We had anticipated it after the two days of testing: victory in the Japanese Moto2 GP would go to one of the two men who had dominated each session, the reigning champion and leader of the world championship, the Frenchman Johann Zarco, and Thomas Lüthi (Garage Plus Interwetten), who impressed observers... and his opponents not only by the quality of his best time, but even more by his consistency in performance.
After another excellent start from the center of the first line, Lüthi immediately took command, never to leave it again; after having fought for a long time with the young Italian Franco Morbidelli, he resisted the return of Zarco to win for the third time of the season, his thirteenth GP success. At the same time, he regained provisional third place in the championship, three races from the end. Lüthi came back to 43 lengths behind the leader of the general classification, while 75 remained at stake. The race of Robin Mulhauser and Iker Lecuona, the two drivers of the carXpert Interwetten team, unfortunately ended early, two falls occurred quickly in the race, even if the young Spaniard returned to the track before returning to his pit box with 9 laps remaining.
Barely got off the podium where he had accompanied the winner of the day, Frédéric Corminboeuf, the boss of CGBM Evolution, the structure which aligns the two Swiss teams, was of course delighted: “Tom had a huge weekend, he was present at each of the sessions, he was relaxed, relaxed, very confident and totally focused on his job, which he managed with tremendous brilliance. It is the fruit of the work of an entire team and our objective must remain the same for the last three races of the season: to ride at the highest level. »
He said…
Thomas Lüthi (Garage Plus Interwetten, 1st) “After the fantastic work done over the last two days, I was perfectly prepared for the race. When Johann came back to me he put an impressive amount of pressure on my shoulders, but I stayed focused and didn't make the mistake. Of course, at one point in the race, I remembered what happened last year in Malaysia, when he beat me at the very end of the GP. But this time I resisted. This success is a team victory: with Gilles Bigot, my chief technician, we did not relax our concentration for a second; I felt comfortable from the first day of free practice, but I wanted even more. Then, it was he who suggested I test another detail. The reward is great and I am determined to continue in the same vein: can’t wait for Phillip Island! »
