Moto2 Rio Hondo: Rabat dominates and wins, Vinales crashes, Simeon and Salom on the podium

Esteve Rabat dominated the Argentine Grand Prix, the third stage of the 2014 world championship. The Marc VDS Racing Team rider who started from pole took the lead, pulling away at the best moment and going on to score his second victory of the year, his fifth in Moto2.

On the podium with him the Belgian Xavier Simeon, rider of Team Gresini and his compatriot Luis Salom, riding the Kalex of Team Pons. That twin of Maverick Vinales instead did not see the checkered flag due to a crash (without consequences) of the winner in Austin.

Simone Corsi and Alex de Angelis had a good race, finishing fifth and sixth. There is regret for the Roman, given that he occupied third position for a long time, while the San Marino brought home important points. First world championship points also for Franco Morbidelli, who finished thirteenth.

Now in the world championship standings Esteve Rabat leads with 70 points against 42 for his team-mate Mika Kallio and 38 for Maverick Vinales. Simone Corsi is fourth with 33 points.

Race report

The riders of the Moto2 class are ready to compete in the "GP Red Bull de la Republica Argentina", the third stage of the 2014 world championship, which takes place on the brand new Termas de Rio Hondo track. Pole position for Esteve “Tito” Rabat, rider of the Marc VDS Racing Team. The Spanish rider (winner of the opening race in Qatar) will have alongside him the Frenchman Johann Zarco, riding the Suter Caterham and the Belgian Xavier Simeon, riding the Suter of Team Gresini.

Second row is Maverick Vinales (winner in Austin), for the German Jonas Folger (Kalex AGR Team) and for Luis Salom, Vinales' teammate in Team Pons. The third row opens instead with the best of the Italian riders, Mattia Pasini, riding the Forward KLX. With him the San Marino Alex de Angelis and team-mate Simone Corsi.

Good fifteenth time for Franco Morbidelli, riding the Kalex of Team Italtrans, while Lorenzo Baldassarri with the second Suter of Team Gresini is twenty-first. All ready, twenty-three laps to go for 110.538 km. The traffic lights go out, the fastest at the start is Esteve Rabat, who got off to a good start ahead of Simeon, Folger, Vinales, Zarco, Salom, Corsi, Pasini and De Angelis.

Vinales (2013 Moto3 world champion) moves into third position and the first lap ends with Rabat ahead of Simeon, Vinales, Folger, Corsi, Salom, De Angelis and Aegerter. Mattia Pasini did not pass, having had to withdraw due to a problem with his Forward KLX. It's a shame because the Team NGM Mobile rider could have been a great protagonist.

Things go better for his team-mate Simone Corsi, who overtakes Folger. The second lap ends with Rabat ahead of Simeon, Vinales, Corsi, Salom, De Angelis, Folger, Aegerter, West and Zarco. Franco Mobidelli is instead fourteenth.

The race loses another protagonist, in fact Maverick Vinales, winner of his first Moto2 race in Austin, falls. The Team Pons driver returns to the track, but then takes the pit lane and retires. Meanwhile, the race of Simone Corsi and Alex de Angelis was great, who were in fourth and fifth position.

Meanwhile, Rabat is still in command at the front, ahead of the Belgian Xavier Simeon of Team Gresini and the Spaniard Luis Salom, riding the surviving Kalex of Team Pons. Of the first four, Corsi is the fastest, while the gap to the fifth (Dominique Aegerter) is already more than three seconds. Alex de Angelis from San Marino, now sixth, was unable to keep up with the leaders.

Corsi continues to amaze, even passing Salom, taking the virtual podium. Really disappointing race for the Frenchman Johann Zarco, who started from the front row and was actually sixteenth, behind our Franco Morbidelli, riding the Kalex of Team Italrans.

Having reached the halfway point of the race, we summarize the top fifteen positions: Rabat, Simeon, Corsi, Salom, Aegerter, De Angelis, Kallio, Folger, West, Cortese, Torres, Lowes, Schrotter, Terol and Morbidelli (who we remember is part of the VR46 Riders Academy) .

The battle between Simone Corsi and Luis Salom was beautiful, while Alex de Angelis returned to riding very strong after some problems on the Team Tasca Suter. Rabat at the front tries to lengthen his pace and increases his lead over Simeon, now by over a second. Meanwhile it turns out that what stopped Mattia Pasini was an engine problem! Things aren't going well for the Forward Racing driver, a great friend of the late Marco Simoncelli. At Losail in the opening race it was a faulty tire that stopped him, at Austin he was innocently knocked to the ground and now the engine!

Returning to the race, we highlight that of Sam Lowes, eighth with the Speed ​​Up. The 2013 Supersport champion is ahead of the Spaniard Jordi Torres and the German Sandro Cortese. With just a few kilometers left to go, the victory in Rabat now seems certain, while Simone Corsi is "sweating" the podium with Luis Salom and Dominque Aegerter who has now caught up with the two.

The last lap begins, Esteve “Tito” Rabat goes on to win the second race of the year, the fifth in the Moto2 class, thus extending his lead in the standings. On the podium with him Xavier Simeon and Luis Salom. Simone Corsi finished fifth, also overtaken by Aegerter. Alex de Angelis' race was good, finishing sixth, as was Franco Morbidelli's, who scored points.