Starting from second on the gird, Paginas Amarillas HP40’s Alex Rins was determined to fight for victory with pole man Johann Zarco. Rins made a good start and had made his way into the lead before the end of the first lap. It became clear that it would be a duel between the Spaniard and Zarco as they opened up a gap to the third placed Thomas Luthi
"I knew it was myself and Zarco who had the best pace..."With seven laps to go Zarco made his move for the lead and Rins, try as he might he could not respond, instead deciding to settle for second. He eventually crossed the line 4.1s behind race-winner Zarco, but with title rival Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) finishing in sixth, he had re-taken the championship lead. Rins now has an eight-point lead in the standings over Lowes, with Zarco a further two points back in third.
Alex Rins: “It has been a complicated and hard week, with many emotions and strange sensations. As for the race, I knew that it was myself and Zarco who had the best race pace. I pushed from the start, because I wanted to get the best result possible for Luis. Zarco seems to have a bit extra and was comfortable behind me. He passed me and I tried to follow, but couldn’t and I thought that second place was a good results for what such a difficult weekend.”