Aragon Moto2: Acosta returns to winning ways on home soil

Pedro Acosta was back to his best as he reeled in his team-mate Augusto Fernandez before eventually pulling away to win the Moto2 Aragon Grand Prix.

Lisa Lewis

18 Sep 2022

Pedro Acosta, Moto2 race, Aragon MotoGP, 18 September

Pedro Acosta made all his hard work to reach the front of the race count as he then took control and took victory in the Moto2 Aragon Grand Prix, round fifteen of the championship.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo qualified down in sixth but had the pace to run at the front, a string of early fastest laps saw the man from Mercia able to battle the then leader, his team-mate Augusto Fernandez for the first place on track.

Once out in front he had close company from Aron Canet, who held on for many laps before having to concede to Acosta’s superior pace, leading over the line by a comfortable 2.612s.

It is an incredible performance after missing part of the season with a broken femur, his second win of the season, marking a return to the #51’s pre-injury form.

Canet had already battled with Albert Arenas before he slipped out of contention, earning his second place for Flexbox HP40 the hard way. It is his sixth second place of the season as a win continues to elude the Spaniard.

Augusto Fernandez was the early race leader, getting a great start from pole. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider faded back after being taken by Acosta. Knowing every point was crucial in the title race he ensured he did not fall back into the clutches of the battle for fourth.

That saw Tony Arbolino, who didn’t follow Canet through to the front, fighting hard with Ai Ogura, desperate for every position for the overall gains. By the final lap Jake Dixon had broken down the gap to have the duo in his sights.

The determined Idemistu Honda Team Asia rider, who had to come through Q1 in qualifying in a challenging weekend, had been slowly working his way forward from eighth on the grid. Dixon had looked set to pounce on the pair after his fastest lap on the Aspar entry but fell on the final lap. The British rider had already crashed in warm-up leaving his mechanics a big repair job before the race.

One final determined push from Ogura saw him force the issue and claim fourth, with Arbolino fifth for Elf Marc VDS Racing.

Fermin Aldeguer was the top Boscoscuro for CAG Speed Up after he inherited sixth from Dxion as he slipped into the gravel.

Somkiat Chantra was a distant seventh on the second Idemitsu entry.

He held his own gap over Jorge Navarro in eighth on the second Flexbox HP40 bike. Joe Roberts was ninth on the grid and moved as high as seventh in the race before being raced back to ninth at the line for Italtrans.

Celestino Vietti started 17th and slowly moved forward through the field as the race went on, wotking his way to tenth by the time he reached the chequered flag, a big improvement in the race with Mooney VR46, but not enough to save his fading title dreams.

Cameron Beaubier continued his run of improving results with eleventh, fighting for that final top ten spot with Vietti to the line for American Racing.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Italtrans) and Barry Baltus (RW Racing GP) were right behind in 12th and 13th respectively.

The final points on offer were collected by Gresini’s Alessandro Zaccone in 14th and Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) in 15th.

Crashes and Penalties

Alonso Lopez crash, Moto2 race, Aragon MotoGP, 18 September

Senna Agius, in for Sam Lowes again at Elf Marc VDS, finished 16th, with a penalty applied for his actions in San Marino.

Alonso Lopez had topped warm-up and looked set to challenge for a rostrum finish, but his hopes ended early as the first rider out, cartwheeling his way out of contention after a nasty crash at turn two.

Immdediatley after Marcel Schrotter fell, with the knock-on effect seeing Keminth Kubo, Niccolo Antonelli, Zonta Van Den Goorbergh and Sean Dylan Kelly all caught up in the incident and running off into the gravel.

Van Den Goorbergh and Kubo both fell again later in the race, Kubo exited with Taiga Hada on his second crash.

Manuel Gonzalez and Jeremy Alcoba both fell early at the same time, and on the same lap as Albert Arenas.

Where does that leave the championship?

Augusto Fernandez remains in control with 214 points, but third after holding first while Ogura made moves forward for fourth sees the gap at just seven points. Aron Canet is now 37 points adrift on 177, with Celestino Vietti a distant fourth with a total of 162.