MOTOGP
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 9/JULY 12, 2015
SACHSENRING CIRCUIT/SACHSENRING, GERMANY
P74
>>SIMEON'S FIRST
It's not often that Moto2 has so many
riders still close into the final corner. This
time, there were two less on the way out
of it than on the way in, as early leader
Franco Morbidelli on the Italtrans Kalex
took out defending champion Tito Rabat
on the E-G VDS Kalex.
It made no difference to the two up
front, but potentially plenty of differ-
ence to the championship, helping
big-time points leader Johan Zarco on
the Ajo Kalex to increase his over-
all lead even while he lost his own
long-time lead of the race to first-time
winner Xavier Simeon on the Federal
Oils Kalex.
Zarco had qualified on pole from
Simeon and Morbidelli, with Rabat at the
far end of row two, barely a week after
smashing his collarbone in a test crash.
Morbidelli led away; then Simeon
for two laps before Zarco took over on
the fourth. By then second-row starter
Simone Corsi on the Athina Kalex
had been among them and dropped
away to fourth, where he was briefly
challenged by on-form teammate Mika
Kallio. In the meantime, Rabat was
picking his way up to sixth from ninth
on lap one, bringing Alex Rins on the
Paginas Amarillas Kalex with him.
By half distance, Zarco, Morbidelli
and Simeon were locked together up
front; while a little way back Corsi was
about to fall victim to both Rabat and
Rins; with Kallio now losing ground
behind Tom Luthi on the Derendinger
Kalex and Speed Up's Sam Lowes,
locked in combat.
Rabat and Rins outpaced Corsi as
the defending champion pulled his
class-rookie countryman up to the
battle for the lead.
With nine laps left, Zarco started to
gap Morbidelli; and Simeon took his
chance to seize second and close in
on the leader. With four laps to go he
dove inside under brakes at the first
corner, and would fend off the French-
man to the finish.
The fight was now for third, not
far behind, with Morbidelli coming
under increasing threat as the end
drew nigh. Rabat finally got passed
on the second-last corner; the Italian
immediately fought back, taking a tight
line into the final left-hander. Too tight.
The front slipped away, and his bike
slid directly into Rabat, taking both
cartwheeling into the gravel and hand-
ing a close third to Rins.
Corsi was a lone fourth; Lowes
finally got the better of Luthi, who
