Moto2 Jerez: Marini takes victory with Jerez masterclass
Luca Marini managed his tyres to perfection in the Jerez heat to pull out a lead which he maintained with ease to win the Moto2 Grand Prix.
Aware of all the data for tyres and temperatures, the Sky Racing VR46 rider wasted no time in moving into the lead, taking over from polesitter Jorge Martin early in the race.
The Italian dominated from there on - easing out a lead of over a second which he managed to perfection. Marini cited the race run he put in during Wednesday testing as the key to his victory.
Tetsuta Nagashima did his best to give chase but couldn’t bridge the gap. All too often the tyres on his Red Bull KTM Ajo lost grip and the fear of crashing out saw him settle for second, 1.271s behind Marini.
His second career podium finish ensures that the Japanese rider keeps his championship lead. Following on from his win in Qatar he has collected a total of 45 points.
Jorge Martin held on the the final podium spot to complete an all Kalex top three on the second of the Red Bull KTM Ajo entries.
The Spaniard absorbed some late pressure from the chasing Sam Lowes who could not quite close the gap as Martin faded.
The British rider crossed the line in a solid fourth for EG 0,0 Marc VDS after surviving early contact with Marcel Schrotter, which brought his elbows out in an effort to protect his bike, but still left the number 22 with a bent clutch lever for the rest of the race.
Aron Canet was once again easily the best of the rookies in the intermediate class, coming home in fifth for the Inde Aspar Team. He was also the top Speed Up finisher.
His teammate Hafizh Syahrin was next to see the chequered flag in sixth, finishing almost two seconds ahead of Remy Gardner who took seventh for the Onexox TKKR SAG Team.
The battle for eighth was hard fought but it was Lorenzo Baldassarri who lead the close trio of riders over the line for FlexBox HP40. He held off Enea Bastianini who crossed the stripe ninth for Italtrans, who in turn kept Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) at bay.
Stefano Manzi put his huge practice crash, which left his bike more closely resembling a unicycle, behind him to finish just outside the top ten for MV Agusta Forward racing, giving the manufacturer their best result of the season so far.
Hector Garzo took twelfth on the second Flexbox HP40 entry ahead of Augusto Fernandez for EG 0,0 Marc VDS in thirteenth.
Nicolo Bulega was a distant 14th for Gresini, with the experienced Simone Corsi picking up places late on to put both MV Agusta Forward bikes in the points places.
Jake Dixon’s race was over before it ever really started. The British rider was handed a double long lap penalty for a jump start. He finished 18th.
Lorenzo Dalla Porta was also off the pace again. The reigning Moto3 champion could only manage 19th on race day as he continues to find his feet in the intermediate class.
Jorge Navarro had sat in second on the grid but a poor start saw him drop back into the pack. He then got clipped by Bezzecchi and exited at turn one on lap one. The already injured Italian later crashed out separately at turn ten with sixteen laps remaining.
Lap seven saw an incident between Somikat Chantra and Marcos Ramirez, which left them both out of the race.
Marcel Schrotter was next out after just nine laps.
Tom Luthi had looked to be on for some solid damage limitation by running in the top ten before he exited into the gravel with two laps remaining.
Fabio Di Giannantonio and Bo Bendsneyder also failed to go the distance.
