114 amcn.com.au
race
report
Main. Quartararo finally lived up to expectations with a fine
maiden grand prix victory 1. KTM riders Oliviera and Binder ahead
of series leader Bagnaia early in the race 2. The Moto2 podium
was represented by three different makes, as it was in qualifying
(the first time for five years)ununn aaaaa p i 5-17 June 2018 Moto2 World ChampionshipF
rench hope Fabio
Quartararo illustrated
the strength of a never-
give-up attitude. He
qualified on pole, then
he took his Speed Up to not only
his first win, but his first podium
since he started in Moto3.
That was in 2015, when he
was given a special under-age
entry into Moto3. He has since
struggled to meet expectations.
His win was convincing,
outpacing Mugello winner
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM),
who blazed through from 17th
on the grid. They consigned early
leader A lex Marquez to third, his
EG-V DS Kalex making it three
different types of chassis on the
grid for the first time since 2013.
Marquez qualified second,
with Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt
Intact Kalex) third.
Marquez led Schrotter away,
with Quartararo third. Oliveira
made up nine places into the
first corner, and finished lap
one fourth, ahead of title leader
Pecco Bagnaia (SK Y VR46 Kalex).Oliveira passed Quartararo
on lap five, both now ahead
of Schrotter. Next time round,
trying to get back, Schrotter
ran off, rejoining in eighth,
behind Brad Binder (Red Bull
KTM), Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt
Intact Kalex) and Mattia Pasini
(Italtrans Kalex). It was the start
of a strong fight back.
Oliveira led on lap eight.
Quartararo passed Marquez,
and when he also passed Oliveira
two laps later, it was for good.
Marquez soon had his hands full
fending off fiercely challenging
teammates Schrotter and Vierge,
finishing in that order.
Binder was sixth, while
Bagnaia faded throughout,
blaming a faulty rear tyre.
With two laps to go Lorenzo
Baldassarri (HP40 Kalex) had got
past, and with another lap might
have taken Binder as well.
Sam Lowes (SII KTM) stormed
through to ninth, having started
from the back of the grid after
fuel pump problems on the
sighting lap. His last victim wasteammate Iker Lecuona, who
rounded out the top 10.
A brave ride saw Remy Gardner
(Tech 3) take a point for 15th, in
his first race since breaking both
his legs and an ankle.
There were several crashes,
starting w ith Bo Bendsneyder
(Tech 3), Niki Tuuli (Kalex)
and Stefano Manzi (Suter)
who tangled on lap one. They
were followed by Jorge Navarro
(Kalex), Joan Mir (Kalex) – for
once nowhere near the front –
Pasini, Fenati and Vinales.
Potentially the worst crash
came after the finish. Oliveira
had slowed and was waving
to the crowd; Simone Corsi
had finished 12th, and ran
up the back of him at speed.
Miraculously, neither was badly
hurt, and Corsi will start the next
race from the back of the grid as
punishment.
Bagnaia’s title lead shrank to
just one point, 119 to Oliveira’s- Marquez has 94, then
Baldassarri 93 and Vierge 70,
pushing Mir (64) back to sixth.
Persistence pays off
Fabio Quartararo gets the monkey off his back with maiden GP win
Round 7
Finishing positionsPOS RIDER NAT BIKE TIME
1 F QUARTARARO FRA SPE 38m22.059s
2 M OLIVEIRA POR KTM +2.492s
3 A MARQUEZ SPA KAL +3.485s
4 M SCHROTTER GER KAL +4.398s
5 X VIERGE SPA KAL +4.687s
6 B BINDER RSA KTM +7.637s
7 L BALDASSARRI ITA KAL +7.724s
8 F BAGNAIA ITA KAL +10.611s
9 S LOWES GBR KTM +13.909s
10 I LECUONA SPA KTM +15.124s
11 A LOCATELLI ITA KAL +15.983s
12 S CORSI ITA KAL +16.405s
13 T NAGASHIMA JAP KAL +18.995s
14 A FERNANDEZ SPA KAL +20.241s
15 R GARDNER AUS TEC +20.409s
16 E PONS SPA KAL +24.538s
17 L MARINI ITA KAL +27.609s
18 S ODENDAAL RSA NTS +28.226s
19 KI PAWI MAL KAL +28.640s
20 D AEGERTER SWI KTM +29.217s
21 D KENT SBR SPE +30.295s
22 J ROBERTS USA NTS +37.600s
23 J DANILO FRA KAL +38.649s
24 D EKKY PRATAMA INA HON +44.604s
25 E GRANADO BRA SUT +49.491s
DNF I VINALES (SPA, KAL), R FENATI (ITA, KAL),
M PASINI (ITA, KAL), J MIR (SPA, KAL), F FULIGNI (ITA, KAL),
J NAVARRO (SPA, KAL), B BENDSNEYDER (NED, TEC),
N TUULI (FIN, KAL), S MANZI (ITA, SUT)
POLE POSITION
F QUARTARARO 1m43.474s
FASTEST LAP (NEW RECORD)
F QUARTARARO 1m43.956s
STANDINGS AFTER 7 OF 19 ROUNDS
1 F BAGNAIA 119, 2 M OLIVEIRA 118, 3 A MARQUEZ 94,
4 L BALDASSARRI 93, 5 X VIERGE 70, 6 J MIR 64,
7 M PASINI 58, 8 B BINDER 57, 9 M SCHROTTER 50,
10 F QUARTARARO 45①
②
MOTO2
22 LAPS