Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp‘s Manuel Gonzalez secured fifth place in today‘s Grand Prix of Indonesia Moto2 Race, his eighth fifth place since joining the intermediate class last year. Kohta Nozane had a good opening lap and was looking to battle with rivals, but Turn 16 of the Mandalika International Circuit caught him out, ending his race early.
Despite not having the best start from P4 and falling back a few places in the first corner, Gonzalez was quick to recover and completed the first lap in third place. One lap later he battled with Tony Arbolino, who passed him, but Manugasss was staying very close to the back of the Italian‘s bike. However, a defensive line ridden by Arbolino meant the Master Camp man lost a position to Fermin Aldeguer. Manugasss was not going down without a fight though. He retaliated on lap 7, overtaking Arbolino.
The Spaniard was in pursuit of his maiden Moto2 podium, but a gap had formed to the top 3. Gonzalez had to multitask riding both on the limit and defensively, as he tried to hold on to fourth place with Arbolino and Jake Dixon tagging along behind him. Unlike his rivals, the number-18 rider had chosen the harder rear tyre and hoped to profit when the tyre drop would hit them towards the final stages of the race. But the opposite occurred: he was unable to defend his fourth place from Jake Dixon on the final lap. Gonzalez crossed the finish line in fifth, equalling his Moto2-career best finish for the eighth time.
Nozane had a good start from P29 on the grid and climbed as high as 18th on the opening lap. Whilst engaging in battle with other riders, he crossed the start-finish straight for the first time in 20th place. He later lost a position to Lorenzo Baldassarri on lap 5. He was keen to return the favour when disaster struck. Entering Turn 16, he made contact with another rider and got slightly off the ideal line. The number-5 rider suffered a luckless crash. He was quickly back onto his feet but unable to rejoin the race.
Today‘s result means Gonzalez now has 115 points and climbs up two places to 7th in the championship standings. Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp moves up to 8th in the team championship, also with 115 points.
The Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp duo will be back in action next week for the MotoGP Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, held at the Phillip Island Circuit, from 20th -22nd October.
