Moto2: Bolstered by 2018 MotoGP Contract, Nakagami Wins Silverstone

Japanese rider Takaaki Nakagami won the British Moto2 Race at Silverstone ahead of pole man Mattia Pasini and championship leader Franco Morbidelli. Nakagami was heading the 2nd row in 4th behind Pasini, Alex Marquez and Morbidelli. Alongside the Japanese rider were Luca Marini and Dominique Aegerter. Morbidelli’s main title rival Tom Luthi had qualified 9th behind Lorenzo Baldassarri and Miguel Oliveira.

As the lights went out, Alex Marquez got a good start and led the way, barging Pasini out of the way in the process. Marquez and teammate Morbidelli were simply running away and trading fastest laps. Soon the two teammates began to trade places, normally when that happens, the rest of the pack begin to catch up. Sure enough, the likes of Mattia Pasini, Tom Luthi, Miguel Oliveira and Takaaki Nakagami closed the gap. Morbidelli soon overtook Marquez and the latter responded immediately by overtaking him back. Then it happened, Alex Marquez lost the rear of the bike and went down, Morbidelli now had a clear run. But another problem presented itself, Takaaki Nakagami. The Idemitsu Honda rider passed Morbidelli for the lead and never looked back. Pasini too made short work of Morbidelli and started to chase after Nakagami.

But it was too little, too late as Nakagami saw the chequered flag for the first time, as he won his maiden race under red flag conditions. Mattia Pasini and Franco Morbidelli rounded out the podium. The rest of the top 10 were Tom Luthi, Francesco Bagnaia, Simone Corsi, Stefano Manzi, Miguel Oliveira, Brad Binder and Dominique Aegerter. The remaining point-scorers were Luca Marini, Xavi Vierge, Jorge Navarro, a recovering Alex Marquez and Axel Pons.