Vietti steals win from Canet and Arbolino in a Moto2 classic

September 22, 2024

A stunner of a Moto2™ race played out at the Emilia-Romagna GP as a dramatic last lap sees home hero Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) claim a second win of the season after the Italian beat Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) by 0.029s.

Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) led on the last lap but a costly error at Turn 14 meant the Italian took the flag in P3, as Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) extends his title lead with a P4.

After getting a fantastic launch, Arbolino pounced into an early lead as Vietti and Canet quickly slotted into P2 and P3, with World Championship leader Ogura making solid progress from P7 on the grid to earn P4 in the early exchanges.

As the race settled, drama unfolded for two title hopefuls. While running P7, Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) crashed at Turn 2 and not far in arrears, Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) crashed at Turn 1. Both were unable to get their bikes going, as the Briton and Spaniard’s Emilia-Romagna GPs ended in disappointment.

Back at the front, Arbolino’s early lead was being chopped away by Vietti and Canet. The trio were two seconds up the road from Ogura, with the Japanese rider having Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) for company, as Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing) found himself in a lonely P6.

With six laps to go, Vietti made a mistake at Turn 2 to allow Canet into P2 – and Arbolino some valuable breathing room. The wobble cost Vietti 0.8s, meaning Canet was now in charge of trying to attack Arbolino. With four laps left, a slender 0.4s split the three, with Vietti climbing all over the back on Canet.

Then, battle mode was engaged. A mistake out of Turn 13 saw Canet and Vietti pass Arbolino into Turn 14, before Vietti had another big moment at the final corner that cost the Italian more crucial ground. Vietti was now 0.7s down on the top two as Arbolino and Canet exchanged P1 twice in the first half of the penultimate lap.

Last lap time! Arbolino led from Canet, as Vietti was now right with the top two. Arbolino kept the chasers behind for the first half of the lap, but unbelievably, Arbolino was wide at Turn 14. And not just wide, very wide. It was a gift for Canet who now had to hold off Vietti through the final two corners to win. But on the run to the line, after getting a much better run out of the final corner, Vietti picked the pocket of Canet to win on home turf. A devastated Arbolino crossed the line in P3 as we witnessed an outstanding intermediate class race at Misano.

In the end, Ogura was only a second away from the podium in a P4 that sees the Japanese rider extend his Championship lead to 22 heading to Indonesia. Aldeguer completed the top five, 1.5s shy of Ogura, with Roberts sixth to earn his best result since the Italian GP.

An impressive P7 for Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) signals the Australian’s second best result of the season, as the rookie finished ahead of Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing), Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) and Filip Salač (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) – the Czech star completing the Emilia-Romagna GP top 10.

What a race. The top three treated us to a barnstormer as Ogura climbs further away from the chasers at the Championship summit ahead of a much-anticipated trip to Lombok. Can the #79’s momentum be stopped at the Indonesian GP? We don’t have long to find out.