Johann Zarco takes his sixth win of the season from Tito Rabat and Takaaki Nakagami to extend his lead in the standings to 93 points after winning in Misano overnight.
Ajo Motorsport‰Ûªs Zarco took advantage of an early crash between Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten) and Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) while they were battling for the lead to take his seventh career victory.
In the process Zarco equaled Oliver Jacque, Arnaud Vincent and Christian Sarron in the list of most successful French GP riders of all time. It also meant that Zarco recorded his 12th consecutive podium of the season and the Frenchman can now take the title at Motegi.
‰ÛÏIt was an odd race because the conditions changed so much from the rest of the weekend." Zarco commented. "This made us doubt which tyres to use. I finally chose the hard rubber, while Aegerter went out with the soft, so it was very easy for him to be strong at the front.
"The fact that Rins came into the fight with him helped me to concentrate on my riding, until both of them crashed. That allowed me to take the lead. I was able to relax and extending my lead, so I was in the perfect situation. However, I thought Tito [Rabat] could have reached me, because I was not feeling very fast. In the end he didn‰Ûªt.
"I want to thank the team for the great job we are doing. Tomorrow we have to continue to seek improvements in the test and head to Aragon in the best possible shape."
EG 0,0 Marc VDS‰Ûªs Tito Rabat recovered from an awful start that saw him drop down to 8th by the end of the first lap to claim his seventh podium of the season. In a race were tyre choice was crucial, Rabat joined Zarco and a number of other riders by opting for the harder rear while the medium seemed to drop off dramatically in the latter stages. Rabat eventually crossed the line 3.850s behind his title rival Zarco in second.
Idemitsu Honda Team Asia‰Ûªs Takaaki Nakagami (+5.388s) went for the medium rear and was struggling dramatically for grip at the end of the race. The Japanese rider managed to hold on to claim his first podium since Misano in 2013 and the sixth of his GP career.
Forward Racing‰Ûªs Corsi (+7.058s) crossed the line in fourth ahead of Julian Simon (+9.225s) on the QMMF Racing Speed Up bike. AGR Team‰Ûªs Jonas Folger also went for the medium rear tyre, and saw his podium challenge fade as the race went on. The German eventually crossed the line in sixth, 10.466s behind the race winner.
Lorenzo Baldassari (Forward Racing) rode superbly with a dislocated right shoulder to finish in seventh, while Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP), Luis Salom (Paginas Amarillas HP40), and Thomas Luthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten) completed the top ten.
Rins took out Aegerter while challenging him for the lead on just the second lap. Both riders re-joined, but Rins was black flagged late on in the race after battling with riders while a lap down. Aegerter eventually recovered to finish in 24th.
Speed Up Racing‰Ûªs Sam Lowes was forced to retire from the race after a loose fairing rubbed against his rear tyre forcing it to delaminate.
It was announced before the race that Mika Kallio would be parting ways with the Italtrans Racing Team to join the QMMF Racing Team for 2016. Unfortunately for the 2014 Moto2䋢 runner-up he then crashed out of the race at turn 8 on just the third lap. There were also crashes for Ricard Cardus, Robin Mulhauser, Alex Marquez, Jesko Raffin and Federico Caricasulo.
Misano Moto2 Race Results:
1 Johann Zarco 42'38.099 FRA HONDA Ajo Motorsport
2 Esteve Rabat 3.850 ESP HONDA Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS
3 Takaaki Nakagima 5.388 JPN HONDA Idemitsu Honda Team Asia
4 Simone Corsi 7.058 ITA HONDA Athina Forward Racing
5 Julian Simon 9.225 SPA HONDA QMMF Racing Team
6 Jonas Folger 10.466 GER HONDA AGR Team
7 Lorenzo Baldassarri 13.784 ITA HONDA Athina Forward Racing
8 Sandro Cortese 16.334 GER HONDA Dynavolt Intact GP
9 Luis Salom 17.896 ESP HONDA Paginas Amarillas HP 40
10 Thomas Luthi 18.353 SWI HONDA Derendinger Racing Interwetten
11 Axel Pons 24.029 SPA HONDA AGR Team
12 Xavier Simeon 27.609 GER HONDA Federal Oil Gresini Moto2
13 Azlan Shah 29.037 MAL HONDA Idemitsu Honda Team Asia
14 Randy Krummenacher 32.140 SWI HONDA JIR Moto2
15 Anthony West 33.312 AUS HONDA QMMF Racing Team
Moto2 Championship Standings
1 Johann Zarco 274 pts
2 Esteve Rabat 181 pts
3 Alex Rins 164 pts
4 Thomas Luthi 131 pts
5 Sam Lowes 128 pts
6 Jonas Folger 112 pts
7 Xavier Simeon 96 pts
8 Franco Morbidelli 84 pts
9 Alex Marquez 62 pts
10 Dominique Aegerter 62 pts
11 Takaaki Nakagima 61 pts
12 Sandro Cortese 59 pts
13 Julian Simon 58 pts
14 Simone Corsi 53 pts
15 Luis Salom 50 pts
19 Anthony West 30 pts
Top Image: Johann Zarco Continues his Moto2 Dominance With Another Win
Credit: Honda
