Torrential rain caused high drama at the OR Thailand Grand Prix and it was Tony Arbolino who was eventually classified the winner of a shortened Moto2™ race. The Elf Marc VDS Racing Team rider had just passed Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2™) for the lead at the end of Lap 8 around the Chang International Circuit when the contest was red-flagged. After two attempts to re-start, Race Direction ultimately decided to award half points. Nevertheless, Arbolino, Salac, and Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) can count themselves as Thai GP podium finishers, while Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) gained half a point on World Championship leader Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) when they were locked into sixth and seventh in the final results.

A downpour just minutes before the scheduled start time saw the race declared wet, and crews swapped slick tyres for wets on the grid as the scheduled distance was cut from 22 to 16 laps. Conditions were ultra-challenging when riders did eventually get lights out and pole-sitter Chantra emerged with the lead as they exited Turn 1, ahead of Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up) and Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia).

Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) overtook Ogura for third at Turn 3 and was second when he went past Lopez through Turn 4 but, no sooner had he done so, he touched the ever so slippery paint on exit and crashed. Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) was charging through the field, coming all the way from 18th on the grid to pass Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) for fourth at Turn 8. When Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2™) went wide at Turn 12 at the end of the opening lap, Canet inherited third position and Dixon fourth.

Chantra had sent his home crowd crazy with his pole on Saturday afternoon but there was heartbreak all-round on Lap 2 when he lost the rear through Turn 4 and crashed out of the lead. Lopez was the new front-runner, from Canet, Dixon, Salac, Ogura, Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team), Arbolino, and Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo). On the following lap, Canet tried a move on Lopez at Turn 8 and while he could not get it done there, the Boscoscuro pilot handed over the lead when he ran wide at Turn 5 on Lap 4.

Salac passed Dixon into Turn 12 at the end of that lap and made it a two-for-one deal when he accelerated ahead of Lopez and into second place on exit. Then on Lap 5, the Czech rider got a brilliant run off Turn 11 and cleared Canet by the time they arrived at Turn 12, at the other end of the chute, to move into the lead. However, there was another man to watch and that was Arbolino. ‘Tiger Tony’ had overtaken Ogura for fifth on Lap 3 and prised fourth off Lopez on Lap 5 after a couple of attempts, before eventually picking off Dixon for third on Lap 6.

Next time through, Arbolino went under Canet and into second place at Turn 4, at which point he was more than a second in arrears of Salac. The Italian made light work of that margin and then did not need to work at all for the pass when Salac outbraked himself at Turn 12 on Lap 8. They had barely started the following lap when Race Direction decided the conditions were too dangerous to continue and put out the red flags, signalling what was supposed to be a pause in proceedings. Canet held third at the time, ahead of Dixon, Lopez, and Ogura. Fernandez was just one position further back, given the Championship leader had not long passed Roberts for seventh.

One new start time came and went when the conditions did not sufficiently improve, before riders were sent for a quick re-start after a delay of over half an hour. However, just as they circulated around the Buriram track on their way back to the grid, it became obvious that the rain was simply too heavy to continue, and the red flags were thrown again. Word soon came through that the race would not re-start and, with less than two thirds of the distance completed, half points were awarded.

Behind the aforementioned eight, Keminth Kubo (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) was classified ninth, ahead of Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), Sean Dylan Kelly (American Racing), Barry Baltus (RW Racing GP), Taiga Hada (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team), Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team), and Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP).

In the World Championship, Fernandez still leads, with his margin over Ogura cut to 1.5 points ahead of the final three rounds of the season. It means that every goes on the line when the Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix takes place at Phillip Island on October 14-16!

Moto2™ Race Top 10

1. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team)
2. Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2) + 0.251
3. Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) + 3.112
4. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) + 3.268
5. Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up) + 4.137
6. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 5.715
7. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 9.862
8. Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) + 1 lap
9. Keminth Kubo (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) + 1 lap
10. Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 1 lap

Dennis Foggia has given himself a glimmer of hope in the Moto3™ title race with an impressive ride to victory at the OR Thailand Grand Prix. The Leopard Racing rider qualified on pole position and led for all but one of the 22 laps around the Chang International Circuit, taking the chequered flag ahead of Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) and Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse). Foggia is now up to second in the World Championship, 49 points behind Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team), who worked hard for the 11 points which he earned by finishing fifth. His teammate Sergio Garcia, however, scored a dreaded ‘zero’ after he was collected on the opening lap and is now 56 points behind in the standings.

Foggia converted pole into the initial lead, while Sasaki had clawed his way back to second position by the end of the opening lap after being as low as fifth. Further back, Garcia’s rotten weekend got even worse. After qualifying only 20th, he was caught up in high drama at Turn 12, going down when he was hit by a highsiding Adrian Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Tech3). Fernandez himself also struck Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), who managed to stay upright, in an incident which will be reviewed post-race.

Up the front, Foggia continued to lead as a battle pack emerged just behind. Sasaki was getting plenty of attention from the likes of Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team), David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports), and Rossi, but every time he lost a position or two, he quickly reclaimed second place. Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) was also part of the lead bunch until he pulled off with an apparent technical problem on while running seventh on Lap 8.

That left a group of six headed by Foggia, from Sasaki, Muñoz, Nepa, Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI), and Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo), while Guevara had worked his way up from 11th on the grid to be at the head of the second bunch of riders in seventh position, although he had a fight on his hands to stay there. Foggia ceded the lead for the first time when he ran well wide through Turn 12 at the end of Lap 13, but got it back almost immediately when he overtook Sasaki on the long, open run to Turn 3.

Then, on Lap 14, it was Moreira’s turn to run wide at Turn 12 and he lost touch with the top four of Foggia, Sasaki, Rossi, and Muñoz. Rossi made a move on Sasaki on Lap 15 at Turn 3 and actually held second place for several laps, before the ‘Crazy Boy’ went back down his inside at Turn 12 at the end of Lap 19 in what had become a three-rider breakaway. Foggia, however, looked comfortable, and Sasaki nearly lost second spot again when he ran wide at Turn 3 on the penultimate lap. Then, at the very last corner, Rossi fired it down the inside of the Japanese rider but was in too hot and he too took the long route. At the chequered flag, it was Foggia the victor by a margin of 1.524 seconds over Sasaki, with Rossi 1.280 seconds further back.

Meanwhile, Muñoz, Moreira, and Masia had all dropped back into the second group, in which the key man was Guevara. In fact, the Championship leader very nearly saw his race come to an end on Lap 16 when Masia folded the front just ahead of him at Turn 3, but he KTM Ajo rider caught it and saved a crash. Guevara dropped from fifth to seventh when he made an error and ran well wide on Lap 20 at Turn 3, but had climbed all the way to fourth, seven seconds back from the podium places, at the start of the final lap.

Three corners later, it was almost disaster again for Guevara! He ran wide once more at Turn 3 and opened the door for Nepa to pinch fourth, then made contact with Muñoz on exit and saw Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) also go past as a result. Muñoz was therefore fifth as he approached the final corner of the race but he became the latest rider to outbrake himself. After all of that, Nepa claimed fourth position, Guevara a valuable fifth, and Migno was sixth until he was handed a position drop penalty which promoted Moreira ahead of him. Masia finished eighth, ahead of Muñoz and Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) in 10th.

The rest of the points finishers were Holgado, Joel Kelso (CIP Green Power), Carlos Tatay (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP), Xavier Artigas (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP), and Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team). Garcia eventually retired after trying to continue, while John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) and Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) crashed out in separate incidents, joining Suzuki and Fernandez as DNFs.

Now, Guevara has his first match point. Find out if he can clinch the Moto3™ World Championship at Phillip island when the Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix takes place on October 14-16!

Moto3™ Race Top 10

1. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing)
2. Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) + 1.524
3. Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 2.804
4. Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) + 9.414
5. Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) + 9.527
6. Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) + 9.971
7. Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) + 9.610
8. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 10.033
9. David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) + 10.046
10. Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) + 10.088

VR46 is on top in MotoGP™ again! Rookie Marco Bezzecchi, one of Valentino Rossi’s proteges, has broken the All Time Lap Record around the Chang International Circuit to grab pole position for the OR Thailand Grand Prix. The Mooney VR46 Racing Team rider set a 1:29.671 with the chequered flag out to edge Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin by just 0.021 seconds in Q2, while Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) gave his title hopes a boost by also getting himself onto the front row. World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) qualified fourth, but fellow title contender Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) could not escape Q1.

Martin had been fastest through Free Practice and he went even quicker again on his first run in Q2 in setting a 1:29.893. Prima Pramac Racing teammate Johann Zarco held second on a 1:29.963 as the track went quiet and Quartararo was third on a 1:30.009. Bagnaia, however, was all the way back in ninth at 0.835 seconds off the pace.

‘Pecco’ went early for his second run and climbed to fourth on a 1:30.098 before jumping all the way into provisional pole when he laid down a 1:29.775 on the following lap. Martin’s hopes of snatching P1 back from his Ducati stablemate were nearly dashed when he lost the rear of his Desmosedici through Turn 5 but the Spaniard caught it just in the nick of time and stayed ‘sunny side up’. Next time through, ‘The Martinator’ was indeed back on top as he set a 1:29.692.

That was already a new All Time Lap Record and then the chequered flag came out, but Bezzecchi had not given up on pole. The 23-year-old stormed to a 1:29.671, although that was still not the end of matters! Martin was flying around the Buriram circuit again and went red in Sector 3, meaning he was on track to snatch pole position straight back. However, he could not go on with it, checking in at ‘just’ 1:29.782 – still a faster lap than all but Bezzecchi’s and Bagnaia’s best – and would have to settle for P2.

Once again, Quartararo is the lone ranger amid a flock of Ducatis. He dug deep to claim fourth with a final-lap 1:29.909, Zarco qualified fifth despite being unable to improve on his first run, while Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) managed to also get onto Row 2 with a late 1:29.988 as he seeks to keep his title hopes alive. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) slipped from fourth at the end of the first runs to seventh all-told after an apparent issue of some sort with his motorcycle.

Marc Marquez came from Q1 to take eighth with the only new soft Michelin rear tyre he had left. However, it might have been even better, the eight-time World Champion on-track to go as high as the front row before a moment through the final corner on his last lap, which turned out to be a 1:30.133. Luca Marini made it both Mooney VR46 Racing Team entries on the first three rows, ahead of Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).

Earlier, in Q1, Marc Marquez was quickest at the end of the first runs on a 1:30.343, with Cal Crutchlow (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP™ Team) second on a 1:30.542, one position and 0.067 seconds up on Aleix Espargaro. The Aprilias had been struggling for grip all weekend but when Aleix Espargaro emerged from the pits again with a fresh soft Michelin rear slick, he grabbed his RS-GP by the scruff of the neck and somehow extracted a 1:30.202 from it to move into a provisional Q2 place.

In the final minute of the session, Marc Marquez reclaimed the ascendancy with a 1:30.038 while practically latched on to the exhaust pipe of Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) as he crossed the line, and Oliveira jumped from seventh to second with a 1:30.099. Aleix Espargaro had already returned to the pits by then and he was therefore pushed out of Q2, the Spaniard now firmly on the back foot in the title race given he will start 13th on Sunday afternoon.

Morbidelli qualified 14th, ahead of Crutchlow, and Raul Fernandez, who was back on his Tech3 KTM Factory Racing entry after a stomach ache saw him watch FP3 from the sidelines. Maverick Viñales suffered similar struggles to Aleix Espargaro as he put his Aprilia Racing machine just 17th on the grid, from Remy Gardner (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing), Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team), Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol), Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Tetsuta Nagashima (LCR Honda Idemitsu), Darryn Binder (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP™ Team), and Danilo Petrucci (Team Suzuki Ecstar).

So, we have a first-time pole-sitter, and Bagnaia has an opportunity to claw back ground on Quartararo. After the Sunday morning Warm Up at 10:40, the battle for the Thailand GP takes place over what are sure to be 26 thrilling laps from 15:00 (GMT +7)!

MotoGP™ Q2 Top 10

1. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) – 1:29.671
2. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.021
3. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.104
4. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) + 0.238
5. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.292
6. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) + 0.317
7. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.435
8. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.462
9. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.543
10. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.666

Somkiat Chantra has become the first Thai rider to qualify on pole position in Grand Prix history, and what better place to do it than at the OR Thailand Grand Prix? In a big afternoon for Idemitsu Honda Team Asia, Chantra not only secured pole with his 1:35.625, but its Moto2™ World Championship hope Ai Ogura qualified third-fastest. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) splits those two on the front row at the Chang International Circuit while Championship leader Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) will line up on the middle of Row 3 on Sunday afternoon.

Two Thai riders started Q2 and the home fans were sent into raptures when Chantra went to the top with a 1:35.625 on his first flying lap. That effort had him three tenths clear of the field and the gap was still more than two tenths when Arbolino consolidated second position with a 1:35.839 next time through. ‘Tiger Tony’ got even closer a couple of laps later when he set a 1:35.710, before a big save when the front wheel of his motorcycle started to fold at Turn 1.

Meanwhile, Ogura, who Arbolino had used as a reference, had crept up to third with a 1:35.973 and then improved to a 1:35.889 in the final four minutes of the session. That effort would prove crucial in the battle for a front row berth when Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) clocked a 1:35.956 to climb to fourth, where he would remain. Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) came from Q1 to qualify fifth on a 1:35.973, with Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up) also making it onto Row 2 on a 1:35.987.

Seventh went to Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) on a 1:36.106 and Fernandez set a 1:36.130 to qualify eighth, ahead of Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40), Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team), Cameron Beaubier (American Racing), Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2™), Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team), and Jeremy Alcoba (Liqui Moly Intact GP) in 14th.

There was a dramatic incident halfway through Q2 involving Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) and Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team). Replays suggested that Arenas lost the front of his bike before it slid into the machine of the unfortunate American. Thankfully, Roberts was to his feet, albeit in obvious pain, and he is off to the medical centre for a check-up. They qualified 15th and 17th respectively.

The other local hero, Keminth Kubo, earned 16th on the grid after some running repairs to his Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team. He crashed late in Q1 at Turn 9 before being sent back out and setting a 1:37.360 in Q2. Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) failed to set a time in the latetr 15-minute stanza of qualifying and is set to start 18th, having crashed early on at Turn 5.

In Q1, Vietti set the pace on a 1:36.038 and Kubo got through in second despite the aforementioned spill. Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), who is set to make his first race start since the Dutch GP, missed the top four in the session by 0.017 seconds and will start 19th, with Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Italtrans Racing Team) and Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools Speed Up) joining him on Row 7. Niccolo Antonelli (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) crashed at Turn 9 with the chequered flag out – rider okay – as he qualified 28th.

Can Chantra turn a home pole into a home victory. The Warm Up is next for Moto3™ on Sunday morning at 10:20 (GMT +7), then the race itself gets underway at 13:20!

Moto2™ Q2 Top 10

1. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) – 1:35.625
2. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.085
3. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.264
4. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.331
5. Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.348
6. Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up) + 0.362
7. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.481
8. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.505
9. Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40) + 0.639
10. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) + 0.691