Moto2 Assen: West returns to success! On the podium Vinales and Kallio

Australian Anthony West won the Moto2 class Dutch Grand Prix, held in truly treacherous weather conditions. As evidence of this, the many falls, which also saw our Mattia Pasini and Simone Corsi as protagonists, with the latter falling while leading the race. West thus returns to victory at Assen, where in 2003 he had won the 250cc class race ahead of our Franco Battaini and Sylvain Guintoli. On the podium with him Maverick Vinales and Mika Kallio. World championship leader Esteve Rabat finished eighth and now has 157 points in the standings against 131 for team-mate Mika Kallio and 109 for Maverick Vinales. Alex de Angelis had a good race, fifth at the finish line while Lorenzo Baldassarri finished ninth. Corsi also scored in the points after getting back on the bike after the fall.

Race report

The Moto2 class Dutch Grand Prix, eighth round of the 2014 world championship, is about to begin on the legendary Assen track. Pole position for world championship leader Esteve Rabat (Kalex Marc VDS Racing Team), the sixth of the season, which he will have next to him in the front row the Swiss Dominique Aegerter (Suter) and the British Sam Lowes (Speed ​​Up). His team-mate Mika Kallio will open the second row, flanked by the Japanese Takaaki Nakagami and the Roman Simone Corsi, both on Kalex.

Third row for Johann Zarco's Suter Caterham, Maverick Vinales' Kalex and Ricky Cardus' Tech 3. Fourth row for Mattia Pasini, twelfth with the second Kalex of Team Forward, while Franco Morbidelli will open the fifth row having achieved the thirteenth time. Further back Lorenzo Baldassarri is twenty-fifth while Alex de Angelis from San Marino is nineteenth on the Suter of Team Tasca. It starts to rain heavily on the alignment lap, and Rabat itself pays the price, falling disastrously. The world championship leader returns to the pits with the windshield of his Kalex broken. A few hailstones even fell, departure postponed to 12pm. Now everything is ready, 40 laps to go for 24 km. Riders on the track with rain tires (even if some risked using slicks on the rear), Rabat also lined up; The traffic lights go out, the fastest at the start is Sam Lowes, who started ahead of Kallio and Rabat.

It's a big battle straight away, the conditions are very difficult. Corsi attacks and moves into second position. He is about to finish the first lap, straight to Mika Kallio, who loses many positions. At the finish line Lowes passes Corsi, Pasini, Simon, Vinales, Luthi, West, Rabat, Cardus and Zarco. Twelfth position for Alex de Angelis, while Lorenzo Baldassarri and Franco Morbidelli are in fifteenth and twenty-ninth position.

Attack by Corsi, who takes the lead after a good maneuver on Lowes. Behind Pasini he is ahead of Simon, West, Luthi, Vinales, Kallio, Zarco and Rabat.

Mattia Pasini falls! the Forward Racing rider rushes to recover the bike, gets back on track but his race is now compromised. Elimination race, Sam Lowes crashes on the eighth lap, while before it was Richy Cardus.

This crash favors Corsi, who now has a ten second advantage over Anthony West, who in the meantime had moved up to third place. Lowes, back on the saddle, definitively ends his race after a high-side. Another crash, this time it's the turn of Simone Corsi, leader of the race. The Roman crashed during the eleventh lap, just before halfway through the race.

He returns to the track in twelfth position, just ahead of his teammate Mattia Pasini. Let's summarize the ranking when we reached the halfway point of the race: West, Simon, Vinales, De Angelis, Luthi, Kallio, Salom, Rabat, Baldassarri, Zarco and Rea.

Gino Rea's number, who remains standing after a rodeo number. Alex de Angelis meanwhile is third and just eight tenths behind Anthony West's first position. Vinales is going strong, now second followed by team-mate Luis Salom, Kallio and De Angelis, who has lost a few positions.

Five laps to go, Anthony West leads with 0.302s on Maverick Vinales, followed in turn by his team-mate Luis Salom, Mika Kallio, Alex de Angelis, Johann Zarco and Julian Simon. The Italians are in tenth position with Baldassarri, in twelfth with Corsi, in sixteenth with Pasini and in twenty-fifth with Morbibelli. Salom also falls, getting back on the bike but losing more than ten positions. This is an elimination race for Moto2.

The last lap begins, West returns to win a race in Holland, where in 2003 he triumphed ahead of Franco Battaini and Sylvain Guintoli. Today he instead beat Maverick Vinales who threatened him right under the checkered flag and Mika Kallio. Alex de Angelis from San Marino was fifth on arrival, while world championship leader Esteve Rabat finished eighth.