The Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini Moto2 Race was a challenging outing for Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp‘s Manuel Gonzalez. He had hoped to capitalize on his first ever front-row start but ultimately finished in seventh place. Kohta Nozane benefitted from his learning experience at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli this race weekend. He was battling with other riders for the full 22 laps and secured 21st place.
Gonzalez had a good start from P3 and held the position through the opening corners but then got relegated to fifth. He was keen to stay with the leading group, but the three riders at the front started to break away. With one of them, Aron Canet, crashing out on lap 8, Manugasss was competing for a place on the podium. However, he knew Tony Arbolino was chasing him. With seven laps to go, Gonzalez lost a position in Turn 4. Although he tried to fight back and did everything he could to get ahead again, it was to no avail. A few laps later also Ai Ogura struck. The Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp rider then had to fend off Somkiat Chantra, but in the end he had to settle for seventh place across the finish line.
Nozane started the race from P27 on the grid and made up two positions on the opening lap. It allowed him to battle with various riders in the early stages of the race, but soon he found himself back in 27th place. The Japanese rider aimed to stay with Sean Dylan Kelly ahead of him to gain yet more experience. As Canet crashed out and Rory Skinner went into the pits with 12 laps to go, the number-5 rider moved up to 25th place. He was still shadowing Kelly. A few laps later, he overtook him too, and with multiple riders crashing out, the Moto2 rookie was circulating in 22nd place on lap 16. Though he ultimately lost a position to Kelly in the final stages, two more rivals had fallen on the last lap, so Nozane found himself in 21st position at the chequered flag.
Today‘s result means Gonzalez now has 83 points and moves up to 10th place in the championship standings. Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp stays in 9th in the team championship, also with 83 points.
Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp will be back in action in two weeks‘ time, when they start Round 13, the Grand Prix of India, held at the Buddh International Circuit.
