Andrea Iannone claims last lap win at Czech Moto2 Grand Prix
Andrea Iannone took his second win of the year in a barnstorming Moto2 Czech Grand Prix at Brno
The Italian was part of a five-way fight for the lead for most of the race that included Marc Marquez, Stefan Bradl, Alex de Angelis and Thomas Luthi, but managed to eke out a little bit of extra pace when it really mattered.
Iannone, who had a couple of laps in the lead earlier in the race, seized the initiative for good into Turn 1 on the final lap as he shoved his Speedmaster Suter inside Marquez's similar Team Catalunya-run bike.
Try as Marquez did, he couldn't get a run on his rival out of either of the uphill esses during the second half of the Brno lap, missing out on victory by just 0.161s.
The Spanish teenager, in fact, had his work cut out to fend off Bradl - who spent more laps in the lead than anyone else. The German had one final attempt to wrest second from Marquez into Turn 3 on the final lap, but ran wide and had to settle for the final podium spot.
In being beaten by Marquez, the Kiefer Racing Kalex rider saw his world championship lead cut from 47 points to 43 with seven races remaining.
Fourth place went to the JIR Motobi of de Angelis, but the San Marino rider twice made contact with Marquez during the race and was luck to stay on. He was within a second of Iannone by the flag but comfortably beat Luthi, as the Interwetten Suter rider dropped back by over a second a lap from the lead pack during the final four tours.
Aleix Espargaro won an entertaining scrap for sixth place with his fellow Spaniard Esteve Rabat, the Pons Kalex rider beating the Blusens FTR man by just 0.011s.
Behind them Technomag-CIP Suter team-mates Dominique Aegerter and Kenan Sofuoglu finished either side of Simone Corsi's ninth-placed Ioda FTR.
Britain's Bradley Smith was lucky not to be wiped out when Jules Cluzel crashed in front of him at Turn 1 on the second lap. But the Tech 3 rider retired just half a lap later after suffering a massive accident while exiting one of the high-speed esses.
There were also early exits for Max Neukirchner's MZ and for Rabat's team-mate Yonni Hernandez.
Results - 20 laps:
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time/Gap
1. Andrea Iannone Speed Master Suter 41m13.255s
2. Marc Marquez Catalunya Suter + 0.161s
3. Stefan Bradl Kiefer Kalex + 0.407s
4. Alex de Angelis JIR Motobi + 0.870s
5. Thomas Luthi Paddock Suter + 4.225s
6. Aleix Espargaro Pons Kalex + 13.636s
7. Esteve Rabat Blusens FTR + 13.647s
8. Dominique Aegerter Technomag-CIP Suter + 14.365s
9. Simone Corsi Ioda FTR + 14.617s
10. Kenan Sofuoglu Technomag-CIP Suter + 21.383s
11. Mattia Pasini Ioda FTR + 26.235s
12. Yuki Takahashi Gresini Moriwaki + 29.726s
13. Mika Kallio Marc VDS Suter + 30.046s
14. Claudio Corti Italtrans Suter + 30.380s
15. Mike di Meglio Tech 3 + 30.459s
16. Pol Espargaro Speed Up FTR + 31.691s
17. Ratthapark Wilairot SAG FTR + 31.752s
18. Michele Pirro Gresini Moriwaki + 35.548s
19. Jordi Torres Aspar Suter + 40.270s
20. Kenny Noyes Avintia FTR + 40.722s
21. Valentin Debise Speed Up FTR + 40.803s
22. Ricard Cardus QMMF Moriwaki + 42.247s
23. Xavier Simeon Tech 3 + 42.285s
24. Axel Pons Pons Kalex + 42.348s
25. Robertino Pietri Italtrans Suter + 53.056s
26. Scott Redding Marc VDS Suter + 53.044s
27. Santiago Hernandez SAG FTR + 1m06.674s
28. Steven Odendaal MS Suter + 1m07.935s
29. Anthony West MZ + 1m30.360s
30. Mashel Al Naimi QMMF Moriwaki + 1m30.499s
Retirements:
Tommaso Lorenzetti Castello FTR 19 laps
Alex Baldolini Forward Suter 11 laps
Jules Cluzel Forward Suter 11 laps
Max Neukirchner MZ 7 laps
Carmelo Morales Desguaces La Torre 3 laps
Bradley Smith Tech 3 1 lap
Yonny Hernandez Blusens FTR 1 lap
Randy Krummenacher Kiefer Kalex 0 laps
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