The Moto2 race lived up to expectations in Mugello, following the close practice sessions that had preceded it. Takaaki Nakagami tried to lead the way early from second on the grid, whilst poleman Scott Redding stuck with him as expected. The two opened up a small gap, closed first by Nico Terol and then by Johann Zarco, as the podium battle began. Nakagami crashed out and Terol and Redding exchanged the lead, leaving Zarco behind later on when the latter upped the pace. Terol completed the race second, behind Redding, as the rostrum places were decided in a great contest.
MAPFRE Aspar rider Nico Terol took his second podium of the season today, with a superb second place. He was steady during every practice session, albeit unspectacular, but showed his racing spirit with a great performance from fifth on the grid. He responded to the early push from Nakagami and Redding with a fastest lap to catch them up. He battled with Redding and led for four laps of the Italian Grand Prix, eventually finishing runner-up and gaining another World Championship podium.
Jordi Torres also gave a great showing at Mugello. He held onto his starting position and moved up into fourth at one stage in the race. The Spaniard diced with various big names in the Moto2 class, and continued to learn how to best defend places. He rode with a battling chasing pack and crossed the line sixth, equaling his best ever result for the MAPFRE Aspar Team from Valencia 2012.
2nd Nico Terol:
"I am very happy with this great result. From the start I showed a lot of determination and was explosive. The last corner of the third sector had been holding me back throughout the weekend, so today I tried to address it in a thousand ways so as not to lose touch with Scott. But with an empty tank the bike did not load much weight on the front, and I noticed that a gap was slowly opening up. I tried to stick with him, but he found four tenths on the final laps. In any case I am very satisfied with both the podium and with the work done the entire weekend. This result confirms that our mentality has changed, that despite Moto2 being a very difficult category this year we are doing a great job, and progressively we are gaining consistency. Tomorrow we have a very important test that will help us finish off adjusting to the chattering that we experienced this weekend. We have climbed back up to second in the championship, which gives us great morale for the next round at Montmelo."
6th Jordi Torres:
"I had great fun in the race today. We had sensed it would be an ordeal, because the long straight hinders us a bit, so I had to get stuck in from the beginning. The mentality throughout the race was to nip at the riders ahead of me and try and work my way up the order by making things uncomfortable for them. Every time that I got onto the straight I could feel people slipstreaming me, so I had to defend in any way I could, bringing out my aggressive side. I am delighted with the way this weekend developed; on Friday we were lost and yesterday we turned the situation around completely. I have to say that the team have done a great job and gave me a bike with which I gained a lot of confidence. Today we learnt many things that will be useful in the coming races. My teammate also achieved a great result, and to see him on the podium motivates me to think that maybe one day I too can be there. Congratulations to Nico, because he ride brilliantly."
Mapfre Aspar Moto2 Press Release
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