Austin Moto2: Nicolas Terol scores first series victory
Nico Terol claimed a breakthrough Moto2 victory after dominating proceedings at Austin's Grand Prix of the America
Esteve Rabat and Mika Kallio prevailed in a three-way fight for the podium, with Dominique Aegerter losing out by fractions after last-lap contact with Kallio.
Kallio's Marc VDS team-mate and poleman Scott Redding meanwhile struggled with tyre wear and faded as the race went on.
Fifth was still enough to earn him the points lead though, particularly after Qatar race-winner Pol Espargaro crashed out on lap four.
Espargaro needed assistance from marshals as he limped away from the scene. He was later able to walk around the medical centre, though.
Takaaki Nakagami, second in the season-opener, was another casualty. He was fighting for the lead in the early stages but pulled into the pits, and out of the race, on lap seven.
As he hit trouble, Terol hit the front. By lap six the Aspar Suter man had already eked out a one-second gap, and he duly extended that over the remainder of the race.
Kallio held second for the majority of the race but came under increasing pressure from Aegerter and then Rabat.
The trio's fight culminated in a thrilling last lap in which Rabat eventually prevailed, but only after Kallio and Aegerter clashed.
Redding could not quite join in the scrap, coming home just 0.7 seconds down on Aegerter.
Johann Zarco meanwhile got the better of Anthony West following a race-long scrap for sixth, the pair covered by less than two tenths of a second as they took the chequered flag.
Results - 19 laps:
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time/Gap 1. Nicolas Terol Aspar Suter 42m02.689s 2. Esteve Rabat Pons Kalex + 3.125s 3. Mika Kallio Marc VDS Kalex + 3.175s 4. Dominique Aegerter Technomag Suter + 4.873s 5. Scott Redding Marc VDS Kalex + 5.597s 6. Johann Zarco Ioda Suter + 9.295s 7. Anthony West QMMF Speed Up + 9.440s 8. Mattia Pasini Forward Speed Up + 14.472s 9. Alex de Angelis Forward Speed Up + 16.051s 10. Toni Elias Avintia Kalex + 19.696s 11. Mike di Meglio JiR Motobi + 20.107s 12. Marcel Schrotter SAG Kalex + 23.287s 13. Xavier Simeon SAG Kalex + 23.547s 14. Jordi Torres Aspar Suter + 23.815s 15. Ricard Cardus Forward Speed Up + 33.488s 16. Simone Corsi Forward Speed Up + 35.424s 17. Axel Pons Pons Kalex + 35.532s 18. Danny Kent Tech 3 + 42.451s 19. Yuki Takahashi Tady Moriwaki + 44.314s 20. Julian Simon Italtrans Kalex + 44.688s 21. Kyle Smith Avintia Kalex + 58.964s 22. Ratthapark Wilairot Gresini Suter + 59.940s 23. Steven Odendaal Arginano Speed Up + 1m00.107s 24. Louis Rossi Tech 3 + 1m00.702s 25. Doni Tata Pradita Gresini Suter + 1m08.996s 26. Sandro Cortese Intact Kalex + 1m24.281s Retirements: Randy Krummenacher Technomag Suter 9 laps Rafid Topan Sucipto QMMF Speed Up 7 laps Takaaki Nakagami Italtrans Kalex 6 laps Alberto Moncayo Arginano Speed Up 6 laps Pol Espargaro Pons Kalex 3 laps
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