Marc Marquez takes commanding Moto2 victory in Germany
Marc Marquez delivered a peerless performance to claim his fourth victory of the Moto2 season in the German Grand Prix
The Monlau Suter poleman held his advantage away from the start and thereafter came under serious threat only when title rival Andrea Iannone (Speed Master Speed Up), who had started 10th, managed to close onto his tail on the fourth lap.
The pair remained locked together for the next two laps, and when Iannone dived down the inside at Turn 12 - with Marquez seizing the initiative back almost immediately - it appeared to set the stage for a showdown between the pair.
That prospect was spoiled shortly after however when Iannone lost the front at Turn 1, sliding out into the gravel. He was able to rejoin but did so down in 26th.
As the Italian fell Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Kalex) and Alex de Angelis (Forward Suter) - staging his own recovery after starting from eighth - deprived Marquez the luxury of breathing space, although neither was able to mount a serious challenge.
Indeed in the final laps they began to quarrel among themselves, and as Kallio passed de Angelis for second at Turn 1 three laps from the end Marquez eased away towards the win.
De Angelis managed to steal into second at Turn 12 on the final lap, but Kallio dived back down the inside to seal second, and with it his first Moto2 podium of the year.
Pol Espargaro (Pons Kalex) was never likely to be a victory contender after struggling in the wet qualifying conditions, but he did manage to convert 17th on the grid into fourth at the flag. He moves into second in the championship as a result.
Thomas Luthi (Paddock Suter) beat Simone Corsi (Ioda FTR) to fifth, while Tech 3's Bradley Smith - fourth for much of the race before slipping back - and Xavier Simeon rounded out the top eight.
Iannone recovered to 16th at the flag, not enough to prevent himself slipping two places to fourth in the championship.
Marc VDS's Scott Redding also lost ground after being taken out by Toni Elias on the first lap. Elias (Aspar Suter) later retired after his own crash.
Results - 29 laps: Pos Rider Team/Bike Time/Gap 1. Marc Marquez Monlau Suter 41m32.467s 2. Mika Kallio Marc VDS Kalex + 2.093s 3. Alex de Angelis Forward FTR + 2.567s 4. Pol Espargaro Pons Kalex + 5.990s 5. Thomas Luthi Paddock Suter + 6.139s 6. Simone Corsi Ioda FTR + 11.051s 7. Bradley Smith Tech 3 + 11.409s 8. Xavier Simeon Tech 3 + 14.808s 9. Claudio Corti Italtrans Kalex + 20.769s 10. Dominique Aegerter Technomag-CIP Suter + 25.141s 11. Johann Zarco JIR Motobi + 27.467s 12. Esteve Rabat Pons Kalex + 27.475s 13. Ricard Cardus Arguinano AJR + 28.590s 14. Nicolas Terol Aspar Suter + 28.713s 15. Julian Simon Avintia Suter + 32.787s 16. Andrea Iannone Speed Master Speed Up + 35.376s 17. Anthony West QMMF Moriwaki + 35.596s 18. Gino Rea Gresini Suter + 37.591s 19. Max Neukirchner Kiefer Kalex + 45.667s 20. Takaaki Nakagami Italtrans Kalex + 47.436s 21. Roberto Rolfo Technomag-CIP Suter + 49.341s 22. Damian Cudlin SAG Bimota + 50.704s 23. Marco Colandrea SAG FTR + 1m12.766s 24. Kevin Wahr Kiefer IAMT + 1m14.334s 25. Randy Krummenacher Switzerland Kalex + 1 lap 26. Markus Reiterberger MZ + 1 lap 27. Eric Granado JIR Motobi + 1 lap Retirements: Ratthapark Wilairot Gresini Suter 25 laps Elena Rosell QMMF Moriwaki 19 laps Axel Pons Pons Kalex 18 laps Yuki Takahashi Forward FTR 16 laps Alessandro Andreozzi Speed Master Speed Up 6 laps Toni Elias Aspar Suter 5 laps Scott Redding Marc VDS Kalex 0 laps
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