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Sandro Cortese Moto2 2014

Sandro Cortese Moto2 2014


The pair both started on the front row, but were split by Sandro Cortese.

The German suffered a heavy accident in practice however, and is clearly struggling. He's dropped as low as 13th, although a move on Jordi Torres briefly elevated him to 12th.

From second on the grid, simply finishing in the points might be a tough ask.
Rabat is finally back at the front. He picks up a slipstream down the main straight, leaving Nakagami helpless to defend into Turn 1. Now then, can Rabat get away?
That situation didn't last long: Rabat bridges the gap almost effortlessly and starts to exert some serious pressure on Nakagami. Nine laps to go now.
Rabat makes his move on his team-mate and is through into second. Kallio contested the move though, meaning the pair have lost a little ground to Nakagami.
Interesting news from the pitlane: Nakagami is on the harder compound tyre, so - in theory at least - should have more grip in the closing stages compared to the two chasing Marc VDS machines of Kallio and Rabat.
The fight for fifth is also brewing nicely. Luthi, leading Aegerter and Vinales, sets a new fastest lap of the race, but is soon pegged back as Vinales trumps him. All three men are within two tenths of each other.
Tito Rabat

Tito Rabat


Great fight brewing here between Nakagami, Kallio and Rabat.

Nakagami, of course, has been here before, having led but finish as bridesmaid on several occasions last year. Despite five podiums, he is still chasing a first Moto2 podium.
Poleman Rabat has indeed closed the gap to the lead pair.

Corsi is only 1.4s down the road, but there's a fair gap to the next chasing pack, which is now headed by Aegerter. Looks like Pasini might have suffered an off, as he's dropped from fifth to 10th.
Kallio has bridged to leader Nakagami, while Rabat in third is just over one second down the road but closing.

Corsi holds fourth from Cortese, who is under pressure from Pasini. Second row man Sam Lowes has dropped to the back of a multiple-bike fight for fifth - and in Moto2, that means he's currently ninth.
Rabat through on Luthi at Turn 1, and the latter runs too deep, compromises his exit and is picked of by Cortese and Corsi before Turn 2.
Cortese is struggling, but is hanging in there at the moment. 19 laps will seem like a lifetime though. He's dropped to fifth, behind Luthi, Kallio and Rabat.
Bad news for Caterham - both Josh Herrin and Johann Zarco were caught up in that crash.
So Nakagami leads from Cortese, Luthi, Kallio and Rabat. There's a melee at Turn 7, where four riders have gone down.
We're away, and Rabat holds the advantage - at least until Nakagami cuts across his bows and forces him to sit up at Turn 1.
We're onto the warm-up lap. Cortese is testing his left leg, which suffered the worst of yesterday's accident.
Thomas Luthi, whose 2013 campaign was left in disaaray by a massive pre-season crash, will start from fourth ahead of World Supersport champion Sam Lowes. The Britain's grand prix debut is just over five minutes away.
Onto Moto2 then, which produced some of the most sensational moments of the 2013 campaign.

Tito Rabat, among the early title favourites, will line up from pole for new squad Marc VDS. He will share the front row with Sandro Cortese, the 2012 Moto3 champion, and Takaaki Nakagami, who had four consecutive second-places last year.

Cortese had to miss warm-up this morning, however, following a horrible accident at the end of practice. He's one of the last riders to make it out before the pitlane officially closes.

Moto2 2014

Moto2 2014

A reminder, if you're just joining us, that our live coverage of the 2014 MotoGP season opener will kick off at 1900 GMT.

Before that though we have Moto2, which begins in just over 20 minutes.
Drama and brilliance clearly run in the Marquez blood. That last-lap mistake might have cost Alex victory, but it was still an excellent race and a phenomenal fightback over the second half of the lap.

If we get anything like that in MotoGP later, we're in for a real treat.
That's how to celebrate. Miller's front wheel barely touches the ground on his victory lap. Do we think he's happy with that first win?
Moto3 - Qatar Grand Prix:

1 Miller; 2 Marquez; 3 Vazquez; Oliveira; 5 Rins; 6 Kornfeil; 7 Masbou; 8 Vinales; 9 Antonelli; 10 Bagnaia
Incidentally, second, third and fourth were covered by just six hundredths of a second at the flag. Vazquez, in third, was just 0.015s ahead of Oliveira. Rins meanwhile was a further 0.074s further down the road.
What a finish.

Miller wins it, sealing his first Moto3 victory.

It's all about the action behind him though. Rins puts a move on Oliveira, but Marquez dives down the inside of both to set up a four-way run to the line.

Marquez and Oliveira hit the inside, and Rins looks set to draft past both until he makes contact with Vazquez, delaying both slightly. Marquez takes second then, ahead of Vazquez, Oliveira and Rins.
Half a lap to go, and Miller is a handful of corners away from his first grand prix win.
Marquez runs wide! Miller, Rins and Oliveira steal ahead after a disastrous mistake on the final run through Turn 6.
Moto3 2014

Moto3 2014


Miller counterattacks and is right back with Marquez, dragging the rest with him. Into the last lap, and he looks to inside at Turn 1, but the Spaniard has the move covered.
Two laps to go, and it's all very suddenly come together. Marquez has a gap of just 0.4s to Miller, who has Rins, Oliveira and Vazquez swarming all over his tail.
This could be some finish. Rins nips back past Vazquez, and is quickly followed by Oliveira. There's a new element though: Miller is now just six tenths clear of this wild scrap for third and looking vulnerable.

Marquez has upped his pace slightly and has a small gap to Miller as we move into the final three laps.
Three abreast down the main straight, as Vazquez picks off Rins and Oliveira in one swoop to move back into third. Five laps to go now.
Vazquez gets it all wrong at Turn 1. A massive slipstream had put him ahead of Rins, but he misjudges the extra speed and goes way too deep, allowing Rins and Oliveira to nip by.

While the seven scrap, they're also closing back in on the lead. Marquez and Miller's lead is suddenly slashed to just 1.2s.
Kent incidentally has slipped back to 15th now. Hardly the fairytale he would have hoped for after stepping back down to Moto3 for 2014 and qualifying on the second row.
The fight for third meanwhile has become a seven-bike affair.

Rins still leads Vazquez and Kornfeil, but Oliveira, Fenati, Vinales and Masbou have all joined in, with positions changing almost corner by corner. Breathless stuff.
Miller has just hit the front again, as the pair began toying with each other.

Kornfeil is the next best KTM rider, but is sixth and three seconds off the lead.
Eleven laps to go, and Rins can't shake off Vazquez or Oliveira.

Unless the pace dramatically changes, that means victory is likely to be a two-man fight between Marquez and Miller.

The former has won once before, at Motegi last year. Miller meanwhile has never finished on a grand prix podium.
Alex Marquez Moto3 2014

Alex Marquez Moto3 2014


Marquez meanwhile has pulled a small gap - around a quarter of a second - to Miller, who is in turn around 2.2s down the road from the Rins/Vazquez fight.
Rins does make a move on Vazquez, but the latter tries to hit back immediately. They're still inseparable running down to Turn 1, but Rins manages to sneak ahead and into third.
Rins can't get by Vazquez, and his frustrations won't be helped by the sight of Marquez and Miller stretching away out front. The gap back is now two seconds.
The chase is on. Vazquez, from 15th on the grid, is now third, while Rins - who suffered that disastrous start from pole - has clawed his way back to fourth.
Marquez sets a new track record, but Miller is back in the lead. The pair have opened a gap of 1.2s to Vinales and Kornfeil.
Miller and Marquez attempting to get away here, and they've already pulled a small gap to Kornfeil, Vinales, Antonelli and Kent.

Polemam Rins crosses the line 10th, just as Marquez dives down the inside at Turn 1 to steal into the lead.

By: Dan Cross, Sam Tremayne

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