Moto2 Mandalika: Escrig’s hopes of victory dashed, Guevara piles on the pressure in the World Championship

In tropical conditions, the 28 Moto2 riders got underway at 1.15 pm local time for the 22-lap Indonesian Grand Prix. Pramac rider Izan Guevara led the front row ahead of Alex Escrig and David Alonso. Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez started the 17th race of the season at Mandalika from no. 10 on the grid.

Guevara won the sprint to the first corner, whilst behind him a serious collision occurred: Daniel Holgado crashed into the rear of his Aspar team-mate David Alonso. Both riders crashed, as did Joe Roberts and Collin Veijer. In the process, the fuel tank and seat assembly came loose from one of the Aspar bikes. The race was stopped, and the race stewards classified the incident as a racing accident.

In the Aspar, Ajo and American Racing pits, the mechanics were working flat out. Alonso’s Kalex was not ready in time – which meant the race was over for the future Honda MotoGP rider. The bikes ridden by Holgado, Veijer and Roberts, however, were repaired in time for the 14-lap restart.

At the restart, Alex Escrig surged into the lead, with Guevara settling into second place. There was a problem with Roberts’ bike; the American steered his Kalex into the pits and ended his Grand Prix after the formation lap.

The order after the first lap: Escrig ahead of Guevara, Holgado and Ivan Ortola. Gonzalez battled with Moto2 veteran Tony Arbolino for fifth place. Celestino Vietti’s race was over following a crash at Turn 10.

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There were no direct battles at the front. Escrig managed to pull away from Guevara. Holgado, in third place, also had a comfortable lead. Halfway through the race, Gonzalez closed the gap on Ortola and made a move on lap 7.

Gonzalez set an impressive race pace and closed in on Holgado in quick succession. With five laps to go, Gonzalez overtook Holgado and was on course for a podium finish. His IntactGP team-mate Senna Agius also put in a strong performance: the Australian charged through the field to move up to fifth place.

With four laps to go, Guevara closed in on Escrig’s leading Forward bike. The gap shrank to four tenths of a second. Drama struck two laps from the end: Escrig rolled to a halt with a mechanical failure, clearing the way for Guevara’s third consecutive victory.

The 25 points went to Guevara, who made up five points on championship leader Gonzalez and is now just 5.5 points behind. A battle for third place unfolded on the final lap between Holgado and Agius, with Holgado coming out on top. For IntactGP, second and fourth places were a strong result following what had been a difficult race weekend up to that point.

Fifth place went to Daniel Munoz. Ivan Ortola finished sixth ahead of Filip Salac, Alonso Lopez, Tony Arbolino and Jose-Antonio Rueda. Points also went to Collin Veijer, Luca Lunetta, Ayumu Sasaki, Taiyo Furusato and Zonta vd Goorbergh.