MOTOGP
FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 5 / MAY 15-17, 2017
BUGATTI CIRCUIT / LE MANS, FRANCE
P112
MOTO2
Thomas Luthi had qualified on pole
and was hoping for a fourth win at a
track that favors him. Accordingly,
the CarXpert Kalex rider took off in
the lead—only to be displaced by the
end of the lap by Franco Morbidelli
(EG-VDS Kalex).
Class rookie Pecco Bagnaia (SKY
VR46 Kalex), qualified second, was
with them, and second EG-VDS rider
Alex Marquez would soon take fourth
from Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer
Suter).
These four would dominate the
race, with Luthi taking the lead on lap
seven, only to be firmly nudged out
the next time around by Morbidelli,
dropping to fourth as a result.
At this point, Marquez was ahead
of Bagnaia, but in the confusion the
Italian regained second place, and
from there to the end he chased Mor-
bidelli home.
It wasn't as dull as it sounds,
for there was seldom much more
than half-a-second between them,
and they were trading fastest laps.
Morbidelli broke Luthi's record for
the first time on lap 12, then it was
Bagnaia's turn, then Morbidelli twice
more again, as he strove to stay
ahead of the impressively talented
Rossi protégé, who had given Mahin-
dra their first wins in Moto3.
There were just four-tenths in it
as they started the last lap, but after
crashing out at Jerez, Morbidelli was
immovable from a fourth win of the
season, and by the end Bagnaia had
backed off for a safe finish, his sec-
ond time in a row to be second.
Luthi, who never felt as comfort-
able as he did in practice, took until
Franco Morbidelli
(21) didn't look like
a race winner all
weekend until the
green light went out,
then he showed his
true mettle to take a
stellar victory.
