Deniz Öncu came out on top to win a red-flagged Moto2 race at the German GP. The Turkish rider celebrated his Moto2 race win in style with some interesting dance moves standing atop his bike. Barry Baltus kept his tyres perfectly conserved but was unable to use them when the red flags came out. He claimed second place at the Sachsenring circuit, honouring the late Borja Gomez.
Jake Dixon came under attack twice, with damage to his bike, but still held onto third place on the podium. He looked a little defeated at the result, but he picked up some crucial points. The British rider will wonder what could have been in a race filled with drama and dangerous crashes.
A Reverse Grid Placement
We had a surprising front row after Saturday’s qualifying sessions. Our leaders in the Moto2 championship found themselves further down the grid than they are used to, while new faces made it to the front. Dixon made his way through Q1 and Q2 after coming off his bike in Free Practice 2 and still managed to secure pole position. Arón Canet was declared fit to ride after his crash in Q2.
While the track was dry, the rain yesterday had impacted the grip on the track. The Moto3 race had been twenty seconds slower than last year’s event at the Sachsenring. The sun had all but disappeared, dark clouds looming overhead. If it had rained during the race, the event would have been cancelled for rider safety. Thankfully, the skies remained clear for the entire race.
Jump Start Results in Dramatic First Laps
Senna Agius was too eager on the throttle, jumping the start and ahead of everyone down the main straight. The Australian immediately shook his head to acknowledge his mistake and was handed a double-long lap penalty from the FIM stewards.
Alonso Lopez had a big off in Turn 12, ending his Sunday in the German GP. Dixon was knocked off podium contention by Agius in the first lap, leaving Tony Arbolino, Deniz Öncü, and Barry Baltus to battle it out. The biggest mover, Diogo Moreira, jumped up fifteen places into tenth.
Disappointment for Front-Runner
Arbolino pushed it to the limit to keep up the pace. Unfortunately, his bike could no longer handle it, causing the Italian to slide off in Sector 4. Dixon inherited third as he chased down Öncü and Baltus. Behind him, a battle was underway for fourth between Albert Arenas, Moreira, and Joe Roberts. The Brazilian got the inside line to secure the position, twenty-one places ahead of where he started.
Aggressive Moves End in Disaster
What would have been one of the most outstanding finishes we’ve seen in Moto2, Moreira pulled an aggressive overtaking move on Dixon. However, he miscalculated and was run off the track. In an attempt to rejoin the race, the Brazilian neglected to look behind him. David Alonso had nowhere to go except right up the back of Moreira, bringing the pair down together. The onus will be on the #10 for not following racing rules in the event of rejoining. Alonso fared the worst in the crash, requiring a medical check as the FIM stewards investigated the incident.
The Final Five Laps That Never Happened
After the drama of the Moreira-Lopez crash, we weren’t ready for another incident so soon. With five laps to go, Marcos Ramírez came into Turn 1 completely out of control. Ramirez cleaned up an unsuspecting Arenas from behind, sending both into the gravel. His bike also punctured the air fence, immediately raising a red flag for the race. As two-thirds of the race had been completed, we came to an early end amidst all the chaos.
The Top Fifteen
While the tight technicality of the Sachsenring couldn’t break the single-digit difference between Manuel González and Canet in the Moto2 championship points, we still have one more round before we break for the summer. There will be several ramifications following the two major crashes today, and we are still awaiting the completion of the investigations. We will have all the updates in the lead up to next weekend’s race at the Automotodrom Brno.