Jake Dixon triumphed in a flag-to-flag victory in the Argentine Moto2 race, earning his fifth race win in the intermediate class.

Dixon’s performance saw him dominate and take a comfortable victory, crossing the line 3.5s ahead of Manuel Gonzalez at Termas de Rio Hondo.

Gonzalaz started the race from the front but Jake Dixon established the lead from the middle of the front row.

Adrian Huertas’ race ended at Turn 2 after an early crash from the middle of the pack, which forced him into retirement.

Dixon established a few bike lengths lead over Gonzalaz, but his teammate Filip Salac made it a 1-2 for Marc VDS at the end of the back straight on Lap 2.

Both riders held firm for only one and a half laps as the pole sitter snatched second place back, resulting in Dixon extending his advantage to 0.2s out front.

Aron Canet and Marco Ramirez swapped fourth and fifth place but in the midst of their respective battle, both riders lost time from the leading trio.

The exciting battle continued throughout the next corners, but South African rider Darryn Binder was waiting in the wings to spot an opportunistic move.

Out front Dixon seized the initiative to formulate a half second advantage by posting back-to-back fastest laps on Lap 5 and Lap 6, respectively.

Brazilian rider Dioo Moreira suffered mechanical issues to his Italtrans Racing Team bike, resulting in a quick and rare pit stop.

Dixon looked in control out front and extended his advantage to over 0.8s, as the leading duo were a distant two seconds clear of the field.

Canet suffered a huge crash earlier in the weekend but in his usual tough nature he ploughed on and slotted his way through Ramirez for the final podium spot.

After the leading two, Fantic Racing’s Canet was managing the pace in front of the American Racing Team rider Ramirez, Czechia rider Salac and Celestino Vietti.

Drama unfolded on Lap 11 due to Ramirez and Salac making the same line heading into the corner, but collided into each other. The Marc VDS rider crashed out of proceedings, while the Spaniard continued on.

Out front Dixon extended to his advantage to 1.5s and Gonzalaz mustered a 4.8s lead over the rest of the field.

HDR Heidrun rider Vietti showcased his immense tyre-preserving abilities, propelling himself into third place.

He occupied the final podium place for the subsequent laps, but a minor error opened the door for Canet to regain position.

This was the highlight of the race as both riders tried to find the limit aboard their respective machinery. Vietti regained the podium place after completing a successful block pass.

Dixon sealed his first dominant win in the series and his first win for the Marc VDS team, having joined the team at the start of the year.

Gonzalez finished 6.5s clear of Vietti who clung on to the final podium spot, but Canet’s fourth place is a strong performance considering his crash.

Ramirez finished his race securing fifth spot for the American Racing Team, finishing three seconds ahead of Binder.

Alex Escrig established seventh spot for the Swiss Forward Factory outfit, defeating Alonso Lopez and Daniel Holgado.

Alberto Arenas rounded off the top ten to ensure a strong performance from both Gresini riders.

Tony Arbolino fended off Barry Baltus to claim 11th place, while Senna Agius followed a second behind.

At the end, Turkish rider Deniz Oncu sneaked into 14th place, defeating Izan Guevara in a photo finish and crossing the line a tenth of a second ahead of the Spaniard.

The post Jake Dixon triumphs in flag-to-flag Argentine Moto2 victory appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Manuel Gonzalez cruised to a commanding victory in the opening round of the Moto2 season at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand. 

Gonzalez was the dominant rider all weekend, and led from the third lap onwards to take control of the race. 

It was Celestino Vietti who got the best start from second on the grid to take the lead going into Turn 1 ahead of polesitter Gonzalez. 

Senna Agius also made a good start and took third on the opening lap by overtaking Aron Canet. 

Gonzalez made a move on Vietti towards the end of the second lap, but the Italian was able to turn under the IntactGP rider to retake the lead a corner later. 

Darryn Binder and Izan Guevara made progress into fourth and sixth, but were hit with double long lap penalties for a jump start. 

Gonzalez made a move on Vietti and this time was able to make it stick to take the lead on lap three.

Canet was hoping to recover after dropping a few positions on the start and made his way back into fourth, but was pressured by Diogo Moreira.

The gaps between the leading riders stabilised, with Gonzalez pulling seven tenths clear of Vietti in second, who himself maintained a similar gap to Agius behind. 

The key battle on track was for sixth position as Barry Baltus looked to maintain position despite pressure from Marcos Ramirez and Jake Dixon. 

Ramirez was then able to take the position from the Belgian rider and set his sights on the riders in front.

Towards the front, the gap between Vietti and Agius closed as the Australian saw an opportunity to make a move, but made contact with the Italian which saw him out of the race. 

Agius was awarded a long lap penalty which saw him demoted to fourth, behind the duelling Canet and Moreira. 

The IntactGP rider was clearly faster than the Brazilian in third, but waited until there were two laps remaining to make his move onto the podium.

Moreira refused to give into the pressure and retook the place as the riders headed onto the final lap of the race.

At the front, Gonzalez took the chequered flag by 2.787s to seal his debut win for the IntactGP team.

Canet took a comfortable second place from third on the grid as Agius held on to complete the rostrum. 

Moreira missed out on the podium by three tenths in fourth, while Ramirez held onto his fifth position.

Baltus took a welcome sixth ahead of Dixon on his debut outing with the Marc VDS team, as rookie Dani Holgado was eighth. 

Filip Salac took ninth over the line, eight tenths clear of Alonso Lopez who rounded out the top ten for the SpeedUp team.

Gresini’s Albert Arenas finished 11th with Deniz Oncu trailing behind in 12th, while Pramac Yamaha took 13th with Tony Arbolino.

Rookie Adrian Huertas was 14th after switching over from WorldSSP, as Mario Aji completed the points finishers in 15th.

The post Manuel Gonzalez cruises to victory in Thai Moto2 opener appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Pramac Yamaha have officially announced its partnership will extend into the Moto2 class starting from the 2025 season.

As part of the new cooperation between Pramac and Yamaha, the new outfit will replace the Yamaha Mastercamp team. 

Alongside the announcement of the team, Pramac also revealed that Tony Arbolino and Izan Guevara will be the team’s riders for 2025. 

Pramac is also set to use Boscoscuro chassis for its Moto2 debut, something which helped Ai Ogura win the world championship this season.

The team is set to make its official on track debut in the Moto2 preseason test in February 2025, which is scheduled to take place in Valencia. 

“We are thrilled that Yamaha’s collaboration with Pramac will extend to the Moto2 class straight away in 2025,” said Yamaha Racing managing director Lin Jarvis in a press release.

“The creation of the Pramac Yamaha Moto2 Team reflects Yamaha’s dedication to nurturing young talents and guiding them through the racing ranks as well as the company’s dedication to be back at the top of MotoGP.

“With Tony Arbolino and Izan Guevara, we have an outstanding rider line-up for the new Moto2 team, combining skills, talent, and potential. “We look forward to seeing their journey unfold as we continue building a stronger foundation for Yamaha’s future in MotoGP.”

‘An honour to join Pramac and Yamaha’: rider’s react to Moto2 signing

The Pramac Yamaha collaboration promises a strong debut with its rider lineup, as 2023 Moto2 runner up Arbolino partners the former Moto3 world champion Guevara. 

“It‘s an honour to join Pramac and Yamaha in their new Moto2 project,” said former MarcVDS rider Arbolino. 

“I always loved Yamaha as per what they represent as a brand and history.

“Besides, I have full trust in Pramac to help me become a better rider. I will do my best to deliver the best possible results.  

“The title in Moto2 is our goal. Thanks to them for their trust in me.”

“I’m very happy about this new chapter I‘m about to start, said Guevara, “I’m going to a team that is a family and they are the reigning MotoGP World Champions.

“I’m looking forward to working again with one of the people who helped me become World Champion, Gino Borsoi.

“I know many of the people who will work in the team and I know it will be easy to work together.

“Above all I want to thank Pramac and Yamaha for giving me this opportunity to race with them in 2025. 

“I’m sure we are going to achieve a lot of success as I am very motivated by this change and by the project I will be involved in.”

The post Pramac Yamaha team to make Moto2 debut in 2025 appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Valencia’s Aron Canet took an emotional Moto2 victory at the SolidarityGP to close out a strong end to the season.

The Fantic rider was able to fend off a late charge from Manuel Gonzalez to take his fourth victory of the year as he ended the campaign second in the standings. 

The front row struggled off the start, with poleman Canet wheelieing off the line as second-placed Gonzalez took the lead.

A chaotic start saw Jake Dixon forced to run wide at Turn 2 as he lost time in attempts to avoid taking a shortcut. 

Dixon rejoined the race safely but collided with Alonso Lopez, which saw him out of the race along with bystanders Jorge Navarro and wildcard Roberto Garcia after contact with a sliding Dixon.

The chaos continued on the second lap as Zonta van den Goorbergh and Deniz Oncu made contact which forced the Dutch rider to run into the back of Oncu’s teammate Celestino Vietti, taking both riders out of the race. 

While the collisions were happening behind, Canet was recovering from his poor start and made his way back into second, allowing the Valencian rider to chase after Gonzalez out front.

Canet’s pass meant he was immediately able to chase down Gonzalez and a strong pass into the penultimate corner saw him take the lead of the race. 

The leading pair were able to break away from the rest of the field as the fight appeared to be for third place, with world champion Ai Ogura fending from Diogo Moreira, who was looking to seal the rookie of the year title. 

Towards the end of the race, the Pirelli tyres appeared to be going off which allowed Gonzalez to drastically close the gap to Canet out front. 

Moreira also looked to take advantage of Ogura’s tyre management as he launched an ambitious move at Turn 3, but the world champion was able to turn under the rookie to retake his position. 

The final lap of the race saw Moreira continuing to pressure Ogura and the Brazilian swept past to take the podium, before Ogura once again responded with a strong move at Turn 10. 

Gonzalez desperately attempted to challenge Canet out front, but the Fantic rider appeared to be too strong for the Gresini man.

Canet crossed the line to take an emotional victory, as the Valencian rider finished 0.165s clear of Gonzalez in second. 

Moreira was able to put a final corner move on Ogura to snatch third place as he sealed the rookie of the year award. 

Filip Salac showed strong pace late in the race and took the flag in fifth, while Sergio Garcia had a strong end to the campaign in sixth. 

Izan Guevara was seventh after his impressive end to 2024 ahead of Albert Arenas in eighth. 

The SpeedUp duo of Alonso Lopez and Fermin Aldeguer finished ninth and tenth respectively, crossing the line side by side and separated by just 0.050s. 

Somkiat Chantra was 11th in his final race before moving up to MotoGP while Marcos Ramirez took 12th and Senna Agius narrowly missed out on the rookie of the year title after taking 13th.

Tony Arbolino completed a difficult weekend in 14th as Jaume Masia rounded out the points finishers in 15th. 

The post Valencian Aron Canet storms to Moto2 victory at the SolidarityGP  appeared first on Motorsport Week.

KTM Ajo’s Celestino Vietti took a commanding Malaysian Moto2 victory on his return from injury to clinch his third win of the campaign. 

Vietti led every lap of the race on his return from a broken collarbone after getting the jump off the line ahead of stand-in rider Jorge Navarro

The Italian took the lead of the race ahead of Ogura and the American Racing pair of Marcos Ramirez and Navarro into the first corner.

A crash in the early stages took Alberto Surra, who was replacing Fermin Aldeguer at Speed Up, out of the race alongside Senna Agius and Zonta van den Goorbergh.

Ramirez was able to overtake Ogura going into the penultimate corner of the first lap, restoring himself into second place. 

Race leader Vietti managed to pull a gap on the group behind, putting a second between himself and Ramirez on the first lap. 

The battle in the early stages was for the top five as Deniz Oncu was overtaken by Navarro after making a double save, while Jake Dixon forced his way through on Albert Arenas for seventh. 

Ramirez was able to close the gap on race leader Vietti and was briefly able to overtake the Italian after a mistake into Turn 1. 

The KTM Ajo rider was able to regain his lead, but the race became a battle between a group of five riders. 

Navarro looked to recover from his shaky start and overtook Izan Guevara for fourth, before then passing Ogura to reinstate himself amongst the podium positions. 

The polesitter continued on his road to recovery as he overtook teammate Ramirez for second as he hoped to hunt down Vietti for the lead. 

Positions continued to change in the top five, as Ogura passed Ramirez for third and Dixon was able to overtake teammate Guevara for fifth. 

As Navarro was chasing down Vietti for the lead, a technical issue for Ogura saw the world champion out of the race. 

Dixon momentarily dropped behind Ramirez after Ogura’s incident in front of him, but the Briton was able to regain the final podium spot with six laps to go. 

The podium positions remained locked with three laps remaining, but Guevara was still able to make progress as he overtook Ramirez for fourth. 

Tony Arbolino made quiet progress through the pack and was also able to overtake Ramirez to move into the top five. 

Dixon looked to have secured a podium place going onto the final lap of the race but believed that the race had finished, meaning the British rider rolled off and lost his podium place to teammate Guevara. 

It was KTM Ajo’s Vietti who crossed the line to take his third win of 2024 after leading every lap of the race. 

Valencian rider Navarro sealed an emotional second place as a stand-in rider for the American Racing team. 

Former Moto3 champion Guevara took his first podium in the Moto2 class after overtaking teammate Dixon on the final lap of the race. 

Arbolino crossed the line fifth behind the Aspar pairing, while Ramirez eventually finished sixth.

Oncu took seventh after struggling with the tyres late on in the race ahead of Aron Canet in eighth, who sealed second place in the championship with his result.

Somkiat Chantra was ninth narrowly clear of Diogo Moreira who completed the top ten. 

Manuel Gonzalez led Gresini teammate Arenas over the line in 11th and 12th respectively. 

Alonso Lopez finished a lowly 13th for SpeedUp ahead of Sergio Garcia in 14th.

Filip Salac was promoted to the final points position in 15th on the final lap following Jeremy Alcoba’s crash out of the race.

The post Celestino Vietti takes commanding Malaysian Moto2 victory appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Aron Canet earned an impressive victory in a red-flagged Thai Moto2 race which saw Ai Ogura crowned world champion. 

Canet had been hoping to postpone Ogura’s title celebrations for another week, but a second place finish for the Japanese rider was enough for him to seal the title with two rounds to spare. 

Ogura got a great start from pole position to hold onto the lead ahead of Canet and Ramirez in the first turn.

Canet also got a good start from the front row, and was able to outdrag Ogura on the run to Turn 2 to take control of the race. 

Fermin Aldeguer made a mistake on the opening lap which put Tony Arbolino out of the race, ending a miserable weekend for the Italian, while MarcVDS teammate Filip Salac was also pushed wide. 

A divebomb in the final corner from Alonso Lopez promoted the SpeedUp rider up to third, ahead of Diogo Moreira and Ogura. 

The championship leader was then demoted down to sixth behind Jake Dixon and Darryn Binder as his championship charge struggled in the early stages. 

Lopez had been running well in third but ran wide, which saw him drop out of the fight and down to 12th, which allowed Ramirez onto the rostrum. 

Ogura looked to move back into a championship contending position and attempted a move on Binder for fifth which forced the South African wide.

The stewards investigated Ogura’s move but decided that there would be no further action taken against the Japanese rider.

The championship leader continued to move forward and was able to overtake Dixon and Moreira to push himself onto the podium and firmly in control. 

Home hero Somkiat Chantra recovered well from a lowly qualifying and continued to progress through the field, fighting his way through the group into sixth.

The Thai rider was then able to pass Izan Guevara and Diogo Moreira as he looked to fight for an unlikely podium in the dying stages of the race. 

Rain continued to hit the circuit and race leader Canet signalled that the race needed to be red flagged due to track conditions.

Less than a lap later the race was stopped with two laps to go meaning there would be no restart. 

It was Canet who took the victory, but Ogura became the 2024 Moto2 champion after taking second.

By winning his Moto2 title in Buriram, Ogura became the first world champion to come through the Asia Talent Cup system.

Ramirez rounded out the podium ahead of Chantra, who was clearly disappointed with the decision to red flag as potential for a home podium was lost.

Moreira came home in fifth ahead of the Aspar pairing of Guevara and Dixon in sixth and seventh..

The Gresini duo of Albert Arenas and Manuel Gonzalez were eighth and ninth, as Deniz Oncu rounded out the top 10. 

Lopez was able to recover from his mistake but could only finish 11th, while Sergio Garcia was 12th. 

Ayumu Sasaki finished the race in 13th, narrowly ahead of a redeeming ride from Salac in 14th. 

Jorge Navarro, who was standing in for the injured Joe Roberts, completed the points finishers in 15th. 

The post Aron Canet wins red-flagged Thai Moto2 race as Ai Ogura seals title appeared first on Motorsport Week.

MotoGP bound Fermin Aldeguer defeated Aron Canet in a controversial last lap shootout to take Moto2 victory at Phillip Island.

Aldeguer made a contentious move on Canet on the final lap as the SpeedUp rider took his first victory since the Sachsenring in July.

Canet got the best launch from second on the grid and was able to snatch the lead from the SpeedUp duo of Alonso Lopez and Aldeguer.

Jake Dixon was hoping to relaunch his faint championship chances but a crash at Turn 1 with Dennis Foggia saw both riders exit the race early.

The battle between the top three raged on in the first few laps, with Lopez and Canet continuing to swap positions while Aldeguer held on in third.

Gresini’s Manuel Gonzalez had the pace to run just behind the leaders, but a long lap penalty forced him to drop back into the second group. 

Championship leader Ogura was the head of the chasing pack, but was pressured by home favourite Senna Agius, who was able to pass the Japanese rider in his quest for Rookie of the Year. 

The battle between the top three continued, as Aldeguer took charge of the race and pulled a gap on Canet and Lopez. 

Canet was desperate to respond and set new lap records of the circuit in his attempts to keep in touch with the leading SpeedUp of Aldeguer. 

Alonso Lopez had dropped back from the leading duo and a mistake saw him crash out of third, promoting home hero Agius into podium contention.

Pressure from Canet forced Aldeguer into a mistake, and the Fantic rider took advantage to make his way back to the front of the race.

The SpeedUp rider would regain the position after an error from Canet, which meant that the riders would tussle for the win onto the final lap. 

Aldeguer pulled a move onto Canet into MG Corner and pushed the Fantic rider wide, allowing him a free run to the line to take his first victory since the GermanGP.

Canet was visually disappointed with Aldeguer’s move and had to settle for second.

Agius took the chequered flag in third to earn his first ever grand prix podium at his home race in Australia. 

Championship leader Ogura came home in fourth, narrowly ahead of Diogo Moreira and puts himself into contention to win the title in Thailand next weekend.

Gonzalez recovered from his long lap penalty to sixth after outdragging Barry Baltus to the line.

Tony Arbolino took eighth ahead of Sergio Garcia in ninth, while Marcos Ramirez rounded out the top 10.

Jeremy Alcoba was 11th after fighting off Darryn Binder and Albert Arenas. 

Motegi podium finisher Filip Salac took 14th as Mario Aji concluded the points finishers in 15th.

The post Fermin Aldeguer takes last-gasp Moto2 victory at Phillip Island appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Gresini’s Manuel Gonzalez earned a dramatic first Moto2 win over Ai Ogura thanks to a strategic masterclass in Motegi. 

In a restarted race due to rainy conditions, Gonzalez elected to remain with slick tyres, which allowed the Spanish rider a bizarre route to his first Grand Prix victory. 

Aspar’s Jake Dixon got away well from pole position as he led the field going into the first corner. 

It appeared as if it would be an Aspar 1-2 coming out of Turn 1, but Guevara was overly ambitious with his move on Van den Goorbergh and pushed both riders wide.  

Immediately after the race started, the rain started to come down significantly, and the marshals waved the red and white flag due to the wet conditions. 

The riders were clearly unhappy with the track and the red flag was thrown out before the first lap was completed. 

Race direction decided that the race would resume with 12 laps to be completed.

The rainy conditions caused uncertainty in the pit lane about whether it was damp enough to switch to the wet tyres. 

Most of the riders on the grid elected for the rain tyres, with the home hero Ai Ogura one of the exceptions as he headed out onto the second sighting lap on slicks.

On the restart, Dixon managed to get away well again from pole position, and this time it would be an Aspar 1-2 as Guevara learned from his mistake on the first try. 

It was the KTM Ajo of Celestino Vietti and the MarcVDS of Tony Arbolino who looked to have the early rhythm in the difficult conditions, and were able to move themselves up into the top five. 

Ogura’s gamble had him down in 14th after the first lap, but it was clear that his tyres were the best choice as the race progressed.

By the third lap, the local hero moved past Dixon for the race’s lead as his gamble quickly paid off.

The remaining slick tyre runners were able to slice through the field with ease, as the top six became the six riders who made the switch.

Manuel Gonzalez was the fastest rider on track and was able to close down the four second gap to Ogura out front. 

Gonzalez made his pace advantage count as he overtook the Japanese rider and was on course to cruise to a maiden Moto2 victory.

The Gresini rider saw out the race to take his first victory ahead of championship leader Ogura.

MarcVDS’ Filip Salac rounded out the podium in third after beating Jeremy Alcoba in the podium fight.

Zonta Van den Goorbergh recovered after a difficult restart to take fifth on the slick tyres, with Xavi Artigas completing a slick tyre lock-out of the top six

Vietti crossed the line as the best of the slick tyre runners in seventh, some 53 seconds behind Gonzalez 

Diogo Moreira took eighth in the difficult conditions ahead of Alonso Lopez in ninth, as Guevara eventually crossed the line in 10th. 

Arbolino took 11th after fighting off SpeedUp’s Fermin Aldeguer and polesitter Dixon, who came home in 12th and 13th respectively.

Sergio Garcia added two points to his tally as he took 14th on the line, while Darryn Binder earned the final points position in 15th.

The post Manuel Gonzalez takes maiden Moto2 victory in Motegi masterclass appeared first on Motorsport Week.

A dominant display from Fantic Racing’s Aron Canet saw him take a six-second victory over the Moto2 field in Indonesia. 

Canet led every lap from pole position to take the win over championship leader Ai Ogura, which puts the Spaniard up to third in the championship after a superior display. 

Poleman Canet got away well from the start, but MT Helmets’ Ogura got the jump from the clean side of the grid in third to take the lead into Turn 1. 

An incident in the opening corner with reigning Moto3 champion Jaume Masia and RW Racing’s Zonta van den Goorbergh started a chaotic first lap, while Turn 10 saw Somkiat Chantra pull out with an injury after Fermin Aldeguer ran over his foot, rookie Senna Agius crash and Tony Arbolino run wide.

Amidst the early chaos, Canet was able to retake the lead ahead of Ogura, with SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez also finding his way through on the championship leader to get up to second. 

Aspar’s Jake Dixon looked to be struggling in the early stages of the race and crashed out of fifth, almost certainly putting an end to any small hopes of a championship bid despite rejoining.

Aldeguer had some early pace and was able to move ahead of Ogura into third and was looking to chase after his teammate Lopez for second.

Aldeguer was able to get on terms with his stablemate, but ran wide and lost momentum rejoining behind American Racing’s Joe Roberts in ninth. 

Ogura kept a steady pace while closing in on the leading SpeedUp bike of Lopez, and a block pass allowed the Japanese rider to claim second. 

Sergio Garcia looked to be having a decent weekend after losing his championship lead, but a crash out of 10th put an end to his race, which could compromise his Moto2 title chances.

The battle for the final podium place was heating up in the final stages, with Lopez leading Gresini’s Manuel Gonzalez, teammate Aldegeur and IntactGP’s Darryn Binder onto the last lap.

A pass from Aldeguer on Gonzalez allowed Lopez to take advantage and keep his podium position over the line. Lopez finished the race seven seconds behind eventual race winner Canet, and Ogura came home in second.

Aldeguer was able to take fourth on the final lap ahead of Binder who finished a season’s best fifth place. 

Roberts took sixth ahead of Aspar’s Izan Guevara in seventh, while MarcVDS’ Arbolino recovered from his first lap off to take eighth.

Gonzalez was forced off the track by Aldeguer on the final lap and could only manage ninth, as KTM Ajo’s Deniz Oncu rounded out the top 10. 

American Racing’s Marcos Ramirez took 11th narrowly ahead of RW Racing’s Barry Baltus in 12th.

Last weekend’s race winner Celestino Vietti recovered after running wide at Turn 16 to finish 13th, ahead of Yamaha Mastercamp’s Jeremy Alcoba in 14th and Gresini’s Albert Arenas came home in 15th.

The post Aron Canet establishes dominant Indonesian Moto2 victory appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Home hero Celestino Vietti took a stunning win in Moto2, outdragging Fantic’s Aron Canet to the line to record his second win of the season at Misano. 

The home favourites Tony Arbolino and Vietti got fantastic starts from third and fourth on the grid, with the MarcVDS rider leading the KTM Ajo rider into Turn 1 ahead of Canet and American Racing’s Joe Roberts.

Canet continued to follow Vietti as the Italian set a new race lap record in a bid to break away from the Spaniard and challenge Arbolino out front. 

Sergio Garcia, who was looking to recover from his nightmare weekend last time around, crashed out at Turn 1 as his championship aspirations looked to be slipping away. 

Another contender in Jake Dixon also crashed out the corner after Garcia, potentially putting an end to his momentum in the title fight. 

Out front, the gap continued to close between the leading three as championship leader Ai Ogura continued to fend off SpeedUp’s Fermin Aldeguer for fourth. 

Vietti looked the fastest of the leading trio and attempted a move on Arbolino into Turn 2, but a mistake cost him as he lost a place to Canet.

Arbolino looked to regain control out front but a mistake caused him to run wide and allowed Canet and Vietti through.

Just as Vietti looked as he was going to take the lead, his bike got out of shape going into the final corner – he was able to recover, although he’d lost touch with Canet and Arbolino.

A block pass by Arbolino allowed him to reclaim the lead, but he went wide to give Canet a chance to overtake him, but he was able to cover the Spanish rider off. 

The fighting between the leading pair allowed Vietti back into the fight as it looked to be a three-way fight going into the last lap. 

Arbolino seemed to have it covered, but a mistake ran him wide – losing the chance of a win and allowing Canet and Vietti back through.

Canet looked to have it covered, but ran a defensive line into the final corner which allowed Vietti to outdrag him to take the chequered flag ahead of the Spaniard, with Arbolino eventually coming home in third. 

Ogura was able to fend off Aldeguer for fourth, while Roberts crossed the line in sixth. 

IntactGP’s Senna Agius came home in seventh ahead of American Racing’s Marcos Ramirez in eighth and SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez in ninth.

MarcVDS’ Filip Salac rounded out the top 10 ahead of Gresini’s Manuel Gonzalez in 11th.

Italtrans’ Dennis Foggia crossed the line 12th ahead of Aspar’s Izan Guevara in 13th.

Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra came home in 14th as Jeremy Alcoba rounded out the point scorers in 15th.

The post Celestino Vietti edges out Aron Canet to take Misano Moto2 victory appeared first on Motorsport Week.