In a stunning lead battle between Arón Canet and Diogo Moreira, the Brazilian left it to the final two laps before taking an opportunity to take the lead to the checkered flag at TT Circuit Assen. In third place was Manuel González, leaving only five points between himself and Canet in the Moto2 World Championship.
Before We Got Underway
Thankfully, Filip Salač and Alonso López did not suffer any fractures from yesterday’s qualifying collision and passed a medical review to take part in today’s race. Denis Öncü took the broad line off the track during the warm-up lap as he and the rest of the riders lined up on the main straight. The orange flares had already been set off before the lights went out in support of Dutch riders Zonta van den Goorbergh and Collin Veijer.
Early Lap Moves and Crashes
Canet made it quickly from fourth to first in three laps, while González continued to lose ground. Izan Guevara went down in Sector 4, with Darryn Binder handed a penalty to drop one position for contact. David Alonso crashed in the same sector not long after. Nakarin Atiratphuvapat also had his race end early with a DNF, completing an unsuccessful weekend at TT Circuit Assen.
More Tumbles into the Gravel Traps
Barry Baltus took his time to serve his double long lap he had incurred after crashing under yellow flag conditions during Friday’s dramatic practice session. However, he was unable to complete them as he came off, shortly followed by Jorge Navarro. The pain got to be too much for Salač to continue riding, deciding to retire on Lap 8 of 22.
Eleven Laps Down, Eleven to Go
Binder loses his bike in Sector 1, as does Adrián Huertas. Meanwhile, in the lead group, Canet was doing what he could to fend off Moreira as González found grip and pace to come back into third position. If the positions had stayed as they were at this point until the end of the race, Canet and González would have been tied once again for the championship points.
More Riders Crash Out
Honda Team Asia rider Yuki Kunii ended his Dutch GP. The final chicane claimed another victim for the weekend, this time Öncü coming off despite having a brilliant run in the front pack for the majority of the race. That made it a total of ten riders who did not complete the race.
All or Nothing
Quickly running out of laps to make a move, Moreira desperately kept close to the back of Canet’s rear tyre. But Canet showed Dutch spectators a masterclass in brake and bike control, covering as much as he could. With two laps to go, the pressure forced Canet to make an error, allowing Moreira to take the lead. The last lap ended under yellow flag conditions as Iván Ortolá ended his race off-track: the eleventh rider to end their race early.
The Top Ten
As we come to the halfway point of the season in Moto2, the World Championship looks likely to come down to the wire. González and Canet are so close in points, but riders showing impressive performance, such as Moreira, could surge ahead to take it out from under them. We will see what happens next when we go back to racing in Germany in two weeks.