Aragon Moto2: Back to back wins for Lowes, all change in title race
Sam Lowes pulled away to victory as his race rival slipped out of the lead in both the race and the title chase in the Moto2 Grand Prix at MotorLand Aragon.
With Luca Marini out of the race early it was all to play for in terms of both the race and the title and that reflected in the action on track.
His Sky Racing Team VR46 taem mate Marco Bezzecchi moved into first in the race and looked set to take over in the overall standings before he slid out of contention on the penultimate lap.
Polesitter Lowes had been pressuring for the lead with the duo clear out front, so the British rider needed only to maintain his position, which he did to win his second race in a row with EG 0,0 Marc VDS. It is Lowes’ second win at Aragon after leading over the line at the track in 2016.
The battle for third became the battle for second with that exit and Enea Bastianini pushed to the limit to maximise his points return, passing rival Jorge Martin one last time when it mattered most and held firm to claim second for Italtrans, a hefty 4.195s off the lead.
That pushes the Italian to the top of the overall standings with a total of 155, with race winner Lowes just two points behind.
Jorge Martin completed the podium for Red Bull KTM Ajo after spending much of the race solo before his Italian race rival reeled him in.
Jake Dixon continues to move onwards and upwards with fourth. The Brit had a lonely ride for Petronas Sprinta Racing, trying to catch those ahead before he began to struggle with tyres, but fourth is his best result to date in the Moto2 class.
Remy Gardner and Hector Garzo also battled for the duration, with the Onexox TKKR SAG Team rider winning out in the race to the line for fifth, Marcos Ramirez took advantage to slip into sixth for Tennor American Racing pushing Garzo (Flexbox HP 40) back to seventh.
Ramirez (Tennor American Racing) was also the top rookie finisher in the race with main rival Aron Canet out as he recovers from his finger injury.
His team-mate Joe Roberts couldn’t quite match his heroic Le Mans recovery and was eighth this time out.
The number sixteen held an almost two second advantage over ninth place Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) with veteran Simone Corsi holding on for his first top ten finish of the season with MV Agusta Forward Racing.
Augusto Fernandez ( EG 0,0 Marc VDS) was almost two seconds behind when he crossed the line eleventh, winning his battle for position with Tom Luthi, the Liqui Moly Intact GP rider having to settle for twelfth.
Edgar Pons moved up to 13th for Federal Oil Gresini late in the race, with Stefano Manzi taking 14th for the second race in a row for MV Agusta Forward Racing.
Marcel Schrotter worked his way up to the final point from 22nd on the grid on the second Intact GP entry.
Riding with fractured bones in both feet, Xavi Vierge spent much of the race in 13th before fading in the closing stages to 16th for Petrnoas Sprinta Racing.
Contact with Marcos Ramirez at turn one saw Jorge Navarro’s dreams of success end early. He was a podium finisher at MotorLand last season.
Fabio Di Giannantino worked hard to get to the front of the race by the mid-way point. Once there he slid out of contention. His slightly different line on the Speed Up seemed to lead him over a bobble in the track at turn two with eleven laps run.
