2012 Moto2 Championship
Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Marquez took victory Sunday at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril after a phenomenal last-lap battle with compatriot Pol Espargaró.
Márquez took the holeshot and led the opening stages from Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi, as Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Espargaró and JiR Moto2’s Johann Zarco made their way to the front.
It was however Lüthi who took the lead early on, which he held for most of the race. The relentless efforts of Spanish pair Marquez and Espargaró meant that they soon re-caught the Swiss rider, and went past his for the lead. They went on to provided one of the best last-lap battles seen in Moto2, as the pair swapped positions numerous times in the final minute, with Marquez coming out on top after a mistake by Espargaró going into the final chicane.
This makes it two wins from three races for Márquez to extend his championship lead. Lüthi took the final spot on the podium, followed by Zarco, Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone and NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex De Angelis. Rounding out the top ten are Mapfre Aspar Team’s Toni Elías, Blusens Avintia´s Julián Simón, Marc VDS Racing Team’s Mika Kallio and Tech 3 Racing’s Bradley Smith.
There were numerous crashed throughout the race including NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Yuki Takahashi, Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Axel Pons, his teammate Esteve Rabat, Came IodaRacing Project’s Simone Corsi and S/Master Speed Up’s Mike Di Meglio. Federal Oil Gresini Moto2’s Gino Rea went into the pits with an electrical problem, and subsequently had to retire.
2012 Estoril Moto2 | Results
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol | Suter | 148.0 | 44’04.086 |
| 2 | 20 | 40 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | Kalex | 147.9 | +1.987 |
| 3 | 16 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | Interwetten-Paddock | Suter | 147.9 | +2.071 |
| 4 | 13 | 5 | Johann ZARCO | FRA | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 147.5 | +9.227 |
| 5 | 11 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Speed Master | Speed Up | 147.5 | +10.481 |
| 6 | 10 | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | RSM | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | Suter | 146.9 | +21.180 |
| 7 | 9 | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team | Suter | 146.9 | +21.394 |
| 8 | 8 | 60 | Julian SIMON | SPA | Blusens Avintia | Suter | 146.8 | +21.504 |
| 9 | 7 | 36 | Mika KALLIO | FIN | Marc VDS Racing Team | Kalex | 146.8 | +21.581 |
| 10 | 6 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 146.7 | +24.100 |
| 11 | 5 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | Kalex | 146.5 | +27.248 |
| 12 | 4 | 77 | Dominique AEGERTER | SWI | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 146.4 | +30.087 |
| 13 | 3 | 19 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 146.4 | +30.132 |
| 14 | 2 | 71 | Claudio CORTI | ITA | Italtrans Racing Team | Kalex | 146.4 | +30.257 |
| 15 | 1 | 88 | Ricard CARDUS | SPA | Arguiñano Racing Team | AJR | 146.3 | +30.879 |
| 16 | 18 | Nicolas TEROL | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team | Suter | 146.3 | +31.097 | |
| 17 | 95 | Anthony WEST | AUS | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 145.7 | +43.099 | |
| 18 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | JPN | Italtrans Racing Team | Kalex | 145.4 | +47.282 | |
| 19 | 4 | Randy KRUMMENACHER | SWI | GP Team Switzerland | Kalex | 145.4 | +47.399 | |
| 20 | 76 | Max NEUKIRCHNER | GER | Kiefer Racing | Kalex | 145.4 | +48.143 | |
| 21 | 44 | Roberto ROLFO | ITA | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 145.1 | +53.563 | |
| 22 | 47 | Angel RODRIGUEZ | SPA | Desguaces La Torre SAG | FTR | 145.1 | +54.530 | |
| 23 | 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT | THA | Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2 | Moriwaki | 145.0 | +55.666 | |
| 24 | 80 | Esteve RABAT | SPA | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | Kalex | 143.4 | +1’24.889 | |
| 25 | 7 | Alexander LUNDH | SWE | Cresto Guide MZ Racing | MZ-RE Honda | 143.0 | +1’32.467 | |
| 26 | 82 | Elena ROSELL | SPA | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 142.6 | +1’40.748 | |
| 27 | 10 | Marco COLANDREA | SWI | SAG Team | FTR | 140.2 | 1 Lap | |
| 28 | 8 | Gino REA | GBR | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | Moriwaki | 139.4 | 1 Lap | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | FRA | S/Master Speed Up | Speed Up | 146.2 | 6 Laps | ||
| 3 | Simone CORSI | ITA | Came IodaRacing Project | FTR | 146.5 | 7 Laps | ||
| 49 | Axel PONS | SPA | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | Kalex | 138.4 | 15 Laps | ||
| 72 | Yuki TAKAHASHI | JPN | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | Suter | 143.8 | 21 Laps | ||
