Moto2™ – FlexBox HP40’s Augusto Fernandez dramatic debut win in Motul TT Assen.

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FlexBox HP40’s Augusto Fernandez claimed a maiden Grand Prix win in the most dramatic of circumstances at the Motul TT Assen after teammate Lorenzo Baldassarri took out Championship leader Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) with two laps remaining in the fight for the lead. The Spaniard managed to escape the chaos and take the chequered flag in what was one of the best Moto2™ races of the season.

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder took the holeshot and fought off interest from behind, meaning KTM had finally led a lap in Moto2™ for the first time in 2019. Poleman Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) didn’t get the greatest start but set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 2 to move into second. Then, the Australian had a huge moment on the exit of Turn 5 and as a result slipped down the order to fifth. Meanwhile, Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini) and Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) were moving into contention behind Binder. On lap seven, Lowes dive through on Binder for the lead, but a slight mistake allowed Binder and Vierge to dive for a gap with the trio making contact. That allowed Fernandez to burst into the fight at the front by claiming third.

The race was beginning to resemble a Moto3™ scrap with no fewer than nine riders forming a lead group, with moves being made at every possible opportunity. Ten laps ticked by and the poleman Gardner made a big mistake at Turn 4 to slip down to twelfth before his race would come to a sudden end, on the same lap at the Geert Timmer Chicane, when the front end folded on him. Just two laps later, another contender went down after Lowes got tangled up with Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jorge Martin, cutting short the Brit’s charge. After a disappointing weekend, title protagonist Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) also crashed out on the same lap. Then, Martin would crash out as well, in what was turning into a race of attrition.

Nine frantic laps left and Binder would start to break clear, taking full advantage of some bumping and barging out of the final chicane. The South African was over a second clear but Championship leader Marquez wasn’t going to let him escape. In just two laps Marquez closed him in and was looking favourite to make it a fantastic fourth win on the bounce. However, the EG 0,0 Marc VDS rider brought the FlexBox HP40 pair of Baldassarri and Fernandez along with him, meaning we were treated to an eight-wheel scrap for the win as they moved into the closing stages. Behind, Vierge went down on the exit of Turn 5 and took Italtrans Racing Team’s Enea Bastianini with him in a scary incident.

With two laps remaining, the race-defining moment would unfold. With Binder already having been usurped as the race leader by Marquez, fellow Championship contender Baldassarri tried to squeeze past into Turn 4 but the front end folded, and the pair went down. A livid Marquez berated the Italian in the gravel trap, meanwhile, Fernandez fortuitously accepted the lead. The 21-year-old would take the chequered flag and a debut victory. He was joined on the podium by the battling Binder, for the first time this season, and SKY Racing Team VR46’s Luca Marini.

Dynavolt Intact GP’s Thomas Lüthi crosses the line in fourth and, following the nil points for Marquez, Baldassarri and Navarro, the Swiss rider will head to the Sachsenring as the new Moto2™ World Championship leader; now six points clear of Marquez.

ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team’s Tetsuta Nagashima claimed a career-best finish in fifth, ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) and Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward), who moved through from dead last on the grid to take MV Agusta’s best result on their return to Grand Prix racing. Rounding out the top ten were Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP), Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) and Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech 3).

Lüthi becomes the third different man to lead the title chase so far in 2019, can he cling on in Germany and hold off Marquez and Baldassarri, with the pairs dramatic clash surely igniting a fire in the belly of both.

Top 10:
1. Augusto Fernandez (FlexBox HP 40)
2. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.612
3. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 3.686
4. Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) + 4.028
5. Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) + 5.391
6. Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) + 13.127
7. Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) + 13.183
8. Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) + 13.567
9. Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) + 19.792
10. Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) + 21.291.

MOTUL TT ASSEN

Moto2 Race Classification 2019.

Pos.	Points	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time/Gap
1	25	40	Augusto FERNANDEZ	SPA	FLEXBOX HP 40	Kalex	165.9	39’24.779
2	20	41	Brad BINDER	RSA	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	165.9	+0.612
3	16	10	Luca MARINI	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	Kalex	165.6	+3.686
4	13	12	Thomas LUTHI	SWI	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex	165.6	+4.028
5	11	45	Tetsuta NAGASHIMA	JPN	ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team	Kalex	165.5	+5.391
6	10	5	Andrea LOCATELLI	ITA	Italtrans Racing Team	Kalex	165.0	+13.127
7	9	62	Stefano MANZI	ITA	MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward	MV Agusta	165.0	+13.183
8	8	23	Marcel SCHROTTER	GER	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex	165.0	+13.567
9	7	77	Dominique AEGERTER	SWI	MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward	MV Agusta	164.5	+19.792
10	6	72	Marco BEZZECCHI	ITA	Red Bull KTM Tech 3	KTM	164.4	+21.291
11	5	21	Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO	ITA	Beta Tools Speed Up	Speed Up	164.3	+23.591
12	4	96	Jake DIXON	GBR	Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team	KTM	164.1	+26.585
13	3	3	Lukas TULOVIC	GER	Kiefer Racing	KTM	163.8	+30.817
14	2	16	Joe ROBERTS	USA	American Racing KTM	KTM	163.5	+34.122
15	1	27	Iker LECUONA	SPA	American Racing KTM	KTM	163.7	+34.406
16		4	Steven ODENDAAL	RSA	NTS RW Racing GP	NTS	163.1	+40.034
17		94	Jonas FOLGER	GER	Petronas Sprinta Racing	Kalex	162.4	+51.405
18		18	Xavi CARDELUS	AND	Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team	KTM	161.8	+59.200
Not Classified
		73	Alex MARQUEZ	SPA	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Kalex	165.9	2 Laps
		7	Lorenzo BALDASSARRI	ITA	FLEXBOX HP 40	Kalex	165.8	2 Laps
		97	Xavi VIERGE	SPA	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Kalex	165.7	5 Laps
		33	Enea BASTIANINI	ITA	Italtrans Racing Team	Kalex	165.7	5 Laps
		88	Jorge MARTIN	SPA	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	165.6	10 Laps
		22	Sam LOWES	GBR	Federal Oil Gresini Moto2	Kalex	165.7	14 Laps
		9	Jorge NAVARRO	SPA	Beta Tools Speed Up	Speed Up	165.1	14 Laps
		87	Remy GARDNER	AUS	ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team	Kalex	165.5	15 Laps
		11	Nicolo BULEGA	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	Kalex	127.1	22 Laps
		24	Simone CORSI	ITA	Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2	Kalex	151.9	23 Laps
		64	Bo BENDSNEYDER	NED	NTS RW Racing GP	NTS	151.3	23 Laps

Moto2 World Standing 2019.

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Thomas LUTHI	Kalex	SWI	117
2	Alex MARQUEZ	Kalex	SPA	111
3	Augusto FERNANDEZ	Kalex	SPA	92
4	Jorge NAVARRO	Speed Up	SPA	89
5	Lorenzo BALDASSARRI	Kalex	ITA	88
6	Luca MARINI	Kalex	ITA	84
7	Marcel SCHROTTER	Kalex	GER	81
8	Brad BINDER	KTM	RSA	64
9	Enea BASTIANINI	Kalex	ITA	56
10	Remy GARDNER	Kalex	AUS	41
11	Tetsuta NAGASHIMA	Kalex	JPN	41
12	Xavi VIERGE	Kalex	SPA	39
13	Sam LOWES	Kalex	GBR	33
14	Andrea LOCATELLI	Kalex	ITA	30
15	Iker LECUONA	KTM	SPA	27
16	Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO	Speed Up	ITA	24
17	Mattia PASINI	Kalex	ITA	18
18	Nicolo BULEGA	Kalex	ITA	16
19	Dominique AEGERTER	MV Agusta	SWI	12
20	Stefano MANZI	MV Agusta	ITA	10
21	Simone CORSI	Kalex	ITA	10
22	Marco BEZZECCHI	KTM	ITA	6
23	Somkiat CHANTRA	Kalex	THA	6
24	Bo BENDSNEYDER	NTS	NED	5
25	Jake DIXON	KTM	GBR	4
26	Joe ROBERTS	KTM	USA	4
27	Lukas TULOVIC	KTM	GER	3
28	Khairul Idham PAWI	Kalex	MAL	3
29	Jesko RAFFIN	NTS	SWI	3
30	Jorge MARTIN	KTM	SPA	3
31	Steven ODENDAAL	NTS	RSA
32	Jonas FOLGER	Kalex	GER
33	Philipp OETTL	KTM	GER
34	Xavi CARDELUS	KTM	AND
35	Dimas EKKY PRATAMA	Kalex	INA
36	Gabriele RUIU	MV Agusta	ITA

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of motogp.com

Moto2™ – FlexBox HP40’s Augusto Fernandez dramatic debut win in Motul TT Assen.

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2019_cf_08_ned_m2_race.mxf.12_57_15_19.imagen-fija001_0.small

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3003_08_2019_ned_m2_race_intw_baldasarri_marquez_en_0.small

MOTUL TT ASSEN

Moto2 World Standing 2019.

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