Ai Ogura delivered a remarkable performance to win the Moto2 Catalan GP, coming from tenth on the grid to clinch victory. His impressive recovery led to a one-two finish for MT Helmets-MSi, with teammate Sergio García reinforcing his lead in the championship as key rivals had less favorable results.
Starting from pole position, Sergio García (MT Helmets-MSi/Boscoscuro) held his advantage, with Fermín Aldeguer (MB Conveyors/Boscoscuro) in second and Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo/Kalex) in third.
The first lap saw three crashes: Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex) and Izan Guevara (CFMoto Inde Aspar/Kalex) immediatly in the first corners; and later on Ayumu Sasaki (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team/Kalex).
IT'S GOOOOOOOO IN #Moto2! 🚥@garciadols11 maintains the lead as @IzanGuevara28 and @somkiat35 go down at Turn 1 👀#CatalanGP🏁 pic.twitter.com/cmBAFzURXv
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 26, 2024
Shortly after, Aldeguer lost positions to Albert Arenas (QJMotor Gresini/Kalex) and Ogura but quickly recovered, overtaking García to take the lead by the end of the second lap.
Once at the front, Aldeguer began to pull away, creating a gap between himself and García, while the rest of the pack struggled to keep up. Within the first ten laps, Arenas was overtaken by Alonso López (MB Conveyors SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) and Ogura.
Ogura steadily climbed to third place and, after passing López, started to close in on the leaders. With nine laps remaining, Vietti crashed out, removing himself from contention
Bad news for Aldeguer on the 14th lap when he received a Long Lap penalty for exceeding track limits. His race ended disastrously the following lap when he crashed while attempting to serve his penalty, leaving García comfortably in the lead with Ogura in second and López in third.
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?? 🤯@Aldeguer54 crashes as he was serving his penalty 💥#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/GssafHevdR
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 26, 2024
The Japanese erased the gap to García and overtook him on the main straight to take the lead with four laps to go. Meanwhile, López not only lost touch with the front two but also fell back to third place, eventually being overtaken by Jake Dixon (CFMoto Inde Aspar/Kalex).
The race came to an end, with Ogura keeping his lead to finish the race 3.816s ahead of García. Dixon secured a comfortable third place, marking his first points of the season. The battle for fourth was intense, with Jeremy Alcoba (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team/Kalex) coming out on top against Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP/Kalex) and Arenas on the final lap.
Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team/Kalex) finished 11th, losing ground in the title chase. Jorge Navarro (Klint Forward) also made headlines by securing 12th place, earning the first points of the season for the Swiss manufacturer.
