Spanish Moto2: Outstanding Ogura converts maiden pole to first win

Ai Ogura did not put a foot wrong as he controlled the Moto2 Spanish Grand prix from start to finish to dominate Jerez.

01 May 2022

Ai Ogura, Moto2 race, Spanish MotoGP, 1 May

After impressing in qualifying to claim the top spot on the grid in the intermediate class, Ai Ogura was in a class of his own, leading from flag to flag as he remained untouchable, controlling the Moto2 Spanish Grand Prix from the front to win round six of the championship.

An elated Ogura and Idemitsu Honda Team Asia lead over the line by 2.509s as he failed to miss a beat taking every apex and straight to perfection.

Early pressure came from Aron Canet, who immediately pushed forward to second when he saw the Japanese rider sailing away, passing Tony Arbolino in the process.

The Flexbox HP40 rider was incredibly overwhelmed with his second - he is riding with a broken radius bone, which was only operated on, plated and pinned on Monday.

The Spaniard is in so much pain he cannot remove his gloves unaided but pushed past it to secure second in his home grand prix, fading off as the hurt played a part and survivng a late wobble which saw his feet off the Kalex.

Tony Arbolino stayed in contact to collect the third sherry glass trophy, a second podium this season after he won in Texas for Elf Marc VDS.

Augusto Fernandez had a lonely ride on the Red Bull KTM Ajo bike, unable to challenge the front three but clear of the battle for fifth behind.

Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), who was fortunate to pick up big points in second last race after seeming off the pace following the red flag, again did not seem to be getting what he needed to run at the front. Pressure for fifth came from Liqui Moly Intact GP’s Marcel Schrotter, who ran several dress rehersals of his pass on the Italian, who promptly shut the door.

Perseverance and experience paid off, with Schrotter moving ahead with five laps remaining, pulling away from the title leader.

Vietti was an assured sixth, though the duel for seventh made headway into his gap despite warring with each other.

Bo Bendsneyder won to take his best finish of the season so far for the Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team, with his rival for the spot, Jerez winner Joe roberts, picking up valuable points again in eighth for Italtrans.

There was a wait for Albert arenas, who spent much of time on track solo for Autosolar GasGas Aspar, in turn well clear of Jorge Navarro who completed the top ten on the second Flexbox HP40 entry.

Alessandro Zaccone won the top rookie honours in eleventh for Gresini, just ahead of rival Jeremy Alcoba (Liqui Moly Intact GP) in twelfth.

Stefano Manzi, a late replacement for Keminth Kubo at Yamaha Vr46 Master Camp, secured 13th despite missing Friday’s action.

The remaining points on offer went to Barry Baltus after a solid ride for RW Racing GP in 14th and Lorenzo Dalla Porta, who is still battling the after effects of his injures in 15th on the second Italtrans entry.

Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took himself out of contention but was the only rider who fell who managed to finish the race, picking up a handful of places over the closing laps for 20th.

Niccolo Antonelli who had already qualified last, was penalised for riding slow in qualifying with a long lap penalty. His penalty was extended by two more laps after failing to comply, completing a horrible weekend for the Italian as he finished last for Mooney VR46.

Lowes and Dixon crash out of contention.

It was a weekend to forget for Moto2’s British riders, though both had shown promise and were looking to shake off their DNFs from Portimao.

Lowes was the first to fall - in fourth at the time and pushing hard to run with the leaders. The position looked cursed as Somkiat Chantra, who inherited the position, soon did the same as he tried to emulate his team-mate's success at the front of the race.

As Lowes headed back to the pits, it was Jake Dixon who was now in the gravel. He slid out at Turn thirteen and took an unsuspecting Fermin Aldeguer with him - the Spaniard had already survived contact with Acosta earlier in the race and tried to rejoin his home grand prix briefly before returning, dejected to his Lightech Speed Up pit box.

It marked a huge shift in fortunes for the pair, Lowes had qualified on the front row and was fastest in warm-up, while Dixon had topped all three practice sessions before qualifying down in eleventh piled on the pressure to pick up places.

Andalucian local Marcos Ramirez, Cameron Beaubier and Romano Fenati all also failed to finish.

Where does that leave the championship?

Vietti arrived in Jerez with a sizable gap of 34 points - a defecit that grew after he took advantage of the huge amount of the class made to miss the restart to the race after the red flag incident in Portimao, finishing second to Joe Roberts who took maximium points but is currently not a title threat.

Ogura’s win cuts that to 19 points with Vietti now on a total of 100. Arbolino holding onto third means he keeps himself on the radar, in third with 70 points to his name, one point ahead of Canet.

Moto2 will next face off in Le Mans for the French Grand Prix in two weeks time.