Iannone takes the Moto2 race with a heart-stopping finish in Catalonia

In one of those races as thrilling as they are hard-fought in the intermediate Moto2 category, the Italian Andrea Iannone claimed victory at the Montmeló circuit, after a fierce battle with Thomas Luthi and Marc Márquez, who ultimately joined him on the podium.

The start was highly contested, with Márquez, Elías, Luthi, Iannone and Aegerter fighting for position into the braking zone. Unfortunately, at that first corner we saw Julián Simón go down again along with Gino Rea and Mike Di Meglio, which brought an unlucky weekend to an end for the rider from Villacañas.

In the early laps a group of three riders formed: Iannone, Luthi and Márquez, leaving Pol Espargaró struggling to break away from the group and make contact in the fight for the podium. Little by little he managed it and, taking advantage of a few slipstreams from the riders ahead, he managed to catch up.

But the final blow came 3 laps from the end. Marc avoided a crash by putting his elbow down and opened his line to move back to the inside, where Pol was passing through his line. The two made contact and the worst off was Espargaró, who suffered a very hard impact and said goodbye to his final fight.

Andrea Iannone took advantage of all this to claim victory ahead of Thomas Luthi and Marc Márquez. Everything is still up in the air, however, as after the MotoGP race Race Direction called both riders in to clarify the incident and determine whether it was a racing incident or something intentional.

As for the rest of the Spanish riders, after Márquez’s 3rd place, Tito Rabat finished 4th, Nico Terol 15th, Jordi Torres 16th, Ricky Cardús 19th, Ángel Rodríguez 20th, Axel Pons 22nd and Elena Rosell 26th. Did not finish due to crashes: Pol Espargaró, Toni Elías and Julián Simón.

Statements from Andrea Iannone:

It was very exciting and I had a lot of fun. The bike is new and I really felt the lack of confidence, but it was incredible to battle with Marc and Thomas here at the Montmeló circuit.

Statements from Thomas Luthi:

It was a tough race. I rode hard at the start and struggled to find my rhythm. On the last lap I couldn’t hold my line, so I preferred to finish second rather than risk a crash.

Statements from Marc Márquez:

It was a very tough race. I had a scare and felt Pol’s wheel. He hit me from behind because I didn’t see him. Even so, I apologise to him.

Photos | motogp.com