Moto2: A Champion’s performance? The Moto2 title race will go down to the final round in Valencia next weekend, but Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) took one giant leap towards etching his name on the trophy with a fantastic victory in Portimao.
The points gap is 24 points in the Brazilian’s favour now after Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) finished P6, so the odds are firmly in Moreira’s favour heading to the season finale. Completing the podium were two rapid rookies, with Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) collecting his first Moto2 silverware in P2, as David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) earned his third straight podium in P3.
A victory or second place. To clinch the title, it was one of those two results Moreira needed from pole position. And from P1 on the grid, the Brazilian got a perfect launch and comfortably grabbed the holeshot ahead of Veijer, with Gonzalez P6 on the opening lap. Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) dropped to P3, with Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing), the rider third overall, had to sit up on the exit of Turn 1 and lost a lot of positions – the Belgian was down to P11.
At the start of Lap 3, the top six were locked together – and that included Moreira and Gonzalez, as well as Veijer, Dixon, Celestino Vietti (Beta Tools SpeedRS Team), and Alonso. And at the start of Lap 4, Veijer led for the first time on the run into Turn 1.
On the exit of Turn 5 on Lap 5, a warning for Gonzalez. A huge, out-of-the-seat moment saw the Spaniard lose ground, and then Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) forced his way through into Turn 8 to demote the #18 to P7, with Moreira still P2. Crucially now though, a one-second gap had opened up between the top four and fifth place Canet, as Baltus dragged himself onto the rear wheel of Gonzalez.
On Lap 8 of 21, P7 became P6 as Gonzalez made a lovely move stick on Vietti, as Canet passed Dixon at the start of Lap 9, and a lap later, Gonzalez picked off the #96 too to jump into P5. But it was Baltus who was the rider on the move. The Belgian passed Vietti, Dixon, and then Gonzalez at Turn 3 to carve his way into P5, but there was a good chunk of time to make up to teammate Canet and the podium fight.
With five laps to go, Gonzalez was still sat behind Baltus in P6, with Moreira now beginning to put some serious pressure on Veijer. Alonso was 0.8s behind Moreira in P3, with Canet 0.6s further back. At this stage, the points advantage heading to Valencia was 19 points in Moreira’s favour.
And then, with two and a half laps to go, Moreira pounced. Turn 11 was the place and it was a classy move up the inside of the Dutchman, and now, the top four were pretty much locked together. Now, the points gap was 24 points, as Moreira got his head down and tried to escape the rookie fight for P2 between Veijer and Alonso, with Canet also right there.
Last lap! Four riders in contention for victory, as Dixon suffered a last-lap crash out of P7. Could anyone stop Moreira from putting one hand and four fingers on the Moto2 World Championship trophy? The answer was no. What a win for the Brazilian. On the big occasion, Moreira stepped up and now, he heads to Valencia in about a strong a position as he could have hoped to be in.
Congratulations to Veijer, that’s his first Moto2 podium, with Alonso making it two rookies on the rostrum in P3. Canet strung together a strong ride to P4, with teammate Baltus completing the top five. And with Dixon’s crash, the Fantic duo and British rider are now officially out of title contention – it’s now Moreira vs Gonzalez in Valencia. However, Fantic are now able to celebrate the Moto2 Teams’ title thanks to the efforts of Baltus and Canet.
Gonzalez will be disappointed with his P6, but it’s a result that still keeps him in contention ahead of next weekend’s finale. One place behind the Spaniard finished his compatriot Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team), and that result hands the #27 Moto2’s Rookie of the Year accolade.
So, onto Valencia we go. It’s simply a must-win for Gonzalez, while Moreira needs a top 14 finish to clinch the Moto2 crown before his MotoGP adventure begins. A tense weekend awaits at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
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