Moto2

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Moto2: Jorge Martin Clinches Victory in the Penultimate Round of the Season

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Published on November 15, 2020
By Jack Hammersley

Jorge ran a great race, taking the lead at turn one, but fell back to fourth during the race, but was able not to lose touch of Bezzecchi and was able to fight his way back up to the front, surprising Bezzecchi with a pass at turn 12 on the last lap to win the race

Hector Garzo showed great pace again just as he did last week, setting the fastest lap of the race. Garzo started in second on the grid, but lost four positions and was in sixth place on lap one. The Valencian didn’t give up and started his charge through the field, eventually getting himself up to third place by lap 11. The Flexbox HP40 Pons rider dropped back to fourth on lap 21 but managed to take advantage of Fabio Di Giannantonio’s crash on the last lap at turn six to move up back into third and then cut underneath Bezzecchi at turn 13 on the last lap to achieve his first Moto2 podium at his home track.

It was nearly the perfect race for SKY VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi as he got the holeshot into turn one, but was forced to sit up after Jorge Martin went up to his inside, dropping the Italian to fourth position. It didn’t take long for Marco to get back into first place, getting there by lap five. He then held off all challenges until Fabio Di Giannantonio overtook him at turn 11 on lap 20, but Fabio ran wide at turn 14 conceding the place back to Bezzecchi. Fabio the repeated the same move and made it stick on lap 24. But Fabio crashed out at turn six on the final lap. Marco looked to set to win his third race of the season and move into second place in the championship, but Martin dived up the inside at turn 12 and disturbed Marcos’ run through turn 13, causing him to fall behind Garzo. The third-place means that Bezzecchi is 23 points behind championship leader Enea Bastianini, but has to win in Portimao with Enea scoring no more than one point.

Marcel Schrotter had his best race since his podium in the Austrian Grand Prix. The German has struggled at times this year to run at the pace that he knows he can run, he started in seventh position on the grid and made it up to fifth by the end of lap one. Marcel then fell back one place to the charging Hector Garzo, he then kept a consistent pace and took advantage of the crashes of Stefano Manzi and Fabio Di Giannantonio to claim his first top-four position since Austria.

Luca Marini managed to do the job he needed to do, beat Enea Bastianini. However, it was only by one place with Luca finishing in fifth and Enea in sixth, meaning that the gap separating them in the championship is 18 points. This is a tough ask for Luca as he will need a win or second place with Enea having a bad finish. Luca had good pace once again as he did last week, but unfortunately, everyone else had good pace so he struggled to get past and he had to sit behind Schrotter for fifth. Next week will be Luca’s finally Moto 2 race before he moves into the MotoGP class with the Esponsorama SKY VR46 Ducati for 2021, can Luca end his last race on a high?

Enea Bastianini has done the job he needed to do and has extended his championship lead by eight points to now have a 14 point lead over the injured Sam Lowes. Enea didn’t quite have the pace of the top eight and decided to settle for ninth, but was able to take advantage of the mistakes from Jorge Navarro who crashed at turn one, as well as Manzi’s and Di Giannantonio’s crash. Should Sam Lowes win the race next weekend, Enea has to finish in fourth place to secure his maiden World Title, can Enea do it?

Britain’s Sam Lowes toughed it out in the race, picking up two vital points despite suffering from an injured right hand which he suffered in Free Practice Three on Saturday. Sam will now be looking to rest his hand and try to get over the pain barrier to try and fight for his first Moto 2 World Championship. Sam Lowes has great experience at the Portimao track, winning there in World Supersport in 2013, can Sam win against all odds to clinch to title?

It was a good start for the poleman, Stefano Manzi, as he was running inside the top five and was able to maintain the pace of Marco Bezzecchi, but on lap ten he started to fall back and ultimately crashed out on lap 11, crushing the hopes of a maiden podium finish for himself and the MV Agusta.

It’s all in favour of Enea Bastianini who leads the championship by 14 points ahead of Sam Lowes, 18 points ahead of Luca Marini and 23 points ahead of Marco Bezzecchi. They go to a circuit that is unfamiliar to most, who will be able to gain the upper hand and win the championship?

Featured Image: motogp.com

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