The Moto2 World Championship took a dramatic turn in Assen. Marc Marquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol – Suter) won his third race of the season, while title rivals Pol Espargaro (Pons 40 HP Tuenti - Kalex) and Thomas Luthi (Interwetten-Paddock – Kalex) both crashed. Marquez finished the day with a 23 point lead, now over Andrea Iannone (Speed Master – Speed Up), the Italian who led much of the Dutch TT before being slowed by a loss of rear tyre traction.
Marquez could easily build on that title lead in Germany. The young Spaniard won from the pole the last two years, on a Honda RS125 in 2010 and on the Honda-powered Suter in the Moto2 class last year.
Iannone is rounding into form after an up and down start to the season. The Italian has finished every Moto2 race, but not with the consistency needed of a championship contender. The past three races have been encouraging. He followed a fourth in Le Mans with a win in Catalunya, then another fourth in Silverstone before finishing second in the Netherlands.
Espargaro and Luthi are tied on points with 96, now 31 behind Marquez after seven of 17 races. Prior to his Assen spill, Luthi had finished every race this season, with four podiums, including a win in the wet race in France. Espargaro has been less consistent and more successful. The younger Espargaro brother won his home race in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, but crashed out of the Catalunya Grand Prix. He rebounded with a win in Silverstone, then fell out of the lead in Assen. If the pattern holds, he’ll win in Germany.
Marc Marquez
“Sachsenring is a bit of a different track, especially the first section, but I have fond memories of it from last season. We go there after a victory and that is always positive, but we have to keep calm and try to carry on working like before. The first part of the circuit is very slow and you need to find a setting for that, without slowing yourself down in the fast section, which also has some heavy braking points where the really fast times are found.”
Catalunya Caixa Press Release
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