2012 Moto2 Championship
Spoiler Alert: 2012 Assen Moto2 results listed below
In a Moto2 race that provided drama from the start at the Iveco TT Assen, it was Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Márquez who took a hard-fought victory ahead of Andrea Iannone and Scott Redding.
It was Technomag-CIP’s Dominique Aegerter and Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone who got away best, yet in the pursuing mêlée it was Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2’s Ratthapark Wilairot and Tom Lüthi who collided on the first lap, putting an end to Lüthi’s race.
There was however more to come, as the weekend’s pace-setter, Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Pol Espargaró, crashed out of the lead as he lost the back end of his bike. Both Lüthi and Espargaró were uninjured in the incidents, while Wilairot re-joined. A few laps later it was more misery for the Pons team, as its other rider Axel Pons crashed as well.
With 14 laps remaining Iannone had pulled out a three second gap at the front as Márquez and Marc VDS Racing Team’s Redding provided the entertaining battle for second behind. At this point Espargaró’s teammate Esteve Rabat had joined the pursuing group in fifth ahead of Came IodaRacing Project’s Simone Corsi, who had lost the tail section of his machine early on.
With 10 laps left however, Corsi crashed out of the race, putting an end to what was a very good race for the Italian, whilst Desguaces La Torre SAG’s Damian Cudlin retired with a mechanical issue. A further four laps in, Márquez had closed the gap significantly to Iannone and looked to be catching the Italian quickly.
With three laps left the scrap at the front began, with Márquez making his first pass, yet Iannone fighting back immediately. A lap later the Spaniard repeated his move, with Iannone responding in the same way again. The two were fairing to fairing as they headed into the last lap, with Márquez taking the lead on the outside of turn 1. Iannone fought back, but couldn’t make it stick as he ran wide after the two almost touched.
It was ultimately Márquez who took his third win of the season, with Iannone in second and Redding completing the podium. Márquez now leads the championship with Iannone in second; whilst Redding’s podium was the first time the Brit has ever recorded back-to-back podiums in his Grand Prix career. The top three were followed by Rabat, NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis, Tech 3 Racing’s Bradley Smith, Aegerter, JiR Moto2’s Johann Zarco, Mapfre Aspar Team’s Toni Elías and Redding’s teammate Mika Kallio.
2012 Assen Moto2 Results:
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 25 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol | Suter | 164.7 | 39’43.170 |
| 2. | 20 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Speed Master | Speed Up | 164.6 | +0.405 |
| 3. | 16 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | Kalex | 164.2 | +7.331 |
| 4. | 13 | 80 | Esteve RABAT | SPA | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | Kalex | 164.1 | +7.630 |
| 5. | 11 | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | RSM | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | FTR | 164.1 | +7.852 |
| 6. | 10 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 164.1 | +8.578 |
| 7. | 9 | 77 | Dominique AEGERTER | SWI | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 164.0 | +10.017 |
| 8. | 8 | 5 | Johann ZARCO | FRA | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 163.7 | +14.481 |
| 9. | 7 | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team | Suter | 163.7 | +14.714 |
| 10. | 6 | 36 | Mika KALLIO | FIN | Marc VDS Racing Team | Kalex | 163.7 | +14.734 |
| 11. | 5 | 4 | Randy KRUMMENACHER | SWI | GP Team Switzerland | Kalex | 163.6 | +14.944 |
| 12. | 4 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | JPN | Italtrans Racing Team | Kalex | 163.2 | +22.106 |
| 13. | 3 | 19 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 163.1 | +23.068 |
| 14. | 2 | 60 | Julian SIMON | SPA | Blusens Avintia | Suter | 163.1 | +23.532 |
| 15. | 1 | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | FRA | S/Master Speed Up | Speed Up | 163.0 | +23.733 |
| 16. | 71 | Claudio CORTI | ITA | Italtrans Racing Team | Kalex | 162.9 | +25.619 | |
| 17. | 18 | Nicolas TEROL | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team | Suter | 162.9 | +25.913 | |
| 18. | 88 | Ricard CARDUS | SPA | Arguiñano Racing Team | AJR | 162.9 | +25.974 | |
| 19. | 44 | Roberto ROLFO | ITA | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 162.3 | +34.640 | |
| 20. | 72 | Yuki TAKAHASHI | JPN | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | FTR | 161.7 | +44.057 | |
| 21. | 95 | Anthony WEST | AUS | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 161.6 | +44.739 | |
| 22. | 8 | Gino REA | GBR | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | Suter | 160.6 | +59.784 | |
| 23. | 10 | Marco COLANDREA | SWI | SAG Team | FTR | 160.0 | +1’10.125 | |
| 24. | 57 | Eric GRANADO | BRA | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 159.8 | +1’12.139 | |
| 25. | 82 | Elena ROSELL | SPA | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 158.5 | +1’33.233 | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 76 | Max NEUKIRCHNER | GER | Kiefer Racing | Kalex | 163.1 | 1 Lap | ||
| 7 | Alexander LUNDH | SWE | Cresto Guide MZ Racing | MZ-RE Honda | 161.5 | 2 Laps | ||
| 3 | Simone CORSI | ITA | Came IodaRacing Project | FTR | 163.9 | 10 Laps | ||
| 50 | Damian CUDLIN | AUS | Desguaces La Torre SAG | Bimota | 157.5 | 10 Laps | ||
| 49 | Axel PONS | SPA | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | Kalex | 153.6 | 16 Laps | ||
| 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT | THA | Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2 | Suter | 152.9 | 19 Laps | ||
| 40 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | Kalex | 154.3 | 23 Laps | ||
| 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | Interwetten-Paddock | Suter | 0 Lap | |||
2012 Moto2 Championship Point Standings:
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Marc MARQUEZ | Suter | SPA | 127 |
| 2. | Andrea IANNONE | Speed Up | ITA | 104 |
| 3. | Pol ESPARGARO | Kalex | SPA | 96 |
| 4. | Thomas LUTHI | Suter | SWI | 96 |
| 5. | Scott REDDING | Kalex | GBR | 86 |
| 6. | Mika KALLIO | Kalex | FIN | 52 |
| 7. | Esteve RABAT | Kalex | SPA | 47 |
| 8. | Bradley SMITH | Tech 3 | GBR | 47 |
| 9. | Claudio CORTI | Kalex | ITA | 45 |
| 10. | Dominique AEGERTER | Suter | SWI | 38 |
| 11. | Johann ZARCO | Motobi | FRA | 36 |
| 12. | Toni ELIAS | Suter | SPA | 34 |
| 13. | Alex DE ANGELIS | FTR | RSM | 32 |
| 14. | Simone CORSI | FTR | ITA | 30 |
| 15. | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Kalex | JPN | 27 |
| 16. | Randy KRUMMENACHER | Kalex | SWI | 20 |
| 17. | Julian SIMON | Suter | SPA | 14 |
| 18. | Mike DI MEGLIO | Speed Up | FRA | 10 |
| 19. | Anthony WEST | Moriwaki | AUS | 9 |
| 20. | Xavier SIMEON | Tech 3 | BEL | 9 |
| 21. | Max NEUKIRCHNER | Kalex | GER | 8 |
| 22. | Ratthapark WILAIROT | Suter | THA | 8 |
| 23. | Nicolas TEROL | Suter | SPA | 3 |
| 24. | Ricard CARDUS | AJR | SPA | 1 |
| 25. | Gino REA | Moriwaki | GBR | 1 |
