2015 Mugello Moto2 Results
Esteve “Tito” Rabat didn’t have the best start to the 2015 Moto2 Championship. The Spaniard began his Moto2 title defense with a DNF at Qatar, and just missed the podium at Circuit of the Americas.
He then had a disastrous race in Argentina, finishing 12th. But from there things began looking up once again; Rabat finished third in Jerez, and second in France.
And following Sunday’s 21-lap race at Mugello, which is just northeast of Florence, Rabat earned his first win of 2015 Moto2. He was joined on the podium by AJO Motorsport’s Johann Zarco and Technomag Racing Interwetten Dominique Aegerter.
“I am very happy to finally get a win this season, as it’s taken some hard work from both me and the team to get to this point. Every race we have improved and now we can win again, so big thanks to my crew, who have worked tirelessly to put us back on the top step of the podium,” Rabat says.
“It was a tough race as I was having a few problems with the front in the last laps, but I knew I had enough left to hold off Zarco at the end.”
Soon, Rabat was into fourth, but moved into third with 19 to go after Luthi crashed while leading. Rabat made quick work of AJO Motorsports Johann Zarco fro second with 16 to go.
Rabat then took the lead from Aegerter with 15 laps remaining, and immediately began opening a gab, never challenged again.
Zarco made a brave last-lap attempt to catch up with Rabat, but would have to settle for second, 0.308 of a second back. As for Aegerter, he finished 5.280 seconds behind. Taking
Lowes finished fourth, followed by Paginas Amarillas HP 40’s Luis Salom, Federal Oil Gresini Moto2’s Xavier Simeon, QMMF Racing Team’s Julian Simon, Dynavolt Intact GP’s Sandro Cortese, AGR Team’s Axel Pons and Athinia Forward Racing’s Lorenzo Baldassarri.
As for crashes, Low escontacted Simone Corsi at turn one of lap three, causing Corsi to fall. Luckily, Corsi was uninjured. AGR Team’s Jonas Folger also fell while in podium contention, since claiming his second victory of the season in Jerez Folger has failed to score points.
After two crashes in Jerez and Le Mans, Alex Rins was only able to manage 11th at Mugello having struggled all weekend.
Rabat’s victory is his first since Misano last season as he has struggled with front-end feel. The Spaniard moves to second in the championship with 78 points but is still 31 points behind Zarco, more than a race win worth of points. Third was a welcome return to the podium for Aegerter, who surprised even himself, MotoGP says.
The series now breaks for two weeks ahead of Catalunya Moto2.
2015 Mugello Moto2 Photo Gallery: