although, he seems to be back on, and trying to get going again.  Kent gets going, back into the race.  But, Dry Sac, has been biting a lot of riders in this race.  Kent's misfortune, becomes good fortune for his team mate, Miguel Oliveira, who has made it to the top seven. 

A good chunk of riders are all running in the 1:43 bracket with respect to lap times.  Another fall.  Game over, as Axel Pons, crashes out here in Spain.  Lorenzo Baldassari squeezes by Marcel Schrotter.  Miguel Oliveira is up to sixth.  The teams reckon riders are pushing hard on full tanks, and good grip, are causing the front end washout problem.  Lowes, Folger, and Rins, lead this race.  Sam Lowes leads as Jonas Folger drifts the rear tire of his #94 bike, trying to catch the race leader.  Lorenzo Baldassari had a costly start, but is lapping just as quickly as the leaders right now.  Folger has run the fastest lap within the top three at 1:43.376.  Luca Marini is 21st and last after rejoining the race.  Game over for Axel Pons.

Lorenzo Baldassari tries breaking away from Miguel Oliveira.  Alex Rins is content with holding third right now.  Both of the Pons brothers are out.  Edgar Pons never took the start, and now, Axel Pons has crashed out of the race.  Mattia Pasini has made up ten spots and is having a great race.  Lowes runs wide, and allows Folger to close up.  They fly through the Aspar corner and into the stadium section of the track.  We've seen a lot of crashes so far in this race, but fortunately, none of the riders involved, are seriously hurt.  In replay, we watch Lorenzo Baldassari lose the bike and tumble onto the pavement.  With full fuel tanks, Sam Lowes might have an advantage, with his riding style, of backing into the corner, like a Speedway Grand Prix oval motorcycle racer.

Rins is losing ground to Lowes and Folger.  The lap times, are very close as we have another fall.  This time, Marcel Schrotter has gone down.  Game over for the German rider.  With all the spills, Johann Zarco is a definite beneficiary and is gaining places, little by little.  A couple riders have managed to get back into the fray here.  Schrotter and Luca Marini are back in action.  Franco Morbidelli has dropped down into the 1:44 range and is 8/10ths of a second slower than the leaders.  Lorenzo Baldassari is catching Franco Morbidelli, too.  Folger's front end on his bike, drifts wide, which cannot be good for the durability of his front tire.

Franco Morbidelli runs into turn six at Dry Sac, a little too hot.  Morbidelli has Baldassari breathing down his tailpipe.  Sam Lowes' pit board reads the letters NLYF meaning, "never lose your faith".  Lorenzo Baldassari has caught Franco Morbidelli.  These two are known to each other as they both came from the VR46 Academy.  That's the motorcycle racing school and team, for junior riders, run by Valentino Rossi of course.  Baldassari has the pace, and might pass Franco Morbidelli, as Marcel Schrotter has crashed again.  Definitely game over for Schrotter due to front end washout.

No points for AGR and either of their riders (Marcel Schrotter and Axel Pons).  Schrotter crashed at the Angel Nieto corner, and Sam Lowes has grip trouble through that same area of track.  A battle for eighth ensues between Takaaki Nakagami, Dominique Aegerter, and Johann Zarco.  Three DNF's in four races is not at all what Alex Marquez wanted.  Sam Lowes is the first British rider since Scott Redding in 2013, to lead the points in Moto2.  The last thing Alex Rins needs to do is throw away a chance at gaining points, by making a mistake.  Johann Zarco is lapping in the mid 1:43 range.  Zarco pulls two seconds clear of Alex Rins.

Zarco runs behind Tom Luthi, and the two of them, are in hot pursuit of Miguel Oliveira.  Sam Lowes maintains the gap out front, as we still have ten laps to go.  Lowes has a one second advantage over Jonas Folger.  Franco Morbidelli, meanwhile, consolidates fourth spot and holds off Lorenzo Baldassari.  Miguel Oliveira will finish sixth, as Tom Luthi is under pressure from Johann Zarco.  Dominique Aegerter, and Takaaki Nakagami, round out the top ten places.  Behind them are riders such as Luis Salom, Xavier Simeon, Hafizh Syahrin, Mattia Pasini, and Isaac Vinales.  Isaac Vinales should score his first Moto2 championship points of the season.

Miguel Oliveira currently runs ahead of Tom Luthi.  Luthi is a Moto2 race winner and former world champion in the old 125cc class.  Lorenzo Baldassari wants points, and fifth place, will allow him to score those points.  Sam Lowes and Jonas Folger are separated by 1.1 seconds.  Lowes will likely score his second career Moto2 win.  Sam Lowes has ridden brilliantly, but he cannot relax, and knows Folger is there.  Miguel Oliveira is holding off Tom Luthi.  Sam Lowes leads Jonas Folger now by 1.7 seconds.

Oh no!  It's the commentators curse, striking again!  Miguel Oliveira is down and out, off the motorcycle!  He comes off the bike at turn four, one of the fastest parts of the track, and he tucks the front end, with his left leg, getting trapped under the bike.  Sam Lowes has run very well on worn tires.  Five laps left.  He is ahead now by 1.8 seconds.  Jonas Folger will have to surrender.  Johann Zarco moves up to seventh.  Sam Lowes is chasing the points, with 25 for a win.  He is British and World Supersport Champion.  But, he wants a title in Moto2.

Tom Luthi and Johann Zarco scrap for sixth place.  Sam Lowes had run a Speed Up chassis before, and now, has switched to a Kalex, which most of the field uses.  Well, the Kalex bike, seems to be just as competitive as the Speed Up.  Zarco passes Luthi into the Angel Nieto corner.  Three laps now remain for Sam Lowes on the Gresini, Federal Oil bike.  Lorenzo Baldassari wants to get by Franco Morbidelli but can't quite do it.  Gresini has won in Moto2 before with riders such as Michele Pirro and Xavier Simeon.  30 years ago, Fausto Gresini was a race winning rider in the 125cc class.  Sam Lowes should move to MotoGP next year, racing for Aprilia.

Sam Lowes had a slight bobble in Angel Nieto corner.  But other than that, he's been flawless.  Lowes is on his final lap, with a three second lead.  This is why Sam Lowes was picked by Aprilia to run in MotoGP for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.  Lowes will have ten points in hand in the lead of the championship, headed to the next race, in France, at Le Mans.  Oh no.  Lorenzo Baldassari crashes on the final lap of the race.  Another front end wash out for Baldassari, like it has been for many riders who have fallen during this race.  Sam Lowes has talked the talk and now walks the walk, winning in Spain!

#22 Sam Lowes     GBR.     Kalex

The next race for Moto2 was this past weekend at the Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans in France.  Stay tuned, for full race reports, from Le Mans, coming soon.