Bradl wins the Moto2 race at Catalunya and Simón is injured

After the great 125cc race, controversy included, it was the turn of the Moto2 category to head out to the Circuit de Catalunya to contest the fifth round of the season. The riders went out for the positioning lap and then the warm-up lap, before finally seeing the lights go out.

At that moment Aleix Espargaró got off to a very strong start with Stefan Bradl right behind him and a great Julián Simón, while Marc Márquez had problems at the start and dropped back somewhat, into a complicated group, so he once again had to fight his way back through the field.

Meanwhile, up front, Espargaró and Bradl had their ups and downs, but the German took the lead and began to show his pace. For his part, Simón showed his claws and gave the elder Espargaró brother a hard time, eventually passing the 40 starter to take second place in pursuit of Bradl, who had opened a gap thanks to this battle between the Spaniards.

Behind them, a great Márquez was making up positions, as were Aegerter and Sofuoglu, who were very strong and went with the Catalan, while some of the race favourites were out after crashes, such as Luthi and Takahashi, and later Simón’s crash.

Bradl was already racing alone. Simón tried to close the distance, but Turkish rider Sofuoglu caught him from behind, unluckily clipping the rear of the Mapfre Aspar bike with his wheel. Simón was literally thrown into the air and landed very badly on the ground, with his neck in an awkward position and suffering a heavy impact. We were all worried at that moment, but when he half got up we calmed down, although then the bad news came: Simón has fractured his tibia and fibula, so he will presumably be operated on now or they will leave it until tomorrow morning.

A shame about Simón’s crash. The 60 did not deserve this result at all; he was starting to come alive in the race and things were improving, and right now this blow will keep him out for quite some time, during a period when the races come thick and fast. Without a doubt, it’s a bad turn of events…

For his part, the German Bradl continues his triumphant stroll as leader of the category and achieves another victory, while behind him Márquez was second and A. Espargaró third, benefiting from the crashes of the riders ahead.

A great race from Márquez, who had a lot of work to do from the midpack, and also for Espargaró, who got the maximum out of his bike to make the podium for the first time in the Motorcycle World Championship. So from here we congratulate both of them, although this race will be marked by Simón’s crash.

Closing out the top ten of the race were Corsi fourth, Krummenacher fifth, De Angelis sixth, Rabat seventh, Kallio eighth, Hernández ninth and Neukirchner tenth.

Bradl now has a 43-point lead over Iannone, who today had another comeback session from last place to 15th, and who remains the second-placed rider in the overall standings.

An interesting race, with a lot of pace from our riders, but dominated by Bradl almost from the start, and marred by Simón’s injury.

From here we send all our support and encouragement to Julián Simón. We look forward to seeing you as champion.

You can now see the photos of the Moto2 category at the Circuit de Catalunya 2011. We hope you like them, although the quality isn’t very good.