Austin, Texas: MOTO 2 and 3 race reviews
- Matt White @MattWhiteRacing
- Apr 12, 2016
- 2 min read
Moto2: Rins beats Lowes in dominant display
Alex Rins stamped his authority on the Moto2 paddock on Sunday to cap off an almost perfect weekend.
Fastest in both sessions on Friday, pole position on Saturday and a win on Sunday – his second
win at Circuit of the Americas having won the Moto3 race there in 2013.
The Spaniard leaped away from the field on lap one and was never headed.
British rider Sam Lowes didn’t have the best of starts from third on the grid, and fell back to fifth on the first lap, but battled his way back to second and set about catching the race leader, although he never really got close enough to launch an attack, and finished two seconds behind the race winner.
There was a six bike scrap for the final step on the podium, including the reigning world champion Johan Zarco and this year point’s leader Tom Luthi. Simone Corsi, making his 100th start in the class, bumped Taka Nakagami into the gravel at turn one with four laps to go. The incident exploded the group, allowing Zarco to skip clear and take third place.
Lowes now leads the points, one point ahead of Rins, with Zarco two behind and Luthi four.
Last year’s Moto3 world champion Danny Kent retired on lap five with a suspected clutch issue on his Leopard Kalex.
Moto3: Fenati romps to first win of the season
Romano Fenati took his first win of the season in Moto3 with a convincing ride.
Spaniard Jorge Navarro took an early lead but the Fenati reeled him in from two seconds back to take the lead on lap seven, with Navarro pressured into a mistake at the uphill turn one. He was unable to stick with the Italian, the VR46 rider winning by just over six and a half seconds.
Championship leader Brad Binder is now only two points clear of Navarro after pinching third place on the final lap from pole man Phillip Oettl.
Fabio Quartararo looked good for his first podium of the year until three laps from the finish, when a mechanical issue slowed the Leopard rider. He managed to struggle to a 13th placed finish as he dropped through the field.
Qatar winner Nico Antonelli had a shocker on Saturday. He qualified 30th, but rocketed through the field, getting as high as sixth before crashing late in the race.
Shock Argentina winner Khairul Pawi also struggled this weekend, finishing a lowly 20th.
Scotsman John Mcphee was 21st on his Mahindra as his troubled beginning of the year continued.
The series' return to Europe for the next round in two weeks time for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez.
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