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Terol Takes Controversial Win at Catalunya

4 Mins read

Nicolas Terol took victory in the Catalunya Grand Prix despite crossing the line in second after Johann Zarco was penalised for an illegal manouevre on the Spaniard.

The incident took place exiting the final corner of the race as Zarco managed to get alongside the Aspar Aprilia as they came on to the home straight but as both riders ran wide, Terol was pushed onto the grass and Zarco was subsequently given a 20 second penalty, denying him a first grand prix win.

The two riders had been part of a three-way battle for the lead which also included Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing rider Maverick Vinales who claimed the early lead after passing Terol on lap two.

With the race getting underway on a slightly damp circuit, it was immediately clear which riders were feeling confident as the top three built up an early lead. As the race settled down, Jonas Folger was beginning to motor and was leading a group involving Hector Faubel and Efren Vazquez back towards the leaders.

With their lead starting to shrink, Terol took the decision on lap eight to move to the front in an effort to increase the pace. Zarco followed him past Vinales two laps later and with the championship leader now heading the top three, their pace started to edge them away from the chasing pack.

As the race entered the final quarter, Vinales' challenge faded and the front two were left to dispute the victory. Terol waved Zarco back past him on lap 19, choosing to follow the Derbi but the Spaniard made his move as they started the last lap, blasting past Zarco on the start/finish straight.

The Frenchman gave it everything to keep in touch as the leader set the fastest first and second sectors of the race but Terol felt pressured enough to take a tight line into the final corner allowing Zarco alongside before their controversial clash allowed him through.

Zarco pulled into parc ferme believing he was a grand prix winner but the decision came through from race control that he had been handed a 20 second penalty, dropping him to sixth. This promoted Vinales to second to the delight of watching team owner Paris Hilton.

Jonas Folger took third place after a forceful move on Hector Faubel seven laps from the end which forced the second Bankia Aspar rider to run off track at turn one, rejoining in eighth. Sandro Cortese recovered from another poor start to work his way past Efren Vazquez and Sergio Gadea to take fourth.

Vazquez finished right on the tail of the German in fifth place and was the final beneficiary of Zarco's penalty. Faubel's incident with Folger proved costly but he still managed to recover to seventh ahead of Sergio Gadea.

The third Aspar Aprilia of Adrian Martin finished ninth while Jakub Kornfeil denied Danny Kent a place in the top ten. The Briton lost ground at the start for the third race running but put in a determined ride to get back up to eleventh place.

Despite starting at the back, Taylor Mackenzie was up in the points as early as lap two after gambling with wet tyres but the Scottish youngster fell back as the slick-shod runners got up to speed. The 18-year-old was forced to pit for dry tyres which dropped him to 28th. John McPhee had similar problems with his tyres and ended up in 26th.

There was an unfortunate collision at the start involving the two other British riders as Danny Webb lost control of the Mahindra and slid into the side of Harry Stafford's Aprilia, taking both riders out of the race.

Race Result (22 Laps):

Pos Rider Nat Team Time/Gap Points
1 Nicolas Terol SPA Bankia Aspar Team 42:29.547 25
2 Maverick Vinales SPA Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing +10.356 20
3 Jonas Folger GER Red Bull Ajo MotorSport +15.260 16
4 Sandro Cortese GER Intact-Racing Team Germany +15.670 13
5 Efren Vazquez SPA Avant-AirAsia-Ajo +15.942 11
6 Johann Zarco FRA Avant-AirAsia-Ajo +19.758 10
7 Hector Faubel SPA Bankia Aspar Team +26.490 9
8 Sergio Gadea SPA Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing +26.681 8
9 Adrian Martin SPA Bankia Aspar Team +36.134 7
10 Jakub Kornfeil CZE Ongetta-Centro-Seta +36.776 6
11 Danny Kent GBR Red Bull Ajo MotorSport +37.936 5
12 Louis Rossi FRA Matteoni Racing +1:10.840 4
13 Niklas Ajo FIN TT Motion Events Racing +1:11.704 3
14 Alexis Masbou FRA Caretta Technology +1:11.798 2
15 Alberto Moncayo SPA Andalucía Banca Civica +1:15.709 1
16 Marcel Schrotter GER Mahindra Racing +1:22.005  
17 Jasper Iwema NED Ongetta-Abbink-Metaal +1:25.457  
18 Luigi Morciano ITA Team Italia FMI +1:25.628  
19 Sturla Fagerhaug NOR WTR-Ten10 Racing +1:55.296  
20 Francesco Mauriello ITA WTR-Ten10 Racing +1:55.382  
21 Giulian Pedone SWI Phonica Racing +1:55.488  
22 Peter Sebestyen HUN Caretta Technology +1 Lap  
23 Josep Rodriguez SPA Wild-Wolf-Racc-MS +1 Lap  
24 Kevin Hanus GER Team Hanush +1 Lap  
25 Simone Grotzkyj ITA Phonica Racing +1 Lap  
26 John McPhee GBR Racing Steps Foundation KRP +2 Laps  
27 Joan Perello SPA Matteoni Racing +2 Laps  
28 Taylor Mackenzie GBR Phonica Racing +2 Laps  
29 Alessandro Tonucci ITA Team Italia FMI +2 Laps  
Not Classified
  Luis Salom SPA RW Racing GP +6 Laps  
Danny Webb GBR Mahindra Racing +22 Laps  
Miguel Oliveira POR Andalucía Banca Civica +22 Laps  
Zulfahmi Khairuddin MAL AirAsia-Sic-Ajo +22 Laps  
Harry Stafford GBR Ongetta-Centro-Seta +22 Laps  

 

Riders Championship (After Round 5: Catalunya)

Pos Rider Nat Team Wins Points
1 Nicolas Terol SPA Bankia Aspar Team 4 120
2 Sandro Cortese GER Intact-Racing Team Germany   72
3 Jonas Folger GER Red Bull Ajo MotorSport   68
4 Maverick Vinales SPA Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing 1 65
5 Johann Zarco FRA Avant-AirAsia-Ajo   63
6 Efren Vazquez SPA Avant-AirAsia-Ajo   57
7 Sergio Gadea SPA Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing   36
8 Hector Faubel SPA Bankia Aspar Team   32
9 Danny Kent GBR Red Bull Ajo MotorSport   22
10 Miguel Oliveira POR Andalucía Banca Civica   22
11 Luis Salom SPA RW Racing GP   22
12 Adrian Martin SPA Bankia Aspar Team   20
13 Jakub Kornfeil CZE Ongetta-Centro-Seta   18
14 Alberto Moncayo SPA Andalucía Banca Civica   15
15 Simone Grotzkyj ITA Phonica Racing   12
16 Taylor Mackenzie GBR Phonica Racing   11
17 Zulfahmi Khairuddin MAL AirAsia-Sic-Ajo   11
18 Louis Rossi FRA Matteoni Racing   10
19 Hiroki Ono JAP Caretta Technology   8
20 Niklas Ajo FIN TT Motion Events Racing   5
21 Jasper Iwema NED Ongetta-Abbink-Metaal   4
22 Marcel Schrotter GER Mahindra Racing   3
23 Alexis Masbou FRA Caretta Technology   3
24 Josep Rodriguez SPA Wild-Wolf-Racc-MS   1
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