#DutchGP – MOTO2, Dixon defeats Ogura for emotional debut victory
Moto2™ delivered an absolute barnstormer in Assen as the podium fight remained wide open until the chequered flag dropped. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) was in tears after an inch-perfect performance saw him take a hard-fought debut victory, living his childhood dream ahead of the summer break. Ai Ogura (IDEMISTU Honda Team Asia) also comes away from the Motul TT Assen in high spirits as the Japanese rider returned to the podium with a 2nd place, after an injury-riddled start to his season. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) couldn’t keep himself out of the limelight as he made an incredible front-end save which saw him cut the course, serve a long lap penalty, and win a last-lap scrap for the final spot on the podium.
Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) took the holeshot from pole position with Ogura jumping Jake Dixon off the line. Lopez, Ogura, and Dixon were the top three as they crossed the line for the first time with a few bike lengths back to Aldeguer, Arenas, and Acosta in 4th, 5th, and 6th. Lopez had stretched out a half-second lead after the first two laps as Jake Dixon was eager to make his way through on Ogura for a chance at reeling in the Spaniard out front. Meanwhile, there was another Spaniard on the move as Pedro Acosta was pushing his way up to 4th place with a 1.3s gap to claw in to reach Dixon and Ogura.
As the laps ticked away Ogura began to eat away at Lopez’s lead with Dixon glued to his rear wheel and Acosta making big inroads on the top three. 15 laps to go and the front four had closed together as we suddenly had a four-bike group leading the race. Aware of Acosta’s presence Jake Dixon made his way through on Ai Ogura to slot himself into P2 just one lap later. Acosta then made a small mistake at Turn 4, briefly losing touch of the leading group.
It was getting hot at the front as Dixon and Acosta were looking eager to be making moves. With 10 laps to go Dixon took the lead and decided it was time to put the hammer down. Desperate to bag his first Grand Prix victory, the Brit stretched out 0.4s after one lap of clear air. Conscious of Dixon running away, Ogura quickly followed pursuit pushing his way into P2 at the Gert Timmer Chicane leaving Lopez right into Acosta’s clutches. The KTM Ajo man wasted no time in getting past Lopez as they dropped the Spaniard leaving him in a lonely 4th. Dixon made a mistake at Turn 5 with 8 laps to go which pushed him down the order to P3, with Ogura taking the lead ahead of Acosta.
The pace was getting oh-so-hot at the front as Acosta made a miraculous front-end save, almost taking a trip to the gravel trap at the Gert Timmer chicane. This allowed Dixon to inherit 2nd place but lost both riders crucial time as Ogura stretched out a one-second lead. This moment forced Acosta to shortcut the final chicane, and as the Spaniard didn’t lose the sufficient amount of time after cutting the course, the Stewards decided a long lap penalty was to be awarded. Acosta took his penalty with four laps to go, cutting it very close to the edge of the penalty area.
Meanwhile, Jake Dixon was putting down an incredible pace to reel in the race leader Ai Ogura. Dixon was determined as ever onboard his GASGAS Kalex machine, and with two laps remaining pushed his way past the Japanese rider making contact with his Team Asia machine after a harsh block pass at Turn one. Ogura lost time after the move and couldn’t keep with the immense pace of the Brit, but brought home an important 2nd place as he returned the podium and let his competitors know he is back on form.
The long lap for Acosta put him out of victory contention and right into the clutches of Aron Canet (Pons Wegwow Los40) and Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp) who had served a long lap penalty earlier in the race. The Boscoscura man pushed his way past Canet to put himself in position to attack Acosta for the podium on the last lap. Acosta held strong however and got the better of Aldeguer in an intense last-lap exchange of paint. Aron Canet finished the race a few bike lengths back in P5 after pushing his way into podium contention with strong mid-race pace.
Alonso Lopez lost a lot of time as he dropped from the lead down to 6th place almost 10 seconds away from the race win, with the Championship leader Tony Arbolino forced to go back to the drawing ahead of the summer break after losing precious points in P7.
Top 10:
1. Jake Dixon (GASGAS Aspar Team)
2. Ai Ogura (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) + 1.334
3. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 4.448
4. Fermin Aldeguer (Speed Up Racing) +4.487
5. Aron Canet (Pons Wegow Los40) + 4.884
6. Alonso Lopez (Speed Up Racing) + 9.555
7. Tony Arbolino (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) + 10.547
8. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) +10.547
9. Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 10.615
10. Celestino Vietti (FANTIC MOTOR) + 10.761
“It hasn’t been an easy weekend at all. I never felt comfortable, especially on fast corners, and I tried to do my best. I’m sorry to start the summer break with these feelings. I will train to be ready for Silverstone. I thank the team for being close to me and for the support”.
Dennis Foggia P19
Borja Gomez NC
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Assen.