The Italian heads Salač and Canet on the podium after an early crash for Chantra, a Red Flag, and an attempted and aborted restart.
Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) pitched it to perfection in torrential conditions in Thailand, with an eight-lap race Red Flagged and half points awarded. The Italian just got past Filip Salač (Gresini Racing Moto2™) after the Czech rider ran wide when the race was called, giving victory after an impressive charge. Salač still takes his first Moto2™ podium in second, with Aron Canet (Flexbox HP 40) completing the podium after an absolute stormer of a first lap.
There was early heartbreak for polesitter and home hero Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) as he crashed out of the lead, but there were no such dramas for teammate and Championship challenger Ai Ogura. The Japanese rider finished a solid sixth and right ahead of points leader Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo), making the gap between the two now just 1.5 points.
Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) took fourth, close on the chase behind Canet, with Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) in a little space in fifth ahead of the top two in the title fight.
Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team), passed fit after his Saturday crash, took an impressive eighth, with home hero Keminth Kubo (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp) in P9 for his best ever result. Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) completes the top ten.
After that dramatic short, sharp shot at glory in Thailand, there’s now a week to recharge before we’re back in action at Phillip Island… and just 1.5 points in it!
Moto2™ PODIUM
1 Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) – Kalex – 15’10.854
2 Filip Salač (Gresini Racing Moto2) – Kalex – +0.251
3 Aron Canet (Flexbox HP 40) – Kalex – +3.112
Tony Arbolino: “Honestly it was difficult conditions for me, some corners were fine and others more difficult, so for me the secret was to just be calm, I didn’t want to push in the first laps, or the first lap, because I wasn’t so sure about the conditions. I just wanted to understand where to push. Then I just tried to get confidence and brake after other riders to gain some time, looks like I was able to do it! So I kept going like that, and then just I saw Filip go straight, the conditions were really difficult, and then when I passed on the straight, I saw the Red Flag.
“I’m proud of it, we were really fast in all conditions which is the most important thing for me. Let’s keep going like this and try and finish the Championship in the best way possible.”
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