We are set to go with Moto2 at Brno in the Czech Republic. There was a soggy, wet Moto3 race just before this one. Stay tuned for coverage that. Right now, we have air and track temperatures that, on paper, are identical. 16 degrees Celsius (62 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature. 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature. Johann Zarco is on pole, snatching it right at the end of qualifying. There might be as many as six to eight riders who could win this race. But, proceed with caution when you wake up and see the rain. Johann Zarco was way down the order in the morning warmup. The bikes and riders are on their sighting lap. If indeed Zarco is having trouble, the time is now for the likes of Alex Rins and Sam Lowes, to strike back.
The rain is very continuous. Fans, pit crews, and riders, are all soaking wet. Sam Lowes rolls off second for this race. He is 55 points behind Johann Zarco in the championship. Alex Marquez is on the front row for the first time in Moto2. Marquez is the 2014 Moto3 world champion. Johann Zarco is on pole. We have a 20 lap race coming up. Takaaki Nakagami rolls off fourth. In fifth, it is Franco Morbidelli. Alex Rins starts sixth. He has had a nightmare weekend this weekend. Jonas Folger is seventh. Danny Kent is farther down the grid, but feels he has a good motorcycle for this race. Simone Corsi is eighth. Ninth, is Danny Kent's team mate at Leopard Racing, Miguel Oliveira. Marcel Schrotter completes the top ten. Incidentally, Schrotter, will move to the Dynavolt racing team, taking the bike vacated by Jonas Folger, when Folger is promoted to MotoGP in 2017.
Sandro Cortese starts 11th and needs a major result. Next to Cortese is Dominique Aegerter. Axel Pons qualified 14th. So, we will be ready to get this one underway in a matter of minutes. Alex Marquez is third. Second, is Sam Lowes. In pole position, it is Johann Zarco. He is the one with the bulls eye on his back, that everyone wants to stop from winning another race. Tom Luthi will not start this race. He suffered a concussion on Saturday after a qualifying wreck. Danny Kent had his qualifying time disallowed and cancelled due to lower tire pressure than what is required for qualifying, per the rules.
Starting caboose on the field in 28th place, is Anthony West. We know he's a real rain master and does a great job racing a motorcycle. No real changes in the weather as we head towards the start of this race. We check the Moto2 points standings as we get ready to get underway in the wet here at Brno. Johann Zarco leads with 176 points. Alex Rins in second, is 34 points in-arrears on 142. Third is Sam Lowes on 121 points, 55 markers behind. In fourth, it is a 70 point gap to the absent Tom Luthi, on 106 points. Luthi is hurt, sitting this race out, and will be back for the next one in Great Britain more than likely.
We are ready for Moto2 at Brno, in the rain. It's pouring out there. The race is at hand. Red lights, on. Red lights, out! Away we go! Johann Zarco flies off the line, and so do the riders on the second row of the grid, including Takaaki Nakagami. Sam Lowes has another bad start, just the same as it was for him in Germany, two races ago. Zarco leads into turn one, but Jonas Folger wants to go for it. Alex Rins is making a move, too. Zarco is hung out to dry in turn four, and it looks like he'll be fifth or so. Malaysia's Hafizh Syahrin also has a good start. Syahrin is off the road, though. He's on the grass, after being nudged by Alex Marquez.
Jonas Folger, meanwhile is checking out on the rest of the field. Takaaki Nakagami moves to second ahead of Alex Rins. Axel Pons has crashed out on lap one. Game over. Franco Morbidelli makes an inside move on Johann Zarco and really pushes him wide. Simone Corsi also makes a pass, and Zarco is now dropping like a stone in these wet conditions. Luca Marini is trying to pass Johann Zarco, and, he's got both Leopard motorcycles of Danny Kent and Miguel Oliveira all over his rear wheel. Hafizh Syahrin meanwhile, has to contend with Alex Marquez. Mattia Pasini also tries to make a move. His best Moto2 finish was fourth, in the rain, two races ago in Germany. So he's one to keep an eye on, too.
Sam Lowes makes a pass on Alex Marquez. Johann Zarco has his hands full with Miguel Oliveira. Folger leads with Alex Rins second. Luca Marini passes Franco Morbidelli for eighth spot. Hafizh Syahrin, is nicknamed "the fish" and "the fish", is swimming after Takaaki Nakagami, trying to take a spot away. Jonas Folger has a 3/4 of a second gap at the front. Mattia Pasini passes Franco Morbidelli. Conditions are getting worse at the end of lap two, with Folger still leading. Visibility and standing water on the speedway, are the two main concerns that the riders, teams, and marshals have to keep an eye on.
Rins is now up to second. Rins is the man who has set fastest lap of the race thus far at 2:19.361. This rain has been a get out of jail free card for Alex Rins, because he was nowhere during the dry practice sessions. Anthony West has moved up to 17th. The Aussie is running well. But, he is not progressing quite how we thought he would, in the opening laps. Sam Lowes is now fourth, as Jonas Folger opens up a gap over Alex Rins. To give an idea of how bad conditions are, the Moto3 riders (in their race you will hear about here on 2 Wheelin'), were lapping in the 2:21 range, in the wet. Moto2 is only running two seconds a lap faster, in wet conditions, at 2:19. Johann Zarco has now fallen all the way down to 14th, literally halfway through the field.
On the previous lap, Zarco was passed by Miguel Oliveira, Sandro Cortese, and Julian Simon. Jonas Folger, with a second in hand over Alex Rins, resets fastest lap at 2:17.842. Sam Lowes goes around Takaaki Nakagami who gets his motorcycle really loose into turn four! Alex Rins has a massive opportunity to gain in the championship, with Johann Zarco having problems, and kind of running down in the doldrums in 14th spot. Folger, Lowes, Rins, Nakagami, Syahrin. That's your top five at the present time. Alex Marquez is sixth, and in seventh, give a call to Luca Marini who is running very well. Anthony West has now moved up into the points, in 15th spot.
Sam Lowes runs 1.1 seconds behind Alex Rins. That being said, Lowes has now reset fast lap and lowered it to 2:17.838. The rain is beginning to lighten up. Danny Kent passes Johann Zarco and Zarco is now down to 15th. Jonas Folger still leads the way up "horsepower hill" and into turn 13. Mattia Pasini has now lowered fast lap to 2:17 flat. 2:17.049. Pasini is a bloke in search of his first ever podium spot in Moto2. Johann Zarco is out of the points. He is down in 16th, right behind Anthony West. Alex Marquez is now sixth. Hafizh Syahrin wants to get by Takaaki Nakagami, and at the same time, Sam Lowes is steadily closing up on Jonas Folger and Alex Rins who remain 1-2. Alex Marquez is closing up on Hafizh Syahrin and Takaaki Nakagami.
Amazingly, Anthony West, is putting in a great performance with a chassis, a Suter chassis, that is three years old. It is a 2013 spec bike. On the most recently completed lap, Jonas Folger was 4/10ths of a second quicker than was Alex Rins. Only the aforementioned top three riders, well, including Johann Zarco, were able to break into the 2:16 bracket for their lap times. Folger runs a fastest lap at 2:16.576, while Sam Lowes is having a hard time braking Alex Rins' resolve at the moment. If the checkered flag were thrown right now, there would be a mere 14 points between Zarco and Rins in the championship. Zarco, meanwhile, could have Xavier Simeon to contend with. Simeon is 17th, just 3/10ths of a second behind the Frenchman.
Isaac Vinales is behind Simeon. Folger is managing a gap that is oh, a second or so, over Alex Rins at the present time. Folger has not won since Jerez in 2015. Points as they run, look like this. Zarco leads on 176 points. Alex Rins is second, 14 points back, on 162. Sam Lowes is third, 39 points behind on 137. In fourth, it is Jonas Folger, on 108 points, 68 points behind Zarco. Folger, if he wins, will have gained three spots in the championship standings. Mattia Pasini is all over Hafizh Syahrin for fifth spot. Alex Rins is gaining on Jonas Folger, in sector one, by half a second or so. Mattia Pasini makes a pass on Hafizh Syahrin.
Sam Lowes logs another fastest lap, bringing it down to 2:15.754. Takaaki Nakagami's lap times are falling, and he seems to be having grip issues in the rain. His visor must be steaming up, too. Folger has a second lead over Rins and resets fastest lap of the race at 2:15.322. Sandro Cortese is now tenth. The German rider has passed Franco Morbidelli to get there, and is trailing Simone Corsi by 3/10ths of a second. Luca Marini takes seventh spot away from Takaaki Nakagami. Marcel Schrotter is way down in 23rd place. Mattia Pasini charges past Alex Marquez. Pasini got his best Moto2 result in Germany, and should match it.
Cortese makes a great move at Kevin Schwantz corner, named for the 1993 500cc Grand Prix world champion and motorcycle racing legend, from the USA. Another fast lap for Folger, in the meantime. He runs a 2:15.316. Sam Lowes is trying to hang on with just ten laps to go. Pasini has passed Alex Marquez. Sam Lowes runs third, hanging in there, looking to get in touch with the top two. Johann Zarco continues to languish down in 16th spot, and is four seconds behind the final man in points paying places, Julian Simon in 15th. Oh dear! Game over for Takaaki Nakagami. He's crashed. This is bad, because it is the first DNF for Takaaki Nakagami since Malaysia in 2014. That was a long while ago.
Nakagami is up and walking, but he looks dazed after his wreck. Oh dear. Luca Marini has also crashed. The two riders were next to each other through turn eight. No top six finish for Marini. Johann Zarco is now back in the points. Jonas Folger, is on a Sunday ride. He is two seconds ahead of his competition, and the first man to dip into the 2:14 range for lap times. 2:14.528 by Folger, is the fastest lap of the race thus far. Danny Kent moves into tenth spot ahead of Leopard Racing team mate Miguel Oliveira. Julian Simon is now 12th. It was Simone Corsi who tipped Takaaki Nakagami off his bike and into the gravel. We know that Corsi can be a reckless racer sometimes. Marini took a huge tumble! It seems he maybe braked on the white line, and the slippery pavement, well, paint, snatched him off the bike and he rolled vigorously into the gravel trap.
Jonas Folger wants his first win of 2016. He is not in contention for the title at all, but he could do with a race win. Jonas Folger and Alex Rins will both be in MotoGP in 2017, and so is Sam Lowes. The stewards are investigating the Corsi/Nakagami kerfuffle. Race direction must have a word with Simone Corsi. He is a very aggressive rider, and his aggressiveness has forced other riders to crash. The top fifteen riders, with eight laps remaining in this rain soaked race in the Czech Republic are:
1. Jonas Folger
2. Alex Rins
3. Sam Lowes
4. Mattia Pasini
5. Alex Marquez
6. Hafizh Syahrin
7. Sandro Cortese
8. Franco Morbidelli
9. Simone Corsi
10. Danny Kent
11. Miguel Oliveira
12. Julian Simon
13. Anthony West
14. Johann Zarco
15. Isaac Vinales
Takaaki Nakagami has entered the pit lane. The bike is toast. It will not race any more today. Danny Kent makes a move and passes Simone Corsi for ninth. Note to Simone, that's how you properly make a pass. Miguel Oliveira on the sister Leopard bike also makes a move on Corsi. Xavier Simeon has taken 15th from Isaac Vinales. Sam Lowes runs his personal best lap at 2:15.4. Rins has not won since Le Mans in France. Sam Lowes is in a solid third, and wants to battle Rins for second spot. Johann Zarco is just managing 14th over Xavier Simeon. Simone Corsi will get a ride through penalty for barging Takaaki Nakagami off the road.
Corsi has run Nakagami, and Lorenzo Baldassari off the road. There was no gap. Corsi barged into the side of Nakagami's motorcycle, and knocked him down. Jonas Folger continues to lead, with six laps now remaining. The gap between Alex Rins and Sam Lowes, has now opened up to 1.8 seconds. Sandro Cortese has moved ahead of Hafizh Syahrin into sixth place. Oh dear. Jonas Folger does not have a working rain light on his bike. Could this come under scrutiny from the FIM stewards as well, even if he wins the race? Maybe it was active at the start, and then, failed during the race.
Now then, we have another rider who has fallen. Ratthapark Wilairot has fallen, and so, both Honda Team Asia riders have run into trouble in this race.Wilairot did the right thing, laying the bike down in the kitty litter, before he hit the air fence. Alex Rins, responds to the pressure from Sam Lowes, and puts in his personal best lap of this race. Sandro Cortese, in sixth, is Jonas Folger's team mate for Dynavolt Intact Racing. Simone Corsi is in the lane, serving his penalty for that flagrant contact earlier on that took Takaaki Nakagami out of the race. Johann Zarco, then, is promoted to 13th and he will gain a couple of points.
Alex Rins is now 2.2 seconds clear of Sam Lowes with four laps to go. Ratthapark Wilairot is back in the race. Sam Lowes is in a safe third place. This race has major implications on the championship. Franco Morbidelli is eighth, and with a win, Jonas Folger could inherit fifth in the championship just behind Tom Luthi who is not racing here. Danny Kent and Miguel Oliveira are right in formation on the two Leopard bikes. Both of them battled for the title in Moto3 in 2015, and Kent won the championship cup. The rain is clearing up, and visibility is getting better. Folger has a 4.6 second advantage with three laps left.
Into turn nine, trying to bring the power back on, Sam Lowes is nearly out of the seat! Fortunately he saved it! Second place might be a bridge too far for Lowes in this race. The battle for fourth is still on. Mattia Pasini has it, and Alex Marquez, wants it. Sandro Cortese will continue with Dynavolt Intact Racing in 2017, though there were murmurings after Austria that he would be let go from the team. Marcel Schrotter will be Cortese's team mate in 2017, but he has had a torrid race in the wet at Brno today. Simone Corsi, after taking his ride through penalty, has in fact passed Marcel Schrotter. When Jonas Folger wants it, he's unstoppable. Clearly, he wants this win.
With two laps left, we look at the championship points table again. Johann Zarco retains the lead on 180 points, with Alex Rins second on 162, 18 markers behind. Sam Lowes is still third, 43 points behind on 137. Jonas Folger, should he win this race, he moves up three spots into fourth place, 72 points out of the lead on 108. Sandro Cortese passes Alex Marquez. Sandro Cortese will have his best finish since a podium in Japan at Twin Ring Motegi in 2015. One lap to go, and it has stopped raining. Jonas Folger is going to take his first Moto2 win in over a year. Johann Zarco moves up to 12th.
DynaVolt team boss Herve Poncheral has to be happy. A brilliant ride for Jonas Folger. He's bounced back from trouble early in the season. Dynavolt Intact will win! Oh no! Sandro Cortese has made contact with Mattia Pasini right at the end of the race, and gone down! He's thrown away another top ten place! Yikes! Folger wins it!
#94 Jonas Folger GER. Kalex
Rins is second. Lowes is third. Next up, is the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in the English midlands. Stay tuned for that one.
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