Moto2 Aragon: Dominant ride brings Binder victory
Brad Binder lead from flag-to-flag as he took control of the Moto2 Aragon Grand Prix, repeating his winning performance at Motorland last season.
The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider took advantage of the ability his bike had in the opening stages, powering off the line and building a lead at the front, but was visibly wrestling it when late pressure arrived from the Speed Up of Jorge Navarro.
The South African had done enough to stay ahead despite the attempts to reel him in, crossing the line 0.787s ahead of the rest.
Navarro, who is yet to record a victory in Moto2 despite coming close on several occasions, had surged up from sixth on the grid to arrive in the group battling for second. After agressively passing Luca Marini and then getting the better of Alex Marquez he took over from his compatriot in hunting down Binder, but had left it just too late to really make contact and give a full last lap battle.
Alex Marquez ensured a mix on manufacturers on the podium as he bagged valuable championship points in third, the EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex rider extended his lead to 38 points as his rival coming into the race, Augusto Fernandez, failed to pick up any after a first lap tumble. He finished 22nd after overtaking Jake Dixon in the closing stages. Navarro moves ahead of him into second overall after his electric performance.
Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) faded in the closing stages but held on for fourth, as Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini) late pace saw him catching the Italian on the final lap.
Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) was clear in sixth, with Iker Lecuona (American Racing KTM) recording his second best result of the season in seventh.
One time championship challenger Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP40) was eighth, Jorge Martin took ninth on a good day for the KTM riders and was the best of the rookies, with Xavi Vierge next to see the chequered flag in tenth on the second Marc VDS entry.
Fabio Di Giannantonio was a podium finisher in Misano but had to settle for eleventh at Motorland, holding off Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) who was twelfth and Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) who finished thirteenth as their battle reached the finish line.
The remaining points on offer went to Stefano Manzi, who was 14th for MV Agusta Temporary Forward and Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) in 15th.
Elsewhere, there were crashes for Tetsuta Nagashima and Joe Roberts, the American rejoined and finished 30th.
Adam Norrodin was withdrawn by Petronas following his practice crash. He joins absentees Marcel Schrotter and Mattia Pasini who missed out after their Misano falls.
Their replacements Jesko Raffin (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Gabriele Ruiu (Tasca Racing) were 20th and 28th respectively.
Gerry Salim is the latest stand-in for Dimas Ekky Pratama at Idemitsu Honda Team Asia, he took the flag in 29th.
