Moto2: Iannone dominates Mugello Moto2
Italy's Andrea Iannone cheered up a biking nation at Mugello on Sunday by dominating the Moto2 class, in the wake of Valentino Rossi's leg-breaking crash yesterday
From pole position, Iannone produced a brilliant start and his Speed Up machine was never headed in the 41-bike field. He coasted across the finish line 2.7s clear of the pack, but had led by over 7s at mid-distance and was totally unchallenged throughout.
"Even running out at the front it was still a difficult race, and I pushed very hard," said Iannone. "If you have an advantage you've got to make the most of it. Everything worked really well for me today, and I hope I can keep this going."
In a thrilling battle for second, Spain's Sergio Gadea (Pons Kalex) ruined an Italian 1-2 when he slipstreamed past Simone Corsi (Motobi) on the drag to the finish line. Corsi had lunged past him on the entry to the final turn, Bucine, but that sufficiently compromised his exit.
"I'm delighted with my first podium in Moto2," said Gadea. "I tried that move on Corsi the lap before the last one and it worked out. It was a great race, we left nothing behind on track and I was looking behind me after every corner because there was so much going on."
Besides Iannone, Corsi was the star of the race, surging through from 26th on the grid to finish third. He beat Thomas Luthi (Moriwaki) to the final podium position by just 0.015s.
"I had a problem with the tyres which is why we struggled yesterday, but it was much better today," said Corsi. "It was such a fun race, passing rider after rider. And it was great to beat Elias and Tomizawa for championship."
Series leader Toni Elias (Moriwaki) finished fifth, ahead of title rival Shoya Tomizawa (Suter). Both of them had run as high as second, as the position changed hands numerous times over the 20 laps, but the Japanese had two massive moments in the final stages of the race.
Tomizawa said: "I made a mistake and almost got a high-side, and then had another near miss, so to come back to sixth position was okay. At least I finished."
Elias leads the points from Tomizawa by 19, with Gadea moving up to fourth behind Corsi. Iannone's win promotes him to sixth.
Pos Rider Team Time/Gap
1. Andrea Iannone Speed Up/Honda 41m05.374s
2. Sergio Gadea Pons Kalex/Honda +2.764
3. Simone Corsi Motobi/Honda +2.799
4. Thomas Luthi Moriwaki/Honda +2.814
5. Toni Elias Moriwaki/Honda +3.404
6. Shoya Tomizawa Suter/Honda +3.826
7. Gabor Talmacsi Speed Up/Honda +7.209
8. Yuki Takahashi Tech 3/Honda +8.377
9. Julian Simon Suter/Honda +8.584
10. Alex Debon FTR/Honda +8.931
11. Alex de Angelis Scot/Honda +9.149
12. Hector Faubel Suter/Honda +9.991
13. Alex Baldolini ICP/Honda +12.219
14. Stefan Bradl Suter/Honda +19.110
15. Fonsi Nieto Moriwaki/Honda +19.680
16. Dominique Agerter Suter/Honda +19.994
17. Karel Abraham FTR/Honda +24.969
18. Roberto Rolfo Suter/Honda +25.769
19. Xavier Simeon Moriwaki/Honda +31.094
20. Yonni Hernandez BQR/Honda +31.171
21. Scott Redding Suter/Honda +37.770
22. Claudio Corti Suter/Honda +39.183
23. Valentin Debise ADV/Honda +39.405
24. Arne Tode Suter/Honda +40.613
25. Vladimir Leonov Suter/Honda +43.358
26. Kenny Noyes Promo Harris/Honda +43.997
27. Anthony West MZ/Honda +53.748
28. Niccolo Canepa Scot/Honda +54.387
29. Bernat Martinez Bimota/Honda +57.035
30. Yannick Guerra Moriwaki/Honda +58.612
Not classified
Robertino Pietri Suter/Honda 18 laps
Rutthapark Wilairot Bimota/Honda 16 laps
Mike Di Meglio Suter/Honda 15 laps
Vladimir Ivanov Moriwaki/Honda 15 laps
Raffaele De Rosa Tech 3/Honda 11 laps
Mattia Pasini Motobi/Honda 7 laps
Jules Cluzel Suter/Honda 4 laps
Axel Pons Pons Kalex/Honda 4 laps
Anthony Delhalle BQR/Honda 3 laps
Lukas Pesek Moriwaki/Honda 2 laps
Joan Olive Promo Harris/Honda DNS
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