Moto2: Aoyama wins, Lorenzo takes title

Any slim chance of the title going to the last round, which would have required Lorenzo to finish well down the order or DNF while Andrea Dovizioso won, went out the window when Kallio collided with then leader Dovizioso, the collision pushing Dovizioso outside the top ten.

Lorenzo was already well-placed to take the title, having ridden in the front group throughout the race as title rival Andrea Dovizioso led the early laps and opened a gap. By half distance Lorenzo had caught Dovizioso and passed him, with the two riding nose-to-tail before swapping back five laps later.

Also battling with them was a group of riders, including Thomas Luthi, Mika Kallio, Hiroshi Aoyama and Hector Barbera. Alvaro Bautista was also in the group in the early laps before an engine problem forced him out of the race on lap seven.

The battle at the front was hotting up, Lorenzo and Kallio passing Dovizioso for the lead on lap 18 of 20, only for Kallio and Dovizioso to move ahead of Lorenzo at the start of the next lap.

Later that same lap Dovizioso moved into the lead past Kallio around the back of the circuit, as Lorenzo was passed by Aoyama and Barbera, the 2006 world champion falling from first to fifth in less than a lap.

As they headed into the final turn on the penultimate lap, Kallio made a late-braking move into the hairpin. Sideways under braking, he was overcommitted and managed to avoid hitting other riders until he clipped the rear wheel of leader Dovizioso, causing Dovizioso to crash.

This allowed Aoyama, Barbera and Lorenzo through into the podium positions, while Kallio was able to stay upright and finished just behind them in fourth. Dovizioso remounted, but was only able to finish in 11th position, a disappointing result in a race he could have won.

CLASSIFIED:

Pos  Rider             Make      Time
 1.  Hiroshi Aoyama    KTM       43:09.316
 2.  Hector Barbera    Aprilia   +   2.251
 3.  Jorge Lorenzo     Aprilia   +   2.957
 4.  Mika Kallio       KTM       +   2.965
 5.  Thomas Luthi      Aprilia   +   7.305
 6.  Julian Simon      Honda     +   8.747
 7.  R. Locatelli      Gilera    +  16.105
 8.  Marco Simoncelli  Gilera    +  26.101
 9.  Yuki Takahashi    Honda     +  28.032
10.  Aleix Espargaro   Aprilia   +  34.754
11.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda     +  35.888
12.  Karel Abraham     Aprilia   +  42.514
13.  Shuhei Aoyama     Honda     +  48.020
14.  Alex Baldolini    Aprilia   +  48.058
15.  Dirk Heidolf      Aprilia   +  49.190
16.  R. Wilairot       Honda     +  49.273
17.  Eugene Laverty    Honda     +  53.468
18.  Taro Sekiguchi    Aprilia   +1:02.665
19.  Jules Cluzel      Aprilia   +1:15.625
20.  Fabrizio Lai      Aprilia   +1:17.024
21.  Imre Toth         Aprilia   +1:32.646

NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

     Rider             Make      Laps
     Federico Sandi    Aprilia    17
     Doni Tata         Yamaha     16
     Alex de Angelis   Aprilia    10
     Efren Vazquez     Aprilia     9
     Alvaro Bautista   Aprilia     6