Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) storms to debut win in the final lap of Moto2™

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Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) took a sensational maiden victory in the Grand Prix of Qatar, beating his compatriot Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40) to the line as the victory was decided on the final lap under the floodlights. The 2017 rookie of the year secured his team’s debut victory in the class and began his season in the best possible way, as Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) rounded out the podium.

Getting a strong start off the line as the lights went out, Bagnaia took the lead into the first corner with the sun still in the sky, as pole position man Marquez had a slight moment with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in the run up to the opening corner. But it was the Italians making a break in the opening lap, with Bagnaia and Baldassarri leading the way ahead of Marquez, who quickly recovered from the wobble.

Setting the pace in the opening laps of 20, the SKY Racing Team VR46 rider began to pull out a lead around the Losail International Circuit with Baldassarri and Marquez chasing him down. The 32 riders kept the fight close with day turning to night throughout the first Moto2™ fight of the season. But they soon fell into a rhythm, with Bagnaia taking control of the race and leading the way ahead of the duo, and excitement filled the field as a group of five riders developed into a battle fourth.

Marquez fell into problems as he was close to overtaking the Pons HP40 bike for second, running off track through turn one of lap 15, with his rear brake disc glowing under the night sky. However this was not an issue set to end his race early, and the 21 year old clung onto the final podium spot, holding off Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) who took fourth position.

Continuing to lead into the penultimate laps, Bagnaia was etching ever closer to securing his debut victory in Moto2™, but Baldassarri began to hunt down his compatriot in the lead and the fight was neck and neck on the final lap. Getting into the strongest possible position on the final lap, Italian Baldassarri made his move into the penultimate corner and briefly took the lead however Bagnaia stole it straight back, holding his advantage following the long run to the line.

Oliveira finished in a distant top five, but was able to hold off Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) who secured sixth position overall after some tough battles throughout the race. Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) took eighth, beating his team-mate Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP) by just 0.097 over the line. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) won his battle for ninth, ahead of Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) who rounded out the top ten.

Making a very credible debut in the Moto2™ class, Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) moved up from 24th position on the grid to take a top 11 finish, ahead of Remy Gardner (Tech 3 Racing) in 12th position. 13th went to Hector Barbera (Pons HP40), who crossed the line 0.007 behind Gardner, as Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) took 14th, and Dominique Aegerter (Keifer Racing) secured the final points scoring finish this weekend in Qatar.

There were just two riders to not meet the chequered flag in the Grand Prix of Qatar, and it was a bad day for Swiss Innovative Investors. Iker Lecuona parked his bike up on the 10th lap, whilst team-mate Sam Lowes had a tough return, crashing out through turn 16.

GRAND PRIX OF QATAR

Moto2 Race Classification 2018

Pos.	Points	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time/Gap
1	25	42	Francesco BAGNAIA	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	Kalex	160.0	40’19.802
2	20	7	Lorenzo BALDASSARRI	ITA	Pons HP40	Kalex	160.0	+0.112
3	16	73	Alex MARQUEZ	SPA	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Kalex	159.7	+5.625
4	13	54	Mattia PASINI	ITA	Italtrans Racing Team	Kalex	159.6	+6.657
5	11	44	Miguel OLIVEIRA	POR	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	159.4	+10.296
6	10	41	Brad BINDER	RSA	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	159.3	+10.344
7	9	23	Marcel SCHROTTER	GER	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex	159.3	+11.419
8	8	97	Xavi VIERGE	SPA	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex	159.3	+11.516
9	7	10	Luca MARINI	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	Kalex	158.7	+20.690
10	6	9	Jorge NAVARRO	SPA	Federal Oil Gresini Moto2	Kalex	158.7	+20.961
11	5	36	Joan MIR	SPA	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Kalex	158.5	+23.025
12	4	87	Remy GARDNER	AUS	Tech 3 Racing	Tech 3	158.1	+30.292
13	3	40	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Pons HP40	Kalex	158.0	+30.299
14	2	24	Simone CORSI	ITA	Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2	Kalex	158.0	+30.732
15	1	77	Dominique AEGERTER	SWI	Kiefer Racing	KTM	158.0	+30.870
16		32	Isaac VIÑALES	SPA	SAG Team	Kalex	158.0	+31.052
17		52	Danny KENT	GBR	Beta Tools – Speed Up Racing	Speed Up	157.9	+31.958
18		64	Bo BENDSNEYDER	NED	Tech 3 Racing	Tech 3	157.9	+32.382
19		5	Andrea LOCATELLI	ITA	Italtrans Racing Team	Kalex	157.7	+35.228
20		20	Fabio QUARTARARO	FRA	Beta Tools – Speed Up Racing	Speed Up	157.7	+35.357
21		45	Tetsuta NAGASHIMA	JPN	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	Kalex	157.7	+35.969
22		4	Steven ODENDAAL	RSA	NTS RW Racing GP	NTS	157.3	+42.545
23		89	Khairul Idham PAWI	MAL	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	Kalex	157.2	+42.776
24		13	Romano FENATI	ITA	Marinelli Snipers Team	Kalex	157.1	+44.562
25		16	Joe ROBERTS	USA	NTS RW Racing GP	NTS	156.4	+56.077
26		62	Stefano MANZI	ITA	Forward Racing Team	Suter	156.1	+1’01.581
27		95	Jules DANILO	FRA	Nashi Argan SAG Team	Kalex	156.0	+1’01.853
28		63	Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN	MAL	SIC Racing Team	Kalex	155.4	+1’11.618
29		21	Federico FULIGNI	ITA	Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2	Kalex	154.9	+1’20.148
30		51	Eric GRANADO	BRA	Forward Racing Team	Suter	154.5	+1’26.192
Not Classified
		22	Sam LOWES	GBR	Swiss Innovative Investors	KTM	157.9	10 Laps
		27	Iker LECUONA	SPA	Swiss Innovative Investors	KTM	156.9	13 Laps

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of MotoGP.com

Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) storms to debut win in the final lap of Moto2™

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GRAND PRIX OF QATAR

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