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“There was a Frenchman, an Englishman, a German and an Italian...” It sounds like the beginning of a joke but there was nothing comical about the Rio Hondo race... The four frontrunners in this second round of the Moto2 season battled hard with each other, pushing like crazy from start to finish and putting on a real show for the spectators. Leading the pack was Johann Zarco, thanks to the speed and experience typical of a world champion. Second place for the very strong Sam Lowes and third for Folger. A pity for Franco Morbidelli who crashed out after running a great race from the first to the penultimate lap.
THE RACE--An aggressive start with pushing and shoving on a slightly damp track that offered only one dry line. German Jonas Folger took the lead, closely followed by Englishman Sam Lowes and current champ Zarco.
On lap three a mistake by Folger facilitated a pass by Lowes and an impressive Franco Morbidelli set the provisional best lap as he fought to move into fourth.
Dominique Aegerter set a best time on lap five, battling with Morbidelli and Zarco. The first four riders stuck close to one another for several laps, slipping and sliding their way around every turn.
On lap seven both Zarco and Morbidelli got past Folger while Lowes tried to make a break for it, with an open track in front of him and his choice of lines.
After ten laps, Morbidelli made a small mistake, allowing Folger to move third, a position that he was only able to hold onto for a matter of seconds before Franco passed him on the inside.
With five laps to go, the real spectacle got underway: Morbidelli tried in vain to get away from Zarco while Sam Lowes had some trouble and risked losing the front on more than one occasion. Spaniard Alex Rins made a great recovery but was unable to catch the first four up ahead.
Tyres were all but finished by lap twenty, with riders using all means, elbows included, to stay upright. Sam Lowes made his move, passing Morbidelli to take second.
Morbidelli, unfortunately, lost the front at turn 1 when his tyre hit a damp patch causing him to crash out.
it was the French world champion who crossed the line first, ahead of Lowes and Folger. He thus clocked up his ninth win in Moto2 as well as the fastest lap of the race.
