MOTOGP
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 6/MAY 31, 2015
MUGELLO CIRCUIT/MUGELLO, ITALY
P72
>>RABAT'S
RESURGENCE
Speed Up's Sam Lowes was on
pole for a second time this year;
Estrella VDS Kalex' Tito Rabat on the
far end of row one. The surprise, be-
tween them, was Dominique Aegerter,
hitherto struggling in vain in his switch
from Suter to Kalex.
His Technomag team found a new
setting in practice, and "something
happened. I felt comfortable, and
I was surprised to be second," the
Swiss rider said after the race. "I was
surprised also to be leading the race."
Lead away he did, though; from
Lowes and Thomas Luthi on the Der-
endinger Kalex.
As they started lap two, Lowes col-
lided with Athina Kalex' Simone Corsi,
who had just taken second, putting
the Italian out and dropping out of
contention to ninth. By the end of the
lap, Luthi was ahead and looking set
to repeat his commanding win at Le
Mans.
A short-lived impression, for at the
downhill sweeping right near the end
of the lap he slipped off cleanly, and
slid away.
This put Aegerter back in front; fast-
starting Xavier Simeon on the Federal
Oils Kalex a close second, with Rabat
up to third, followed by two-race win-
ner Jonas Folger on the AGR Kalex
and title leader—Ajo Kalex' Johann
Zarco.
Simeon would drop back and
Folger crashed out for a second race
in a row. Rabat would take the lead on
lap seven; with Zarco also ahead of
Aegerter three laps later.
This settled the top three order, but
not without drama. Zarco was seldom
more than a second adrift, and at the
start of the final lap had closed to with-
in less than half a second. Not quite
enough, however, to prevent Rabat
taking his first win of the year by three
tenths, and putting his title defense on
More bad luck for Marc Marquez.
