Moto2 Aragon: Success in Rabat, world championship still open

Moto2 2015 Aragon Race – Johann Zarco had his first chance to win the Moto2 world championship in Aragon, but the French rider has to postpone his world championship dreams for now. The winner of the race was in fact the reigning champion Esteve Rabat, who got the better of a very aggressive Alex Rins, beaten by just 96 thousandths. Sam Lowes also reached the podium, while Zarco finished sixth and far from the top. In the world rankings the Team Ajo Motorsport driver has 284 points against 206 for Rabat and 184 for Rins.

Race report

The Moto2 class riders are ready to compete in the Aragon Grand Prix, the fourteenth race of the 2015 world championship. Pole position for the reigning champion Esteve Rabat, who brought his Kalex ahead of everyone with a time of 1'52.232. Rookie Alex Rins and world championship leader Johann Zarco will start with him on the front row. Second row for Sam Lowes' Speed ​​Up and for the Kalexes of Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Marquez, 2014 Moto3 champion and brother of Marc, reigning MotoGP champion. Third row for Jonas Folger, Thomas Luthi and Alex Pons. Difficult qualifying for the Italians of Forward Racing Simone Corsi and Lorenzo Baldassarri, who will start from the fourth row, while the performance of Federico Fuligni, in the eighth row with the Suter, was positive.

All ready, twenty-one laps to go for 106.638 km. The traffic lights go out, the fastest at the start is Rabat, followed by Lowes, Rins and Zarco. Rabat goes long and is overtaken by Lowes and Rins, but the red flag is shown due to the fall involving Xavier Simeon and Dominique Aegerter. New start at 12 and race shortened to 45 laps. Everything is ready again, the drivers are lined up for the second start of the day. The traffic lights go out, the fastest at the start is Rabat, who started ahead of Rins. The rookie attacks and takes the lead, closing the first lap ahead of Rabat, Lowes, Folger, Corsi, Zarco and Marquez, while Lorenzo Baldassarri, fresh from his contract renewal with Forward Racing, is tenth.

Rins tries to get ahead, he and Rabat are the fastest on the track, while world championship leader Joahnn Zarco struggles, who has the first "Title Point" here. The second lap ends with Rins still ahead of Rabat and with Zarco still losing positions. Double fall, with Luis Salom and Xavier Simeon falling to the ground (in different corners), the latter having his second fall in the race after the one that had caused the red flag.

The pace of the first two seems unsustainable for everyone, their advantage over Lowes is more than a second and a half. The British Speed ​​Up rider is ahead of Folger, Marquez, Luthi, Syharin and Zarco. Attack from Rabat, who with a good break from the door takes the lead of the race with eight laps to go, one before the halfway point of the race. The reigning champion also set the fastest lap with a time of 1:52.800. Fall for Alex Marquez, fortunately without any consequences for the 2014 Moto3 champion. His fall was the fifth of a race which also saw Salom, Simeon, Pons and Simon fall to the ground.
Three laps to go, the fight for victory is narrow
in Rabat and Rins, with Lowes third, more than three seconds behind. Zarco is seventh and the first chance to win the world championship has been postponed. The best of the Italian riders is Lorenzo Baldassarri, ninth and ahead of team-mate Simone Corsi. Federico Fuligni is currently twenty-third.

Fast lap by Rins, the last lap begins with the rookie who, after the crash at Misano, wants to return to the top step of the podium, achieved so far in Indianapolis. Last corners, Rins' attack arrives, but Rabat responds, going on to win the second race of the year after the one in Mugello. Sam Lowes on the podium, while Zarco finished sixth.