Spanish youngster Pol Espargaró took his maiden Moto2 victory in front of his home crowd at the Gran Premio bwin de España at Jerez Sunday in a thrilling Moto2 race that was cut short by rain.
The Pons 40 HP Tuenti rider led the race early on, yet was soon entangled in the usual Moto2TM first lap melee. Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol´s Marc Marquez, Interwetten-Paddock´s Tom Lüthi and Marc VDS´ Scott Redding were not giving each other any room, as they swapped positions throughout the race.
It was a tough fight to the end, which saw Redding´s teammate Mika Kallio run onto the gravel from fifth, and GP Team Switzerland´s Randy Krummenacher and S/Master Speed Up´s Mike Di Meglio both crash out simultaneously while chasing the front pack.
With 11 laps left it started to rain, causing riders to push for front positions in case of a red flag. As the riders pushed harder and harder as conditions worsened, Márquez tried to pull out a lead, yet was overtaken by old 125cc foe Espargaró on lap 16. Márquez once again pushed past Espargaró, yet it was too late, as the red flag came out shortly after.
With regulations stating that the person who led the last full lap (17 in this case) wins, provided that over 2/3rd of the race distance has been covered, it was Espargaró who took the win ahead of Marquez in second and Lüthi in third, in what was once again a breathtaking Moto2TM encounter.
The top ten were rounded out by Scott Redding, Italtrans Racing Team´s Takaaki Nakagami, team mate Claudio Corti, Mika Kallio, Technomag-CIP´s Dominique Aegerter, Mapfre Aspar Team´s Toni Elias and JiR Moto2´s Johann Zarco.
QMMF Racing Team rider Elena Rosell crashed out of her home race, as she continues to struggle with the Moriwaki bike. Pons 40 HP Tuenti´s Esteve Rabat suffered a fall towards the latter stages and returned to the pits, before heading back out on track and finishing 28.