Franco Morbidelli leads the way in 2017 Assen Moto2
2017 Assen Moto2 Results
EG 0,0 Marc VDS pilot Franco Morbidelli returned to his winning ways Sunday at the TT Circuit Assen, round seven of 18 in the 2017 Moto2 Championship.Morbidelli, who ahead of Assen had won four rounds but had to settle for fourth in Mugello and sixth in Catalunya, fought hard for the win.
When the 24-lap 2017 Assen Moto2 round was completed, the Italian would claim the win by 0.158 of a second ahead of CarXpert Interwetten’s Thomas Luthi, who claimed his sixth podium in seven races so far. Taking the final podium position was Idemitsu Honda Team Asia’s Takaaki Nakagami.Franco Morbidelli leads the way in 2017 Assen Moto2With his fifth win of the season, Morbidelli has 148 points, 12 ahead of Luthi. Morbidelli’s teammate Alex Marquez—the younger brother of three-time MotoGP Champion Marc Marquez—is third with 113 points.Following is the official Moto2 Recap:It was a train of six at the front early on off the start, but Lüthi got the holeshot ahead of Morbidelli and Nakagami, with Miguel Oliveira slotting into P4. By the end of the first lap, Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and Pasini were up into the fray, and the group started to pull away.Morbidelli pulled a small gap before Oliveira hunted him down to take over, with Pasini then moving through for second.The Mugello winner then tapped the rear of his bike to show he had the pace before proving the point as he attacked Oliveira for the lead, and the battle remained a true battle as the laps ticked down under the constant threat of rain – with elbows out and some incredible moments and moves exchanged.After the chaos it was Nakagami at the head of the race, determined to hold station after fighting off first Pasini and then Morbidelli.Lüthi fought back to prove the closest challenger with four to go, and the Swiss rider struck for the lead soon after – with Morbidelli following him through to shuffle Nakagami back into third. It was then fourth, then fifth for the Japanese rider as Pasini and then Oliveira pounced.Nothing was between the top five as the last lap came around, with Morbidelli pushing past Pasini at the final chicane into second – preparing a last attack on his key title rival in the lead: Tom Lüthi.The two points leaders were clear at the front for the final duel and the Italian struck early against the Swiss rider. Lüthi found himself just too far back at the final chicane, taking a solid second and another 20 points for his title push – leaving Morbidelli to take another stunning victory after recently announcing his graduation to the premier class next year.It was a dramatic fight to complete the podium, as Nakagami took Pasini and the Italian headed over the run off towards the line in some last chicane shenanigans emblematic of the TT Circuit Assen. Third at the flag but then demoted, Pasini was classified P4 as Nakagami pulled into parc ferme to complete the podium.Miguel Oliveira stayed out of trouble at the chicane to take fifth, with Alex Marquez then completing the top six after struggling with grip in the latter stages.Xavier Simeon (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) completed a much-improved weekend at the Dutch GP in an impressive P7, ahead of Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) in eighth. Fabio Quartararo (Pons HP40) had a fantastic weekend to come home top rookie in ninth, beating fellow debutant Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) over the line as the Italian took 10th.After some classic contests at the TT Circuit Assen, it’s now on to Germany for round nine of Moto2 – and the last before the summer break.
Our first segment introduces you to the new Arch 1s. This latest, slightly more sporting American V-twin, adds to the original KRGT1 coming from the boutique manufacturer based in Hawthorne, Southern California. Senior Editor Nic de Sena rode through Malibu with Gard Hollinger, who co-founded Arch Motorcycle with his friend, Keanu Reeves. The 1s is a unique ride for sure, and Nic explains what makes the bike really stand out.
For the entertaining story behind Arch Motorcycle from Gard Hollinger himself, you must listen to his podcast episode on Motos & Friends HERE
——————–
The guest segment of Motos and Friends is brought to you by the faster and most technologically advanced, 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa—one of the most iconic sportbikes ever. Check it out in person at your local Suzuki dealer now, or visit suzukicycles.com to learn more.
——————–
In our second segment, Associate Editor Teejay Adams chats with Thom Beers, the former Chairman & CEO of Fremantle Media North America, responsible for American Idol and America’s Got Talent. Thom’s astonishing resume as a Producer, Director, and actor, includes narrating many, many of the shows he’s created.
His fertile imagination led to most of the really big reality TV shows, and of course for us in the motorcycle world, you’ll be interested to hear the genesis and story behind his Jesse James show, ‘Monster Garage’, as well as the ‘Biker Build Off’ and ‘Zombie Choppers’ TV shows. Teejay’s chat with Thom gives us some amazing insight into other areas of Thom’s career, including ‘Deadliest Catch’ and others.
You’d imagine that most of Thom’s time is spent sitting behind a desk and on his phone. Not so. His intense stories of capturing much of the content for these shows make for some hair-raising listening. I for one, was fascinated; I hope you are too.
