Acosta claims a record-breaking Moto2™ win

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Pedro Acosta has broken Marc Marquez’s record as the youngest ever intermediate class race winner with victory in Moto2™ at the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley. The man who celebrated his 18th birthday just four days ago led almost all of the 21 laps around the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, achieving redemption after crashing out of first position a fortnight ago at Le Mans.

Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) finished second and Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) has moved into a share of the World Championship lead by also getting onto the podium, after a late technical failure for Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) while the Italian held third position. Pole-sitter Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) was running second to Acosta when he crashed not long past the halfway mark.

Acosta leads Canet for the first half of the race

Canet had got the holeshot from pole position but Acosta outbraked him when they arrived at San Donato (Turn 1) and he led the field down the hill for the first time. Sam Lowes went past Canet through the Casanova/Savelli complex (Turns 6 and 7) on Lap 1 but the Spaniard returned the favour on Lap 2, and Lowes instead found himself in a battle with fellow Elf Marc VDS Racing Team rider Tony Arbolino over third spot for several laps.

Acosta rode a composed race, his only real blemish being when he ran wide exiting Arrabbiata 2 on Lap 3 and got loose on the kerb. That moment allowed Canet to go past, but he held the lead only until #51 slipstreamed back in front at the start of Lap 4. They were still first and second, having pulled around a second clear of the chasing pack, when disaster struck for Canet on Lap 13. He tucked the front going through Bucine (Turn 15) and went sliding into the gravel trap, marking the end of his afternoon.

The battles for the minor placings

That incident left Acosta on his own at the head of the field, but there were battles aplenty going on not too far behind. In addition to the intra-team stoush between Lowes and Arbolino, Roberts and Ogura were going hard it for fifth position initially, while Vietti was on the comeback trail after he was swamped at the first corner of the race and dropped to 10th.

The pre-race World Championship leader was back up to seventh, albeit one second from the group ahead of him, when he passed wildcard Mattia Pasini (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) on Lap 6, before Ogura got himself into fourth position when he got by Lowes on Lap 9 at San Donato. The Japanese rider was third when he did likewise to Arbolino on Lap 10, but the Italian got back ahead exactly a lap later.

Ogura overtook Arbolino once more into San Donato on Lap 13, just before Vietti picked off Lowes for sixth through Casanova/Savelli. With Canet out of the picture, Roberts and Vietti were third and fourth once they also got ahead of Arbolino, and then they went after Ogura. The American made a bold move at Palagio (Turn 11) on Lap 14 which held up Ogura on exit and Vietti rode through the gap too, relegating the Honda Team Asia rider to fourth.

Meanwhile, the Marc VDS duo continued to lose touch with the four ahead as they sliced and diced each other. Matters came to a head on Lap 19 when Arbolino had a dive at Turn 2, making contact with Lowes which caused his team-mate to crash. The Briton vented his fury from the gravel trap while Arbolino would soon be issued a long lap penalty.

How they finished

It was looking like a solid recovery for Vietti, who would have extended his World Championship lead if he stayed ahead of Ogura, but then his bike suffered a technical issue less than three laps from home. Not only did he miss out on 16 points, the extra three which Ogura would collect by inheriting third position draws them level at the top of the table.

But there were no dramas for Acosta. He continued to pull away and ultimately took the chequered flag 4.051 seconds up on Roberts. Ogura finished third, and Arbolino still grabbed fourth, though just 0.015 seconds ahead of Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo). The rest of the top 10 was Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) in sixth, from Cameron Beaubier (American Racing), Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors Speed Up), Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP), and Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team). Pasini got the final World Championship points in 15th while, among the handful of riders who did not make the finish, Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) was another notable after his spill at Scarperia (Turn 10) on Lap 5.

Mugello produced a first-time winner, a seesawing championship picture, and a team-mate tangle. Find out what could possibly be in store next when Round 9, the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, takes place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on June 3-5.

Moto2™ Race Top 10:

1. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
2. Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) + 4.051
3. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 6.749
4. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 12.312
5. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 12.327
6. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) + 12.513
7. Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) + 12.849
8. Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors Speed Up) + 13.314
9. Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) + 14.703
10. Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) + 14.748

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