Marc Marquez wins hard-fought Moto2 race at Mugello
Marc Marquez held off Stefan Bradl and Bradley Smith to win a spectacularly close Moto2 race at Mugello, giving the 125cc champion a second straight victory in the intermediate category
Just 0.4 seconds covered the three riders at the line, as they broke away from what had been a five-bike battle also involving Alex de Angelis and Andrea Iannone.
At first it had been Marquez and Smith escaping from the field together, before first Bradl, then the two Italians as well (Iannone flying through from 14th on the grid) joined them.
Bradl squeezed through to the front for the first time just before half-distance, but could not get away. Going into the closing laps, Marquez and Bradl would exchange the lead again and again, with Smith also sneaking into the lead for a few yards.
Marquez was back in front going onto the final lap, and despite points leader Bradl's best efforts to get a better run to the line, the Spaniard held on. Smith was right with them, his third consecutive podium being his first in a dry Moto2 race.
Behind de Angelis and Iannone, Tom Luthi and Simone Corsi fought through to sixth and seventh from 24th and 23rd on the grid respectively. Max Neukirchner, taking his best Moto2 result yet, Aleix Espargaro, Kenan Sofuoglu and Dominique Aegerter chased them home.
Yonny Hernandez and Pol Espargaro were also fighting for top six positions early on before both fell in separate incidents.
Results - 21 laps:
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time/Gap
1. Marc Marquez Catalunya Suter 40m02.941s
2. Stefan Bradl Kiefer Kalex + 0.071s
3. Bradley Smith Tech 3 + 0.419s
4. Alex de Angelis JIR Motobi + 2.091s
5. Andrea Iannone Speed Master Suter + 4.595s
6. Thomas Luthi Paddock Suter + 13.021s
7. Simone Corsi Ioda FTR + 13.092s
8. Max Neukirchner MZ + 13.409s
9. Aleix Espargaro Pons Kalex + 14.139s
10. Kenan Sofuoglu Technomag-CIP Suter + 14.419s
11. Dominique Aegerter Technomag-CIP Suter + 15.072s
12. Xavier Simeon Tech 3 + 17.996s
13. Randy Krummenacher Kiefer Kalex + 18.573s
14. Yuki Takahashi Gresini Moriwaki + 19.720s
15. Jules Cluzel Forward Suter + 20.357s
16. Esteve Rabat Blusens FTR + 22.208s
17. Mika Kallio Marc VDS Suter + 22.420s
18. Valentin Debise Speed Up FTR + 24.297s
19. Jordi Torres Aspar Suter + 28.679s
20. Mattia Pasini Ioda FTR + 28.876s
21. Anthony West MZ + 30.778s
22. Ricard Cardus QMMF Moriwaki + 33.084s
23. Claudio Corti Italtrans Suter + 34.568s
24. Mike di Meglio Tech 3 + 36.000s
25. Carmelo Morales G22 Moriwaki + 36.194s
26. Robertino Pietri Italtrans Suter + 36.195s
27. Scott Redding Marc VDS Suter + 46.731s
28. Pol Espargaro Speed Up FTR + 49.054s
29. Kenny Noyes Avintia FTR + 50.101s
30. Santiago Hernandez SAG FTR + 1m08.557s
31. Mashel Al Naimi QMMF Moriwaki + 1 lap
Retirements:
Ratthapark Wilairot SAG FTR 14 laps
Alex Baldolini Forward Suter 11 laps
Mattia Tarozzi Faenza Suter 11 laps
Yonny Hernandez Blusens FTR 7 laps
Tommaso Lorenzetti Castello FTR 6 laps
Michele Pirro Gresini Moriwaki 3 laps
Raffaele de Rosa Aspar Suter 0 laps
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