Joe Roberts finally clinched his first victory of the season in Moto2. The American rider started from pole position at the Italian GP and frequently led the race to secure his second win in the category.
The race was shortened from 19 to 12 laps due to the delay caused by the red flag in the Moto3 race. Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing/Kalex) took full advantage of his pole position and maintained the lead, with Alonso López (MB Conveyors SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) in second and Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP/Kalex) in third.
The leading positions remained stable until the fourth lap when López managed to overtake Roberts, having nearly succeeded at the beginning of the same lap by taking advantage of the slipstream on the main straight. At the same time, Fermín Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) crashed, marking his second consecutive race retirement.
What a battle! 🔥@AlonsoLopez_21 takes the leads from @joerobertsracer ⚔️#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/SiSbYDcumR
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 2, 2024
Binder subsequently lost positions to Manuel González (QJMotor Gresini/Kalex) and Arón Canet (Fantic Racing/Kalex), and on the fifth lap, González moved up to second place, overtaking Roberts. While battling for a top-five position, Binder crashed at Arrabbiata 1 with seven laps remaining.
What a shame after the best performance of 2024 💥@DarrynBinder_15 podium hopes end in the gravel 👀#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/dZbozroKvr
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 2, 2024
On the ninth lap, González and Canet took advantage of an attack by Roberts on López to move up to first and second, respectively. The leading group also included MT Helmets-MSi riders Ai Ogura and Sergio García. Canet took the lead at Scarperia on the same lap.
With uncertainty looming, Roberts quickly regained the lead, with González in second and López in third. The top two riders started the final lap with a more significant margin over the chasers, and González used the slipstream to overtake Roberts at Turn 1.
However, the American responded immediately to reclaim the lead and maintained it until the finish to secure his first victory of the season. González finished second, and López completed the podium. Championship leader García took fourth place on the last lap by overtaking Ogura. Notably, wildcard Mattia Pasini (Team Ciatti Boscoscuro) was close to scoring points with a 12th place but crashed on the final lap.
