Moto2: Cluzel wins British Moto2 thriller
Jules Cluzel claimed his first victory at grand prix level by triumphing in an epic Moto2 race at Silverstone
The Frenchman pounced when Thomas Luthi - who looked to have done enough to secure the victory - slid slightly wide into Club on the final lap, then did enough to resist Luthi's retaliation attempts and win by 0.057 seconds.
The early stages of the race had featured an incredible lead battle featuring over a dozen bikes. Polesitter Claudio Corti, the early-charging Fonsi Nieto, Cluzel and Julian Simon did most of the leading as riders regularly went four abreast and swapped places countless times.
As the race neared its end, a five-bike pack broke away, with Corti, Cluzel and Simon joined by Luthi and Scott Redding, who had steadily crept into contention.
Despite having fallen into the midfield on the first lap, Luthi worked his way into the lead with two laps to go, and then got some clear air behind him when Corti fell at Club on the penultimate lap while running second.
That looked to have secured the win for Luthi, until the small error on the last lap that gave Cluzel a chance to edge ahead.
Simon completed the podium, with Redding also within 0.5s of victory as he finished fourth.
Alex Debon fended off Shoya Tomizawa, Mike di Meglio and Xavier Simeon for fifth, while championship leader Toni Elias never featured near the front but clawed his way up to 10th by the end.
Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1. Jules Cluzel Suter 39m19.472s
2. Thomas Luthi Moriwaki + 0.057s
3. Julian Simon Suter + 0.322s
4. Scott Redding Suter + 0.520s
5. Alex Debon FTR + 5.271s
6. Shoya Tomizawa Suter + 5.377s
7. Mike di Meglio Suter + 5.484s
8. Xavier Simeon Moriwaki + 5.709s
9. Dominique Agerter Suter + 10.240s
10. Toni Elias Moriwaki + 10.411s
11. Fonsi Nieto Moriwaki + 10.701s
12. Andrea Iannone Speed Up + 10.741s
13. Ratthapark Wilairot Bimota + 10.959s
14. Arne Tode Suter + 16.062s
15. Sergio Gadea Pons Kalex + 16.161s
16. Niccolo Canepa Scot + 24.118s
17. Anthony West MZ + 29.563s
18. Yuki Takahashi Tech 3 + 29.952s
19. Vladimir Ivanov Moriwaki + 30.218s
20. Lukas Pesek Moriwaki + 31.289s
21. Kenny Noyes Promo Harris + 31.423s
22. Kevin Coghlan FTR + 31.715s
23. Axel Pons Pons Kalex + 31.819s
24. Roberto Rolfo Suter + 35.447s
25. Bernat Martinez Bimota + 35.851s
26. Valentin Debise ADV + 42.924s
27. Robertino Pietri Suter + 51.566s
28. Raffaele De Rosa Tech 3 + 56.529s
29. Vladimir Leonov Suter + 58.361s
30. Claudio Corti Suter + 1m18.671s
Retirements:
Joan Olive Promo Harris 18 laps
Yonny Hernandez BQR 17 laps
Alex Baldolini ICP 17 laps
Karel Abraham FTR 17 laps
Hector Faubel Suter 17 laps
Mattia Pasini Motobi 16 laps
Gabor Talmacsi Speed Up 15 laps
Anthony Delhalle BQR 13 laps
Simone Corsi Motobi 1 lap
Stefan Bradl Suter 1 lap
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Hamilton accepts blame for incident with Albon in F1 Brazilian GP
Ferrari drivers called to F1 stewards over Brazilian GP collision
Will Alonso's Indy failure end the age of versatility?
The plot twist that gave Arrow McLaren’s Ward his first IndyCar win as team principal
Formula E’s new Gen3 Evo car breaks cover
The weekly reality check that has kept MotoGP hype off of Acosta so far in 2024
F2 veteran Ghiotto to make IndyCar debut with Dale Coyne Racing at Barber
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments