VOL. 54 ISSUE 12 MARCH 28, 2017 P61
MOTO2: MORBIDELLI'S
FIRST TIME
Franco Morbidelli (EG Kalex)
was a popular first-time pole
qualifier, and took firm con-
trol of the race to become a
popular first-time winner. Less
popular however with his rivals,
for the dominant style of his vic-
tory, by a clear 2.6 seconds.
"I feel amazing—very happy,"
he said. Morbidelli came close to
winning several times last year,
but now the long wait was over.
He had a brief tussle with
Thomas Luthi on the first
couple of laps, before leaving
the Swiss CarXpert Kalex rider
to his own devices, resisting
steady pressure from the pursu-
ing Takaaki Nakagami's Idemit-
su Honda.
Nakagami had taken third
from second qualifier Alex
Marquez, Morbidelli's team-
mate, and now the Spaniard
was coming under pressure
from Miguel Oliveira, in his first
outing on the all-new Red Bull
KTM.
Marquez succumbed just be-
fore half distance, and dropped
away out of touch.
Oliveira however was gaining
pace, and starting to lean on
Nakagami. On the last lap he
looked close enough to chal-
lenge, but the experienced
Japanese managed to stay just
out of reach, finally finishing
just over half a second behind
Luthi, and three-tenths ahead
of the pushing Portuguese.
Marquez was a lone fifth.
It hadn't been a thriller up
front, but as so often a lively
pursuit pack provided some
action.
By the finish, Rossi's half-
brother Luca Marini (Forward
Kalex) got the better of long-
time group leader Fabio Quar-
tararo (Pons Kalex), and both
had got clear of the next five.
This quintet crossed the
line all within just over half a
second. By then, Lorenzo
Baldassarri (Forward Kalex) had
managed to get back in front for
eighth, denying Xavier Vierge
a strong finish for the improved
Tech3 chassis. Axel Pons (RW
Kalex) was right behind, then
Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer
Suter) and rookie Pecco Bag-
naia (SKY Kalex).
Aegerter was the top finisher
on the returned Suter chassis.
Teammate Danny Kent was
13th, having dropped back
through the group after a strong
start.
Jesko Raffin (Garage Plus
Kalex) took 14th from Xavier
Simeon (Tasca Kalex) on the
last lap, both having disposed
Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt
Kalex) to 16th, out of the points.
Moto3 Champion Brad
Binder (Red Bull KTM) was a
solitary 20th and fellow rookie
Jorge Navarro (Gresini Kalex)
crashed out.
Remy Gardner (Tech 3)
and Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas
Kalex) crashed out on the first
lap, Syahrin remounting only to
retire.
Franco Morbidelli
streaked clear to
take a dominant win.
