Terol Takes Controversial Win at Catalunya

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 28^th. John McPhee had similar problems with his tyres and ended up in 26^th.

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):

Riders Championship (After Round 5: Catalunya)