Photo: motogp.com
MotoGP

Morbidelli takes victory in Marc VDS one-two

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Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) sealed his seventh victory of the season in a hard fought battle to strengthen his championship lead.

On the first corner of the first lap, eight riders went down in two separate incidents. Those involved - Iker Lecuona (CarXpert Interwetten), Xavier Simeon (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto3), Tetsuta Nagashima (Teluru SAG Team), Luca Marini (Forward Racing Team), Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP), Stefano Manzi (Sky Racing Team VR46), Lorenzo Baldassari (Forward Racing Team), Xavi Vierge (Tech 3 Racing) and Fabio Quartararo (Pons HP40) were all thankfully okay and the race continued without a red flag.

In one of the most interesting Moto2 races we've seen in a while, Morbidelli stormed into the lead from the very beginning and absolutely ran with it. There were very few moments where he came under pressure from those behind him, and the real battle was going on behind him. Thomas Luthi (CarXpert Interwetten) and Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) were locked in a fierce battle for second, with both of them running wide on a number of occasions to allow the other through. And while they were making mistakes, it not only allowed Morbidelli to get away at the front but also allowed Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) to sneak up behind them. Oliveira was setting fast lap after fast lap and was consistently running quicker than the leading group. Oliveira looked like a serious podium contender, but crashed out with five laps to go in a massive highside that left him reeling in the gravel trap.

All the while, Luthi was closing in on Marquez but with three laps to go he ran wide, allowing Marquez to create the gap he so desperately needed to finish on the second spot of the podium. Luthi needed a win this weekend to put pressure on Morbidelli in the overall standings, and a third place has not allowed him to do that. 

Moto2 top ten:

  1. Franco Morbidelli- EG 0,0 Marc VDS - 37:39.370
  2. Alex Marquez- EG 0,0 Marc VDS +1.312
  3. Thomas Luthi- CarXpert Interwetten +2.544
  4. Francesco Bagnaia- Sky Racing Team VR46 +3.070
  5. Mattia Pasini- Italtrans Racing Team +3.745
  6. Takaaki Nakagami- IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia +8.827
  7. Brad Binder- Red Bull KTM Ajo +9.018
  8. Jorge Navarro- Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 +13.692
  9. Dominique Aegerter- Kiefer Racing +14.955
  10. Hafizh Syahrin- Petronas Raceline Malaysia +18.997
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