Moto2™ – Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) shines in Qatar to claim maiden Grand Prix victory.

Well, on Lap 12, the gap was back down to six tenths. An important thing to start remembering was Roberts’ front tyre choice – the American on the harder option than the riders around him, with Nagashima starting to look a serious threat in P5 having gone over half a second quicker than Marini on Lap 12. With eight to go the Japanese man was up to P4 past Bastianini and sat just over a second behind race leader Marini, the Moto2™ race in Qatar was shaping up incredibly nicely as the battle entered the final seven laps.

A certain man on a Beta Tools Speed Up bike was starting to reel the leaders in too. Jorge Navarro – just as he did for much of 2019 – was coming into his own on used tyres and with little over five laps remaining, a mistake from Marini allowed the leading six to bunch up and Roberts led, before Bastianini snatched the baton with five laps remaining. It looked like it was game over for Marini, his pace dropped off a cliff and with four to go, the leading four were Baldassarri, Bastianini, Roberts and Nagashima. With four laps remaining, Nagashima was looking ominous in his pursuit to the front. The Ajo-backed rider picked off Roberts for P3 before taking control of the race at Turn 2 with three to go – and immediately Nagashima was creeping away.

The number 45 grabbed a 0.3 lead as the race entered the final two laps, with the battle for the remaining podium places bubbling up nicely. Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) was latching onto the back of Navarro as five riders scrapped it out behind Nagashima, who – by the time he’d clocked onto the final lap – was over a second clear. Simply stunning latter race pace for the Japanese man and Nagashima would make no mistake on the final lap to take an emotional first Grand Prix victory, 10 years since Tomizawa, who was “like a brother” to Nagashima, made history in 2010. Baldassarri and Bastianini held off the challenge to pick up podiums at the opening round, with Roberts claiming his career-best finish in P4 – a fantastic weekend for the American despite missing out on a podium by a tenth.