Marc Marquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol-Suter) won a tense four-way tussle with Thomas Luthi (Interwetten-Paddock-Suter), Pol Espargaro (Pons 40 HP Tuenti-Kalex) and Andrea Iannone (Speed Master – Speed Up) to take his sixth victory of 2012 in the always thrilling Honda-powered series. Marquez’s winning margin over Luthi was just 0.061s, while the four riders were covered by just half a second. With six races to go, Marquez heads Espargaro by 48 points.
The ever-impressive Marquez played his hand perfectly, spending nearly all the race in second place, while Luthi did all the leading. Right behind them Espargaro and Iannone swapped places frequently. Both of them briefly made it into second place but didn’t quite have the pace to stay there.
Marquez made his winning move at turn three with three laps to go, sweeping past Luthi, backing into the corner and yet keeping his Suter perfectly on line. Luthi was able to stay with the 19-year-old and tried everything he knew to retake the lead but couldn’t quite make it.
The duel between Espargaro and Iannone was just as intense, and complicated somewhat when Espargaro made a pass under yellow flags. He was ordered to drop back to fourth to escape punishment and although he tried everything to get back on terms with the leading duo – including setting the fastest lap – he could not get close enough to attack. Espargaro finished less than three tenths behind Luthi, with last year’s Brno winner Iannone less than a tenth further back in fourth.
Marc Marquez, Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol-Suter: race winner
“Yesterday in practice I felt very comfortable; I knew that I was ready for the race and that I could be up at the front, and also that nobody could escape with us all running a similar pace. That was how it panned out, because there was less grip today, but I still rode comfortably. That was how I was able to study Luthi over the course of the race. The pace was slower than I had expected and I was able to make a plan for the final laps. When there were three to go I gave 100% to get in front, then on the last lap I closed every door in order to win. It was a different tactic to normal, but this track is a difficult one for me and I wanted to keep something in reserve.”
Catalunya Caixa Repsol Moto2 Press Release
Source: http://www.zimbio.com/MotoGP/articles/FF1V3XtSRXL/Marquez+wins+tense+four+way+tussle+take+sixth
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