Augusto Fernandez vs Alonso Lopez proved a Moto2 battle for the ages at the British Grand Prix.
It came down to the final lap as Fernandez snatched victory from Lopez’s grasp in a spectacular encounter, while home hero Jake Dixon (GASGAS Aspar Team) claimed a dream podium at Silverstone.
Fernandez now leads the standings as the top three reversed order on Sunday.
Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) grabbed the holeshot from the middle of the front row but Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) was the rider to lead over the line at the end of Lap 1. However, Lopez took the lead at the beginning of Lap 2 after making fantastic progress from 8th.
World Championship leader Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) didn’t get the start he would have wanted from the second row and was outside the top six. Taking his Long Lap penalty, Vietti had to produce a front-end save on the exit as the Italian came out in P11, over four seconds down on the race lead.
A top four of Lopez, Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40), Ogura and Fernandez then broke clear, with Dixon chasing them in fifth a second away. After a couple of laps, Dixon bridged the gap to Fernandez’s rear wheel and the lead group became a quintet, with sixth place Albert Arenas (GASGAS Aspar Team) under a second away from his teammate.
With nine to go, Lopez’s lead was up to 0.8s. That was up to a second by the end of the lap as Fernandez moved up to P2 ahead of Canet, as Arenas then crashed at Turn 4. Thankfully, Arenas and his stricken bike were avoided by the oncoming traffic.
With seven to go, both Canet and Ogura had a scare heading into Turn 13 and half a lap later, Dixon was past the pair of them.
Fernandez set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 13 and was hunting down Lopez. With four to go, the gap was nothing as Dixon, Ogura and Canet battled away for the final podium spot behind them. It was as you were with two laps to go, but it was getting feisty.
Canet and Dixon exchanged P3, Ogura made slight contact with Canet’s rear wheel and it was as close as it gets between Lopez and Fernandez at the front, too.
Lopez was defending like a lion and it was all coming down to Brooklands – the final part of the lap. And it was right there, Turn 16, where Fernandez pounced. Late on the brakes, up the inside, Lopez tried to protect his lead but his compatriot forced his way through.
Lopez tried to bite back but the last-ditch move handed Fernandez a second straight win, and one that sees him take a 13-point lead in the Championship after winning by just 0.070.
Lopez’s debut Moto2 World Championship podium was sensational and coming out on top in the battle for the final podium spot was home hero Dixon, who finished just 0.6s away from victory in the end.
Ogura’s P4 ahead of Canet could be two vital points come the end of the season, as Vietti rescues a P6 after his Long Lap penalty. Roberts slipped to P7 after showing great pace in Free Practice and qualifying, the American finishing ahead of Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40), Filip Salač (Gresini Racing Moto2) and Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team).
Fernandez now sits as the outright Moto2 title leader heading to Austria, with Ogura and Vietti 13 and 15 points back respectively… will it change again in Styria? we’ll find out in two weeks!