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Spain’s Maverick Vinales won the Australian Moto2 Grand Prix to keep Tito Rabat’s push for the world championship on hold at Phillip Island yesterday. |
Vinales, riding a Kalex, cleared away to win the 25-lap race by 1.329 seconds from Switzerland’s Thomas Luthi with Spaniard Rabat third.
Rabat’s podium finish extended his world championship lead to 41 points over his Finnish Kalex teammate Mika Kallio, who finished fourth in the race.
By finishing third Rabat has edged closer to the world Moto2 title with two races and a maximum of 50 points left at Sepang and Valencia.
Vinales, who will ride with Suzuki in MotoGP next season, won his third GP of the season after claiming the world Moto3 title last year.
It was another brilliant performance from Viñales who took his third win of an excellent rookie season in the intermediate class.
Rabat took the holeshot from pole but an early mistake saw him drop to seventh with a group of five involving himself, Vinales, Luthi, Kallio and Sam Lowes emerging at the front. Vinales managed the final stages of the race better than his rivals, crossing the line 1.329 seconds ahead of Luthi, with Rabat 0.175 secs further back.
Lowes eventually crossed the line fifth, less than two seconds off the podium, with Sandro Cortese over eight seconds behind the Englishman in sixth. Marcel Schrotter, Dominique Aegerter, Xavier Simeon and Jordi Torres completed the top 10.
Mattia Pasini fell after setting an early fastest lap, the Italian able to rejoin but eventually pitting. Thitpong Warokorn fell soon after but was unable to rejoin.
Warokorn’s fellow Thai rider, Ratthapark Wilairot crashed out with 12 laps to go.