Moto2 Phillip Island: Rins dominates, Baldassarri on the podium

Moto2 2015 Phillip Island Race – Alex Rins won the Moto2 class Australian Grand Prix, his second success of the season after the one in Indianapolis. The Team Pons rookie dominated the race, crossing the finish line ahead of the British Speed ​​Up driver Sam Lowes and our Lorenzo Baldassarri, on his first career podium. The Forward Racing driver ran a great race, achieving a prestigious result on a "tough" track like that of Phillip Island.

Difficult race for the new world champion Johann Zarco, who did not go beyond the seventh place finish. The returning Franco Morbidelli, who came eleventh, and Simone Corsi, thirteenth, also scored points. The absence of Rabat, who will also be absent in Malaysia after the radius injury in his left arm, means that Rins, in his debut season, climbs to second position in the world rankings.

Race report

The Moto2 class riders are ready to compete in the Australian Grand Prix, the sixteenth round of the 2015 world championship. Pole position for the rookie Alex Rins, who took the Pons Kalex ahead of everyone with a time of 1'32.523. In the front row compatriot Axel Pons and the British Speed ​​Up driver Sam Lowes will also start. Second row for the Swiss Thomas Luthi, the Finnish Speed ​​Up Mika Kallio and the Japanese Takaaki Nakagami. The new champion Johann Zarco, the German Sandro Cortese and our Lorenzo Baldassarri will start from the third row, riding the Forward Racing Kalex. Simone Corsi with the second Forward Racing Kalex will start from the fourth row, while the returning Franco Morbidelli will start from the seventh. All ready, 25 laps to go for 111.2 km. The traffic lights go out, the fastest at the start is Axel Pons (who however seems to have started before the traffic lights went out), starting ahead of Lowes, Rins, Kallio and Nakagami. Rins attacks and takes the lead.

The first lap ends with Rins ahead of Lowes, Pons, Luhti, Kallio, the new world champion Zarco, Nakagami, Baldassarri, Corsi and Folger. Rins immediately tries to extend the lead, but Lowes, Pons and Luthi don't give up. Baldassarri loses some positions, after a probable contact with team-mate Simone Corsi.

Meanwhile, Axel Pons' jump-start is confirmed and the same report is also made to Robin Mulhauser, the two will be forced to drive through. In front Lowes attacks Rins takes the lead for a moment, the Spaniard from Team Pons immediately takes back the lead of the race. Meanwhile, Pons returns to the pits to serve the penalty.

Rins pulls ahead while there is a big fight between Lowes and Luthi for second position. Lorenzo Baldassarri is going very fast, with fast laps bringing him back close to Mika Kallio, with the Finn passed by Zarco, with the Frenchman now fifth. Difficult race however for Simone Corsi, who after a good start and an initial phase in the top positions, is out of the points zone, occupied instead by the returning Franco Morbidelli, who next year will race in the Marc VDS Team together with Alex Marquez, with this last one which occupies the eleventh position.

Baldassarri's race was great, with a double overtaking, first on Kallio and then on Zarco, he moved into fifth position. Having reached the halfway point of the race we find Rins with over two seconds ahead of Luthi, now second, while Baldassarri makes up some ground on Folger, with the German occupying fourth position. Followed by Zarco, Cortese, Simeon, Kallio, Nakagami, Salom, Krummenacher, Shah, Marquez and Morbidelli. Fall for Cortese; the German lost the front of his Kalex on the hairpin, with no physical consequences for him.

Baldassarri caught Folger, while in front Rins, after a "slow" lap probably due to a small error, resumed his pace. Fall for Luthi! the Swiss fell at turn 10 and paves the way for the podium for Lorenzo Baldassarri, who in the meantime had passed Folger; The Forward Racing driver's race has been amazing so far.

Problems for Jonas Folger, the German has a problem with the rear of his Kalex, which even seems to have a flat rear tire! An unusual scene, but this time it seems to have happened to the AGR Team driver. Last km of the race, Rins goes on to win the Australian Grand Prix, his second success of the season after the one in Indianapolis. On the podium Lowes and an amazing Lorenzo Baldassarri. Franco Morbidelli and Simone Corsi in points.