Tag: Albert Arenas

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Moto2: Dixon Takes Second Win of the Season

Jake Dixon takes his second win of the season following a number of battles with second place finisher Aron Canet and championship leader Pedro Acosta. The podium was completed by the local racer, Albert Arenas. Acosta’s closest rival, Tony Arbolino, finished down the order in 17th place.

Both Dixon and Ai Ogura made good starts when the lights went out, but it was the Brit who retained the lead into the first corner. Manuel Gonzalez improved to second place at turn two and immediately began looking to make a move on the race leader. Acosta gained one position on the first lap to sit in eighth place.

Gonzalez was able to make a move on Dixon during the second lap, but the pair swapped back and forth and by the third lap Gonzalez, Dixon and third placed rider Canet began to break away from the main pack.

A successful move for the lead was made by Gonzalez on the fifth lap into turn one. Dixon continued to drop down the order following a move from Canet on the Asterius GASGAS Aspar Team rider. Acosta continued his charge up the field and by lap 9 he was on the tail of Dixon.

The lead changed hands on lap 10 when Canet made a move into the first corner on his fellow countryman and Acosta made the same move but on Dixon. The following lap, Acosta was able to take second place from Gonzalez but this fighting behind Canet allowed the Pons Wegow Los40 rider to start to extend his lead at the front of the field.

Fermin Aldeguer was having a strong race in the chasing pack before he was given a long lap penalty on lap 12 for exceeding track limits. He took the penalty, but race control determined that he did not take it correctly, so he had to do it again. This dropped him down the order and took him out of contention for the higher points.

Gonzalez began to struggle around lap thirteen and Dixon was able to take the inside line at turn one and get past him. The British rider was able to join Acosta and Canet to form a small breakaway from the fourth placed rider.

It only took a few laps for Acosta to begin to shape up a move on Canet and the move was completed at turn 12 on lap 14. Canet immediately began looking to take the lead back and as Acosta had a wobble on lap fifteen, he hoped he could make a move.

But Dixon was able to make the move on Canet down the start-finish straight on lap 16 and took the inside line into turn one. Canet immediately repaid the favour by making a block pass at turn three and retook the lead at turn thirteen.

Acosta made the move on Canet on lap 17 to regain the lead and Dixon almost followed him through but was unable to. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider made a mistake following that overtake and dropped down the order to fifth place after being passed by Dixon, Canet, Arenas, and Gonzalez.

The lead swapped hands once again with Dixon taking the lead at turn ten on lap 18. But the drama began slightly further down the field with Acosta having contact with Alonso Lopez and both went off the track, dropping them down to sixth and seventh respectively.

Canet continued to look at making a move on Dixon into the final lap at turns one, three and twelve but could not do so allowing Dixon to come across the line in first place, taking his second win of the season.

Arenas took his first podium of the season by finishing in third place. He was followed by Sergio Garcia, Gonzalez and Acosta who extended his championship lead. Ogura finished the race in seventh followed by Lopez who may be on the receiving end of a penalty due to cutting a corner when he rejoined the racetrack. Sam Lowes finished the race in ninth place with Celestino Vietti following just behind in tenth.

Feature image credit: MotoGP on TNT Sports on X (https://twitter.com/motogpontnt/status/1698257387352678879/photo/1)

CATALUNYA MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, BARCELONA – RACE RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM BIKE TIME
1 Jake Dixon GBR Asterius GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 36m 51.330s
2 Aron Canet SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 36m 51.535s
3 Albert Arenas SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 36m 52.357s
4 Sergio Garcia SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 36m 53.588s
5 Manuel Gonzalez SPA Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 36m 53.992s
6 Pedro Acosta SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 36m 54.994s
7 Ai Ogura JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 36m 55.569s
8 Alonso Lopez SPA Beta Tools SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 36m 55.644s
9 Sam Lowes GBR Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 36m 55.937s
10 Celestino Vietti ITA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 37m 0.059s
11 Joe Roberts USA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 37m 0.806s
12 Barry Baltus BEL Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 37m 0.926s
13 Fermín Aldeguer SPA Beta Tools SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 37m 1.151s
14 Somkiat Chantra THA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 37m 2.300s
15 Jeremy Alcoba SPA QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 37m 2.513s
16 Marcos Ramirez SPA OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 37m 2.645s
17 Tony Arbolino ITA Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 37m 8.189s
18 Zonta Vd Goorbergh NED Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 37m 9.677s
19 Lukas Tulovic GER Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 37m 16.867s
20 Borja Gomez SPA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 37m 17.118s
21 Dennis Foggia ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 37m 17.518s
22 Mattia Rato ITA Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) 37m 20.773s
23 Rory Skinner GBR OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 37m 26.538s
24 Kohta Nozane JPN Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 37m 30.693s
25 Izan Guevara SPA Asterius GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 37m 43.416s
26 Yeray Ruiz SPA Forward Team (Forward) 37m 44.538s
  Filip Salac CZE QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) DNF
  Bo Bendsneyder NED Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) DNF
  Senna Agius AUS Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) DNF
  Alberto Surra ITA Forward Team (Forward) DNF

 

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Moto2: Fernandez Wins Action-Packed Dutch GP

Augusto Fernandez has taken back-to-back wins after taking victory in Assen. Ai Ogura enjoyed a phenomenal race as he fought his way back from 16th to 2nd. The final podium position was taken by our pole sitter, Jake Dixon, enjoying only his second ever Moto2 podium.

This year’s Dutch GP in Assen was a true spectacle with 24 laps full of action. For much of the race, we had a 7-way battle for the lead with no idea who would cross the line in the podium positions.

Augusto Fernandez eventually came out on top, enjoying back-to-back wins for only the second time in his career. With a clinical performance and well-timed moves, he took the lead on lap 17 and never looked back.

Second place went to Ai Ogura who was, arguably, the rider of the day. He faced two scary moments in the opening stages of the race, causing him to drop back to 16th.

The final podium spot went to this weekend’s polesitter, Jake Dixon. After struggling in the early stages, he found his rhythm in the latter stages and secured his second career podium.

It was a difficult day for Marcel Schrotter and Albert Arenas who had been part of the leading pack for most of the race. On lap 12, Schrotter crashed out from the lead, missing the opportunity for his maiden Moto2 win. Two laps before the checkered flag fell, Arenas also crashed out, missing out on his maiden Moto2 podium.

Despite starting on the front row, Sam Lowes also faced a difficult race. He was forced out wide on the first corner of the first lap, meaning he tumbled down to the back of the grid, before then crashing on lap 4.

Our championship leader Celestino Vietti, having started the race in 11th, was able to capitalise on these misfortunes to come home in 4th. He brought with him the home hero, Bo Bendsneyder, who crossed the line in with a career-best 5th.

Alonso Lopez, after flying off the line at the start of the race and enjoying a strong battle with the leading pack, slipped back down the grid in the latter stages of the race and ended the day in 6th.

Rounding out the top 10 was Tony Arbolino, Joe Roberts, Manuel Gonzalez and Filip Salac who all enjoyed a relatively quiet race in comparison to the leading group.

The weekend’s action was missing Aron Canet, who is still struggling with consistent nose bleeds after a car crash a few weeks ago, and Pedro Acosta, who is recovering from surgery after a training crash a few days ago.

As we head into the 5-week summer break, momentum is clearly with Fernandez. However, the battle will be hot when the grid returns in Silverstone, as the top three championship contenders are covered by just 1 point.

 

As It Happened

As the lights went out, Dixon and Lowes got a brilliant start, flying off the line. Lowes came up alongside Arenas and looked set to steal 2nd from him. However, as Lopez switched to the inside of Turn 1, he pushed Lowes wide and sent him tumbling down the order. It was a late and aggressive move from Lopez which saw Lowes sent to the back of the grid. A few corners later and Lopez was back at it again, making another aggressive move past Arenas to take 2nd.

Dixon, who had maintained the lead after his pole position start, was next on Lopez’s list. In a move that seemed to come from nowhere, Lopez snatched the lead away from the Brit rider and was leading the pack for the first time in his Moto2 career. As the grid crosses the line for the first time, Lopez was 1st, ahead of the Aspar duo of Dixon in 2nd and Arenas in 3rd. Schrotter was just behind in 4th, having started in 10th, with Ogura in 5th.

Image Credit: MotoGP

On the second lap, Ogura faced the first of two scary moments which forced him up and out of his seat as the bike wobbled beneath him. He dropped down to 9th before a similar issue on the following lap then caused him to drop further down to 16th. It appeared that his tires were not quite where he needed them to be.

On lap three, British rider Sam Lowes went down from the back of the grid to end a terrible race in the worst possible way. He will be undeniably disappointed after his strong qualifying performance.

Meanwhile, at the front of the grid, Schrotter was closing in on Lopez and looking like he wanted to challenge for the lead. On the following lap, Arenas made a move past his team mate, taking 3rd from Dixon. On lap nine, Dixon then loses 4th place to Fernandez. He thinks about fighting back and eventually makes a move a few corners later, only to move too late and almost lose 5th place to Bendsneyder. Dixon quickly swaps to defence mode and is able to remain in 5th.

On the following lap, Arenas makes a move past Lopez to take second place. Shortly after, Fernandez is also past Lopez, as the Spanish rider loses two places in as many corners.

At this point in the race, with 10 laps completed, the top five places were held by Schrotter in 1st, Arenas and Fernandez in 2nd and 3rd, followed by Lopez and Dixon in 4th and 5th. Just behind them, home hero Bendsneyder was able to squeeze past Arbolino in the final sector to take 6th. All this fighting allowed our championship leader, Vietti who was back in 8th, to catch up to the leading pack of seven and join in the fun. In the space of one lap, the gap ahead of Vietti dropped by half a second.

On lap 11, Schrotter crashed out of the lead, losing the opportunity to claim his maiden win. He went wide at Turn 5 which put him off the racing line. As he tried to correct the error, the bike dropped from underneath him. Meanwhile, Lopez and Fernandez were battling hard for second place, which they had inherited from Schrotter’s crash. The pair were swapping positions for most of lap 12 before Lopez came out on top.

Ss they started lap 13, it was Arenas in the lead, ahead of Lopez in 2nd and Fernandez in 3rd. Dixon was just behind in 4th with home hero Bendsneyder in 5th. Vietti was still in 8th with Ogura, his nearest championship rival, quickly catching up to him in 9th.

The battle for 8th was quickly hotting up with Vietti and Ogura swapping positions at every corner. Eventually, it is Ogura who comes out on top. Lopez’s struggles continue as he was forced to sit up at turn 1 of lap 16, sending him tumbling down the grid from 2nd to 6th. He is soon caught by Ogura whose pace was rapid.

On lap 17, we had another change at the front of the grid as Fernandez takes the lead from Arenas. With numerous battles going on behind them, the leading pair quickly find themselves with a 0.9-second lead.

With just four laps remaining, and plenty of on-track action going on, Fernandez is still leading the race, with Dixon now up to 2nd and Ogura in 3rd. Arenas had now slipped back to 4th but was still fighting for his maiden podium finish. Vietti was up to 5th, just ahead of Bendsneyder and Lopez. On the following lap, Ogura makes it past Dixon and into 2nd. The battle gifted Fernandez a 0.4-second, and a seemingly unbeatable, lead.

With just two laps remaining, Arenas cracks under the pressure and crashes at Turn 9. That first podium finish remains elusive for the Spaniard.

On the final lap, Fernandez had a 0.5-second lead ahead of Ogura and Dixon. With Vietti now in 4th, he made a late lunge, attempting to steal 3rd from Dixon. The pair met the checkered flag side-by-side but it was Dixon who came out on top.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto2: Dixon takes a Dazzling Pole in Assen

Brit rider Jake Dixon has taken a fantastic pole ahead of tomorrow’s Dutch GP. He is joined on the front row by his teammate, Albert Arenas, and fellow Brit, Sam Lowes.

Tomorrow’s Dutch GP will see an Aspar 1-2 for the start of the race. Brit rider, Jake Dixon, secured pole with a time of 1.36.736 – his final lap of the session. His team mate, Albert Arenas, was just 0.01-seconds off the pace and will start tomorrow’s race from second.

A second Brit will also be on the front row, as Sam Lowes takes third for tomorrow’s face start. Just behind Lowes with be Ai Ogura in 4th and Alonso Lopez in a brilliant 5th. Home hero, Bo Bendsneyder will start the race from a strong 8th.

Further down the grid, Celestino Vietti, our championship leader, faced a challenging day. He crashed out during Q2 and was forced to settle with 11th for tomorrow’s race.

Image Credit: MotoGP
Qualifying 1

As the session started, Fermin Aldguer quickly faced an issue and was forced to head back to the pits. Having enjoyed a strong weekend so far, it was clear he was keen to get back on to the track as soon as possible.

As the first flying laps were completed, it was Jorge Navarro who topped the timing sheets with a 1.37.670. Manuel Gonzalez, Marcos Ramirez and Lorenzo Dalla Porta slotted in behind him, taking the provisional Q2-progression places. However, it should have been Barry Baltus at the top of the timing sheets – after taking a shortcut at the end of his outlap, his first flying lap was cancelled due to track limits. He cut the final chicane as a shortcut to give him extra speed at the start of the next lap.

With just less than 10 minutes left on the clock, Navarro improves, staying at the top of the timing sheets, with a 1.37.285. Ramirez jumped up to second and Dalla Porta leapt up to third, meaning that Gonzalez was shuffled down to fourth. Baltus, who was able to keep his next lap time on the board, was only able to slot in to 12th.

Aldeguer was back on the track and clearly pushing the bike to its very limits – the machine was twitching underneath him at the end of Sector 2. It took him a good few laps to get back on the pace, with his first lap only putting him in ninth.

With just over seven minutes to go, Dalla Porta improved on his time again. However, it wasn’t quite enough and he was soon shuffled down by Alessandro Zaccone, Gonzalez and Baltus who put themselves in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively.

With 5 minutes left on the clock, Aldeguer temporarily leaps up to 2nd, only to have his lap time deleted for a track limits violation. He is clearly pushing as hard as he can after the mishap he faced at the start of the session. He keeps pushing and, with just over 3 minutes left of the session, he is able to jump to 2nd again – and this time it sticks! He pushes Baltus out of the top 4. Dalla Porta is the next to improve, jumping up to 3rd and pushing Gonzalez out of the top 4.

As the session draws to a close, Gonzalez makes up time in the final sector to jump up to 3rd. This pushes Aldeguer down to 5th with no opportunity left to improve. Finally, Baltus is able to steal 4th away from Dalla Porta in the final moments of the session.

Those progressing to Q2 are Navarro, Zaccone, Gonzalez and Baltus.

Qualifying 2

As the session starts, Baltus is the first out on track, clearly feeling in good form after his Q1 performance.

Bo Bendsneyder was also feeling in good form as he quickly went up to 2nd, with a 1.36.986. He sat just 0.1-seconds behind our early leader, Navarro. Dixon then slots in to third with his fastest lap of the weekend so far.

With 8 minutes left on the clock, championship leader Celestino Vietti crashes at turn 3. He locked the front, spun around and ended up in the kitty litter. He briefly considered getting back on the bike but the damage ended his session early. When his session ends, he is currently set for a second row start in tomorrow’s race. But just 1 minute later, he is shuffled back to the third row, leaving Vietti with a nervous wait in his pit box.

5 minutes are left on the clock when Joe Roberts leaps up to 2nd. Moments later, he is shuffled down to 3rd when Lowes takes provisional pole with a 1.36.767.

Augusto Fernandez then makes a risky move as he comes into the pits to change his tires with just 4 minutes remaining. With such little time on the board, he may struggle to get the tires up to temperature and into their sweet spot.

As the session draws to a close, Arenas takes pole away from Lowes, despite hitting traffic at the end of his lap. Ogura slots in to provisional third before Dixon crosses the line to leapfrog them all and snatch pole. Fernandez and his new tires are unable to secure a spot higher than 8th.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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