Moto2™ – Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) goes back-to-back as Championship takes seismic shift.

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A seismic shift took place in the fight to be crowned 2020 Moto2™ World Champion at the Michelin Aragon Grand Prix, as both Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) took full profit off SKY Racing Team VR46’s double disaster with a one-two finish. Following Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi’s crash, now just five points separate the top three riders in the title chase with only four rounds remaining.

As the lights went out in Aragon, it was a super start from Bezzecchi as he took the holeshot from second on the grid with Petronas Sprinta Racing’s Jake Dixon swooping through to third from row two. Early drama then struck as Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) crashed at the opening corner following contact with Marcos Ramirez (Tennor American Racing), but the Spaniard thankfully walked away from a scary crash.

Poleman Lowes ran slightly wide at Turn 12 from second and allowed Fabio Di Giannantonio (MB Conveyors Speed Up) through after the Italian had earlier got the better of Dixon. But Lowes was straight back up the inside as he set his sights on Bezzecchi out front. On Lap 3, the Moto2™ World Championship took its biggest twist yet as leader Luca Marini tucked the front through Turn 14 and the chase to be crowned the intermediate class King was suddenly blown wide open.

Teammate Bezzecchi would be the new Championship leader if he could hold on to victory but his task was made tougher when both Lowes and Di Giannantonio disposed of his half a second advantage to make it a three-way fight at the front. Friday’s fastest man Di Giannantonio made his move on Lowes with fourteen laps remaining at MotorLand, seemingly feeling he had the pace to strike on Bezzecchi. Further back there was an important Championship shuffle taking place when Enea Bastianini edged ahead of Jake Dixon for the final place inside the top five.

Ten laps now completed and, for the first time, we saw a change of the lead as Di Giannantonio pounced on his compatriot at Turn 14. The pair were side-by-side down the near kilometre-long back straight but the Speed Up man was able to hold on as they went through the final corner. The trio at the front started lap eleven, flicking left through Turn 1 and then, just at they went right through Turn 2, the front-end of Di Giannantonio’s Speed Up folded and his hopes of a career-first intermediate class win went up in smoke.

It left Bezzecchi and Lowes at the front, with Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) beginning to loom ominously in the background now only a second adrift of the Italian and the Briton. Bastianini was well in contention too, half a second off the rear wheel of Martin in fourth having escaped the attention of Dixon. Seven laps now remaining as Bastianini finally got the better of Martin with a classy move under the shadow of the MotorLand wall.

Martin wasn’t going to just sit and let Bastianini escape though, with the Red Bull KTM Ajo man immediately finding a response to take back the final podium spot. It didn’t last long though, with The Beast finding a way back past on the brakes into Turn 8.

Now five laps left and at the front Bezzzecchi was still in control, half a second clear of Lowes. Three seconds further back and Bastianini held third place, himself three tenths clear of Martin, with the pair having lost touch of the leading duo due to their squabble over third. The laps ticked by and the end drew nearer with Bezzecchi on course for victory before another monumental moment in the World Championship chase took place with Bezzecchi crashing out at Turn 2 with only two laps remaining.

Jaw-dropping drama at MotorLand Aragon as Lowes swooped through to take the lead for the first time all race and incredibly took the mantle as Championship leader too. Martin got himself in front of Bastianini on the penultimate lap only for Bastianini to steal second back in the final sector on the final lap with his clinical, ruthless and vital move securing the extra four points that would see him sit atop of the Moto2™ World Championship with four rounds now remaining.

At the front, it was all about Sam Lowes, however, as the 30-year-old secured back-to-back victories for the first time in his Grand Prix career. With Bastianini crossing the line in second ahead of Martin, it meant we saw all four Championship challengers leading the title chase at one point during an incredible Aragon Grand Prix. Ahead of next weekend’s second Aragon encounter, the Italian is just two points clear of Lowes with Marini only three further back in third.

Further back, Dixon well and truly bounced back from his Le Mans heartbreak by clinching a career-best finish in fourth. ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team’s Remy Gardner got the better of Ramirez and Hector Garzo (FlexBox HP 40) in the fight for the final place inside the top five. Tennor American Racing’s Joe Roberts ended up eighth, before Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Simone Corsi (MV Agusta Forward Racing) rounded out the top ten.

Top 10:
1. Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS)
2. Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) + 4.195
3. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 4.340
4. Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 9.298
5. Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) + 14.765
6. Marcos Ramirez (Tennor American Racing) + 15.130
7. Hector Garzo (Flexbox HP 40) + 15.192
8. Joe Roberts (Tennor American Racing) + 17.024
9. Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 19.000
10. Simone Corsi (MV Agusta Forward Racing) + 20.206.

GRAN PREMIO MICHELIN® DE ARAGÓN

Moto2 Race Classification 2020.

Pos.	Points	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time/Gap
1	25	22	Sam LOWES	GBR	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Kalex	161.7	39’33.202
2	20	33	Enea BASTIANINI	ITA	Italtrans Racing Team	Kalex	161.4	+4.195
3	16	88	Jorge MARTIN	SPA	Red Bull KTM Ajo	Kalex	161.4	+4.340
4	13	96	Jake DIXON	GBR	Petronas Sprinta Racing	Kalex	161.1	+9.298
5	11	87	Remy GARDNER	AUS	Onexox TKKR SAG Team	Kalex	160.7	+14.765
6	10	42	Marcos RAMIREZ	SPA	Tennor American Racing	Kalex	160.7	+15.130
7	9	40	Hector GARZO	SPA	Flexbox HP 40	Kalex	160.7	+15.192
8	8	16	Joe ROBERTS	USA	Tennor American Racing	Kalex	160.5	+17.024
9	7	45	Tetsuta NAGASHIMA	JPN	Red Bull KTM Ajo	Kalex	160.4	+19.000
10	6	24	Simone CORSI	ITA	MV Agusta Forward Racing	MV Agusta	160.3	+20.206
11	5	37	Augusto FERNANDEZ	SPA	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Kalex	160.2	+22.661
12	4	12	Thomas LUTHI	SWI	Liqui Moly Intact GP	Kalex	160.1	+22.692
13	3	57	Edgar PONS	SPA	Federal Oil Gresini Moto2	Kalex	160.1	+22.995
14	2	62	Stefano MANZI	ITA	MV Agusta Forward Racing	MV Agusta	160.1	+23.301
15	1	23	Marcel SCHROTTER	GER	Liqui Moly Intact GP	Kalex	160.1	+23.989
16		97	Xavi VIERGE	SPA	Petronas Sprinta Racing	Kalex	159.9	+26.747
17		19	Lorenzo DALLA PORTA	ITA	Italtrans Racing Team	Kalex	159.9	+26.862
18		11	Nicolò BULEGA	ITA	Federal Oil Gresini Moto2	Kalex	159.8	+27.686
19		55	Hafizh SYAHRIN	MAL	Kipin Energy Aspar Team Moto2	Speed Up	159.8	+27.761
20		7	Lorenzo BALDASSARRI	ITA	Flexbox HP 40	Kalex	159.8	+27.892
21		64	Bo BENDSNEYDER	NED	NTS RW Racing GP	NTS	159.2	+36.250
22		27	Andi Farid IZDIHAR	INA	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	Kalex	158.7	+44.779
23		35	Somkiat CHANTRA	THA	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	Kalex	158.6	+45.687
24		18	Xavi CARDELUS	AND	Kipin Energy Aspar Team Moto2	Speed Up	158.5	+47.231
25		99	Kasma DANIEL	MAL	Onexox TKKR SAG Team	Kalex	157.8	+58.178
26		74	Piotr BIESIEKIRSKI	POL	NTS RW Racing GP	NTS	157.4	+1’05.154
27		9	Jorge NAVARRO	SPA	MB Conveyors Speed Up	Speed Up	134.6	3 Laps
Not Classified
		72	Marco BEZZECCHI	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	Kalex	161.8	2 Laps
		21	Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO	ITA	MB Conveyors Speed Up	Speed Up	161.7	11 Laps
		10	Luca MARINI	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	Kalex	159.3	19 Laps

Moto2 World Standing 2020

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Enea BASTIANINI	Kalex	ITA	155
2	Sam LOWES	Kalex	GBR	153
3	Luca MARINI	Kalex	ITA	150
4	Marco BEZZECCHI	Kalex	ITA	130
5	Jorge MARTIN	Kalex	SPA	95
6	Tetsuta NAGASHIMA	Kalex	JPN	79
7	Joe ROBERTS	Kalex	USA	74
8	Remy GARDNER	Kalex	AUS	72
9	Thomas LUTHI	Kalex	SWI	72
10	Marcel SCHROTTER	Kalex	GER	61
11	Aron CANET	Speed Up	SPA	61
12	Xavi VIERGE	Kalex	SPA	59
13	Augusto FERNANDEZ	Kalex	SPA	54
14	Lorenzo BALDASSARRI	Kalex	ITA	47
15	Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO	Speed Up	ITA	45
16	Jorge NAVARRO	Speed Up	SPA	41
17	Jake DIXON	Kalex	GBR	35
18	Hector GARZO	Kalex	SPA	34
19	Marcos RAMIREZ	Kalex	SPA	25
20	Stefano MANZI	MV Agusta	ITA	20
21	Hafizh SYAHRIN	Speed Up	MAL	18
22	Nicolò BULEGA	Kalex	ITA	17
23	Simone CORSI	MV Agusta	ITA	14
24	Somkiat CHANTRA	Kalex	THA	10
25	Bo BENDSNEYDER	NTS	NED	5
26	Edgar PONS	Kalex	SPA	5
27	Lorenzo DALLA PORTA	Kalex	ITA	5
28	Dominique AEGERTER	NTS	SWI	4
29	Mattia PASINI	Kalex	ITA
30	Andi Farid IZDIHAR	Kalex	INA
31	Kasma DANIEL	Kalex	MAL
32	Piotr BIESIEKIRSKI	NTS	POL
33	Jesko RAFFIN	NTS	SWI
34	Alejandro MEDINA	Speed Up	SPA
35	Xavi CARDELUS	Speed Up	AND

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of motogp.com

Moto2™ – Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) goes back-to-back as Championship takes seismic shift.

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GRAN PREMIO MICHELIN® DE ARAGÓN

Moto2 World Standing 2020

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