#EmiliaromagnaGP – MOTO2: Vietti snatches a miraculous victory from Canet and Arbolino
Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took an unbelievable win at the Gran Premio Pramac dell’Emilia-Romagna in a drag race to the line. It was an instant classic after a photo finish after a brilliant final sector from the #13, who took his second victory of the season. The Italian won by a mere 0.029s from Aron Canet (Fantic Racing), with the #44 leading on the entry to the final corner. Meanwhile, Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) dropped to third after the #14 took the lead on Lap 1 before making a pivotal mistake on the final lap. Arbolino showed incredible pace throughout and took further Championship points.
At the start, Arbolino claimed the holeshot with a phenomenal launch from third on the grid. Once in the lead, the Italian put the hammer down, extending his gap to over half a second from Vietti, who was now in P2. The #13 leapfrogged Canet, who was now down to third after starting from pole.
Championship leader Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) made moves after a brilliant start from the third row of the grid, with the #79 grabbing fourth from Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) – leaving the #54 chasing behind. It was a hot pace at the front, with Moto2™ delivering fantastic action for the Misano crowd.
There was early drama from Zonta Van Den Goorbergh (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP), who crashed out in the early stages after a strong qualifying for the #84. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) also had a fall, crashing out on Lap 4 before Preicanos Racing Team’s Jaume Masia fell one lap later.
Then, on Lap 6 Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) crashed at Turn 1 as Jake Dixon’s (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) weekend also came to an early end at Turn 2 – riders ok. It was a huge blow to their Championship aspirations as Ogura extended his title advantage to 22 points as Dixon dropped to sixth in the standings.
The pace began to heat up at the front as the top three began to close, with Vietti edging closer every lap and bringing Arbolino’s lead down to two-tenths. It built for a tense finale as Vietti had an incredible save on Lap 17, dropping the #13 back to third – giving Arbolino crucial daylight from his rivals.
However, Arbolino made a mistake on Lap 19, dropping back to third and promoting Canet into the lead. Vietti made another mistake at the final corner, pulling off another remarkable save and promoting Arbolino into P2. The key move arrived on Lap 21, with Arbolino and Canet beginning their iconic duel for victory.
Everything came down to a dramatic final lap, with Vietti attempting a late charge for second position as Arbolino pushed to the limit. The Italian made a mistake and ran wide at Turn 14, gifting Canet P1 with a handful of corners to go. Vietti had other plans, with the Italian launching out the final corner and beating Canet in a drag race to the line.
Securing fourth was Ogura, with the Japanese star able to fend off Aldeguer throughout the Grand Prix after showing a red-hot pace throughout in the top five. Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) bagged sixth place and is crucially now third position in the Championship standings. The American took the flag in front of Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP’s Senna Agius, with the Australian ending a brilliant ride to claim seventh at the line – 0.425s ahead of Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing Team). Meanwhile, the final spots inside the top 10 went the way of Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) and Elf Marc VDS Racing Team’s Filip Salac after another great ride from the #12.
It was a difficult race, in which I hoped to have a faster pace. We finished in the points and that’s a good result. We start from here and go confidently to Indonesia, a track I like a lot.
Dennis Foggia – P12
An unlucky day for Diogo who could have given a good performance, but severe pain prevented him from taking part in the race. Transported to hospital, he underwent thorough examinations, which revealed an inflammation of the appendix.
Diogo Moreira – NC
Jaume Masia – NC
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Misano.