Esteve Rabat stretched his Moto2 championship lead over Mika Kallio to twelve points after leading his teammate home in a Marc VDS 1-2 at the Czech Republic Grand Prix. The Spaniard also confirmed his return to form after the struggles of Indianapolis, leading every lap on his way to a dominant victory.
Rabat laid for the foundations for victory with an exemplary start while Britain’s Sam Lowes leapfrogged Thomas Luthi and Sandro Cortese for second. Kallio would climb to third by the end of the opening lap and the Finn soon made short work of Lowes, passing the Speed Up rider for second at the start of lap three.
Unfortunately for Mika, his teammate was already a second up the road and that gap would only increase as the race unfolded. Speaking after the race, Rabat acknowledged the problems he had suffered in recent races and was glad to get his campaign back on track.
“I’m very happy to be back on the top step of the podium here in Brno. I think together me and the team have done a good job, finding a solution to every problem encountered and improving the bike in every session. The win today was also an important one for me, as the last three races didn’t really go in my favour, so it’s good to get back to winning again. Now I will enjoy today, but tomorrow we start to work again so that we’re ready for the next race at Silverstone.”
Despite losing second to Kallio, Lowes was still well placed for his maiden Moto2 podium but the rookie saw his hopes dashed by a crash on lap five. Instead, it was left for Sandro Cortese to take his first podium in the intermediate class ahead of Swiss pair Thomas Luthi and Dominique Aegerter and Pons Racing’s Maverick Vinales.
Julian Simon matched his best result of the season in seventh ahead of his increasingly impressive teammate Franco Morbidelli with the top ten completed by Caterham’s Johann Zarco and Tech 3’s Marcel Schrotter.
