What the tests revealed is that a circuit as long and as technical as the CoTA is not available to just anyone. Indeed, throughout the free practice sessions, qualifying and warm up, only experienced drivers, even very experienced ones, were able to put their names in the top five.
We even find the veteran Mattia Pasini alongside Franco Morbidelli, Alex Marquez, Takaaki Nakagami et Tom Luthi. The only relative exception to this observation, Miguel Oliveira and his brand new KTM.
With a perfectly clear sky and almost ideal temperatures (24° in the air, 35° on the ground), the race therefore presents itself under the best auspices for a Franco Morbidelli who will try to make it three at the start of the championship.
Conversely, Danny Kent (disagreement)) and Iker Lecuona (still convalescent) are forfeited for this event.
Here are the references available at the start of this 2017 Grand Prix of the Americas:
| #AmericasGP Moto2 | 2016 |
2017 |
| FP1 | 2'10.156 Alex Rins | 2'11.606 Miguel Oliveira |
| FP2 | 2'09.564 Alex Rins | 2'10.601 Alex Marquez |
| FP3 | 2'09.981 Sam Lowes | 2'10.164 Alex Marquez |
| QP | 2'08.850 Alex Rins | 2'09.379 Franco Morbidelli |
| Warm Up | 2'10.237 Takaaki Nakagami | 2'10.089 Takaaki Nakagami |
| Course | Rins Lowes Zarco | |
| All time lap record | 2'08.850 Alex Rins 2016 |
From a first line composed of Franco Morbidelli, Mattia Pasini et Alex Marquez, it is the poleman who maintains his advantage while Julian Simon et Stefano manzi fall at the first turn.
19 laps of fierce and fast # Moto2 action is go! #AmericasGP pic.twitter.com/JmBbj2UYBt
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) April 23, 2017
After a few turns, Mattia Pasini temporarily seizes command while Lorenzo Baldassarri, Jesko Raffin et Yonny Hernandez also go to the ground before the end of the first round.
The first round ends with the following top 10: Morbidelli, Pasini, Marquez, Nakagami, Luthi, Oliveira, Aegerter, Virgo, Schrotter and Corsi.
In the second round Alex Marquez snatches leadership from his teammate shortly before Axel Pons never lose control of your Kalex.
At the front, it was a festival between the two drivers of Team Marc VDS until Marc's brother faced a drop of water causing him to lose two places.
In the fifth round, Tom Luthi grabs the
second position to the detriment of Mattia Pasini, a good half-second from Franco Morbidelli who is escaping.
Mattia Pasini falling elsewhere on the next lap while trying to follow Alex Marquez, himself forcing himself to get back on Tom Luthi.
(I.e. @MattiaPasini goes down out of 4th! #RiderOK #AmericasGP pic.twitter.com/Wk6RICYdfu
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) April 23, 2017
At the halfway mark, Franco Morbidelli created a lead of around a second over Tom Luthi which precedes itself Alex Marquez, Takaaki Nakagami, Miguel Oliveira, Dominique Aegerter, Simone Corsi, Marcel Schrotter, Xavi Virgo et Xavier Simeon, Fabio Quartararo being then 18th.
Tire wear or not, the fact remains Tom Luthi, tenth after tenth, gradually manages to reduce his gap on the leader.
7 laps from the checkered flag, Takaaki Nakagami snatches third place from Alex Marquez while Franco Morbidelli reacts to pressure Tom Luthi and restores a gap of more than a second.
In the peloton, we note the beautiful race of Jorge Navarro, present in a group fighting for 10th place. fabio quartararo is then in the points, in 15th position.
From then on, the race seems stabilized for the first five which are Morbidelli, Luthi, Nakagami, Marquez and Aegerter.
Two laps from the finish, Fabio Quartararo takes 12th position ahead Jorge Navarro, a position that he will defend until the finish, thus obtaining the best place of a rookie.
The first rider to win the first 3 intermediate class races of the year since Kato in 2001!
🏆🏆🏆 @FrankyMorbido12 #AmericasGP # Moto2 pic.twitter.com/CAyKztztJs
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) April 23, 2017
Ranking compiled by our friends at crash.net:
1. Franco Morbidelli ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS (Kalex)
41m 20.078s
2. Thomas luthi SWI CarXpert Interwetten (Kalex)
41m 22.711s
3. Takaaki Nakagami JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 41m 26.887s
4. Alex Marquez SPA EG 0,0 Marc VDS (Kalex) 41m 29.930s
5. Dominique Aegerter SWI Kiefer Racing (Suter)
41m 31.005s
6. Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 41m 33.107s
7. Simone Courses ITA Speed Up Racing (Speed Up) 41m 33.413s
8. Marcel schrotter GER Dynavolt Intact GP (Suter)
41m 33.832s
9. Xavi Verge SPA Tech 3 Racing (Tech 3) 41m 38.157s
10. Luca marini ITA Forward Racing Team (Kalex)
41m 41.496s
11. Hafiz Syahrin MAL Petronas Raceline Malaysia (Kalex) 41m 41.508s
12. fabio quartararo FRA Pons HP40 (Kalex) 41m 41.814s
13. Xavier Simeon BEL Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 (Kalex) 41m 42.052s
14. Ricard Cardus SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 41m 44.323s
15. Jorge Navarro SPA Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 41m 44.941s
16. Francis Bagnaia ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (Kalex) 41m 48.304s
17. Isaac Viñales SPA BE-A-VIP SAG Team (Kalex)
41m 48.521s
18. Axel Pons SPA RW Racing GP (Kalex) 41m 54.845s
19. Tetsuta nagashima JPN Teluru SAG Team (Kalex)
41m 57.357s
20. Andrea Locatelli ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 41m 57.608s
21. Jesko Raffin SWI Garage Plus Interwetten (Kalex)
41m 59.031s
22. Mattia Pasini ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex)
42m 3.798s
23. Sandra Cortese GER Dynavolt Intact GP (Suter)
42m 11.593s
24. Axel Bassani ITA Speed Up Racing (Speed Up)
42m 27.919s
25. Khairul Idham Pawi MAL IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 42m 28.215s
Edgar Pons SPA Pons HP40 (Kalex) DNF
Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA Forward Racing Team (Kalex)
DNF
Yonny Hernandez COL AGR Team (Kalex) DNF
Julian Simon SPA Tech 3 Racing (Tech 3) DNF
Stefano manzi ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (Kalex)
DNF
