Moto2, Assen: First win for David Alonso, thrilling three-way battle with Intact

The situation ahead of the Moto2 race at the TT Circuit in Assen: Colombian rider David Alonso had secured pole position on Saturday. It was his second pole in a row, following his success at Brno. The only thing missing so far was a win. Daniel Munoz from the Italtrans team had to start from the very back of the grid: he was disqualified from qualifying due to a technical infringement.

As it had rained heavily overnight in Assen and the track was still too wet, the long-lap penalty had not been enforced earlier in the day during the Moto3 race. Instead, riders had three seconds added to their race times. For the Moto2 race, however, everything was back to normal: the long-lap section was reopened. And it was used extensively, with numerous track-limit penalties handed out.

Intact started further back

Front row of the Moto3 race: David Alonso ahead of Alberto Ferrandez and Izan Guevara. Behind them were Dani Holgado, Celestino Vietti and Senna Agius. World Championship leader Manu Gonzalez started from 7th on the grid.

Pole-setter Alonso got off to a poor start and dropped back to third. Ferrandez was in commanding form – and the new leader at Assen. Meanwhile, Senna Agius fought his way up to fourth place on the first lap. Ivan Ortola also got off to a really good start, making up seven places to move into eighth.

Kurz nach dem Start – die Moto2-Konkurrenz in Assen

Foto: Gold and Goose

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The Boscoscuro duo of Guevara and Ferrandez at the front were then split apart on lap 2: Alonso and Holgado, the Aspar team-mates, squeezed in between them. Guevara became the new leader – before Dani Holgado overtook him. Then the Intact riders Agius and Gonzalez also overtook Ferrandez, who had by now slipped back to sixth.

Further back in the field, chaos ensued: Dani Muñoz crashed, followed by Celestino Vietti, who was in seventh place at the time. Joe Roberts was handed a double long-lap penalty for a false start. Furusato was given a one-position penalty by the stewards for a collision.

Intact fights its way forward

There were plenty of position changes at the front: Alonso overtook Guevara to move into second, whilst Ivan Ortola overtook Ferrandez. On lap 6, Alonso was back in the lead. On lap 8, the Gonzalez train then overtook Guevara – and on lap 9, they overtook Holgado to take second place. Then came the attack from Gonzalez’s team-mate Agius: the Australian overtook Holgado on lap 11.

Alonso takes the lead at the halfway stage

So, the standings at the halfway stage: Alonso, Gonzalez, Agius, Holgado, Guevara, Ortola, Escrig (who, however, still had to serve a long-lap penalty for track limits).

Whilst Gonzalez was really putting Alonso under pressure, Escrig served his penalty – but not correctly. The result: a double long-lap penalty and, with it, a bitter setback. Izan Guevara fought his way past Holgado into fourth place.

Von Startplatz 7 auf 2: WM-Leader Manuel Gonzalez

Foto: Gold and Goose

Both Intact drivers were then warned that they were pushing to the absolute limit when crossing the track limits. This gave Alonso the advantage in the battle for victory, as Gonzalez had to pull himself together to avoid a penalty. But that didn’t help Alonso in the long run – on lap 17, Gonzalez skilfully overtook him on the inside.

Trio pulls away

Then came a brief yellow flag period after Deniz Öncü crashed at Turn 10. Meanwhile, Intact really came into their own in this closing phase, putting pressure on Alonso. The top three pulled away, with Agius setting the fastest lap time. And Alonso was sandwiched between the Intact drivers – until Agius overtook him on lap 19. Alonso tried to fight back, regaining the position on lap 20. What a strong, thrilling battle among the leading trio!

With one lap to go, every spectator was on the edge of their seat: the trio were battling fiercely and closely; it almost looked like a collision was imminent! But Gonzalez held off Alonso, who in turn held off Agius. Right up to the very last metres! David Alonso demonstrated his comeback qualities and tenacity: the Colombian fought his way past Gonzalez again with real determination – and crossed the line just 24 hundredths of a second ahead of the Spaniard. His first win of the season. And he truly fought hard for it. The lads from the German Intact team can also be proud of themselves; they fought their way to the front with confidence and came close to victory. Manu Gonzalez extends his lead in the World Championship.