The winning form continues, but so does the points advantage for Arbolino as the duel rolls on to Assen.
Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) claimed a stunning victory at the Sachsenring to close the gap in the Championship standings at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. Key rival and World Championship leader Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) was forced to settle for second but the Italian limited the damage by fending off Jake Dixon (Polarcube GASGAS Aspar Team) as the Brit hunted down Arbolino in the second half of the 25-lap encounter.
Arbolino got the holeshot at the start but his lead did not last long as Acosta responded on the opening lap at Turn 12. The pair then immediately broke away from the chasing pack but were rarely separated by more than a few tenths in the first three laps. However, a series of fastest laps by Acosta, in the 1:23s, allowed him to pull out a half-a-second gap over his title rival by the end of Lap 4. By Lap 6, the gap between Acosta and Arbolino was over a second for the first time and the Spaniard’s pace showed no signs of letting up.
While Acosta checked out at the front with a 2.6s gap at the halfway stage, Arbolino had to start looking over his shoulder as Dixon charged towards him. The Brit reduced the gap to under a second on Lap 14 as he set his sights on second place after having to battle back from fifth after losing out in the early stages.
Having started from third, Dixon found himself behind Aron Canet (Pons Wegow Los40) and Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) on Lap 2. He re-passed Lopez for fourth on Lap 3 before being promoted back to the podium places on Lap 6 when Canet crashed at Turn 13, rider ok.
Dixon was able to catch the World Championship leader but Arbolino started to extend the gap over the Brit during the final five laps. Dixon responded on Lap 22, however, and it was back down to just a few tenths. The battle raged on during the final lap but Arbolino was able to hold on over the line, taking second and those 20 points by only 0.095. Dixon narrowly missed out on second but still claimed another podium in Germany as he hunts a better finish than P3.
Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) claimed a somewhat lonely fourth place for his best result of the season. The Thai rider was six seconds away from the podium, but he was also three seconds clear of the group behind him. That group was led by Lopez who finished fifth as he pulled out a gap of over a second on Manuel Gonzalez (Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 MasterCamp) in sixth. Gonzalez started from 12th but repeated his strong showing from Friday to secure a top-six finish.
Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) was part of the battle for fifth place but he had to settle for seventh, ahead of Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) in eighth. Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took ninth and Celestino Vietti (Fantic Racing) rounded out the top ten, but it could have been different after the trio had a fierce fight in the closing stages.
Aldeguer moved into eighth when he went up the inside of Arenas at Turn 1 on Lap 19, before Vietti followed him through in the first sector to demote Arenas to tenth. However, Arenas and Vietti switched positions again to give the Spaniard ninth.
Moto2™ is back in just one week as the MotoGP™ paddock heads from Germany to the Netherlands! Make sure to join us for more action from the iconic TT Circuit Assen next weekend.
Moto2 Top 4 – Race Result – German GP
1. Pedro ACOSTA – SPA – Red Bull KTM Ajo – 35’15.315
2. Tony ARBOLINO – ITA – Elf Marc VDS Racing – +2.730
3. Jake DIXON – GBR – Inde GASGAS Aspar M2 – +2.825
4. Somkiat CHANTRA – THA – Honda Team Asia – +9.013
7. Sam LOWES – GBR – Elf Marc VDS Racing – +14.457
DNS. Rory SKINNER – GBR – American Racing –
Moto2 Top 4 – Championship Points after – German GP
1. Tony ARBOLINO – ITA – Elf Marc VDS Racing – 139pts
2. Pedro ACOSTA – SPA – Red Bull KTM Ajo – 124pts
3. Alonso LOPEZ – SPA – CAG SpeedUp – 82pts
4. Jake DIXON – GBR – Inde GASGAS Aspar M2 – 79pts
8. Sam LOWES – GBR – Elf Marc VDS Racing – 53pts
31. Rory SKINNER – GBR – American Racing – 0pts
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