Fermin Aldeguer defended his pole position with authority at Phillip Island this morning to claim victory in the Moto2 Australian Grand Prix against a top-flight Aron Canet. The future Gresini rider thus moves to within one point of second place in the championship with three races remaining.
The Moto2 Australian Grand Prix lived up to all expectations, and those who made the effort to watch the lights go out live at around 3:15am this morning in Europe certainly didn't regret it.
From the first laps of the race, Fermin Aldeguer was forced to give up his position to Aron Canet and Alonso Lopez, before a three-way fight for victory began. Although the #21 dropped the leading duo when he began to suffer with his tires, before falling, the show only grew in intensity up front.
As he headed into the final lap, Fermin Aldeguer made a mistake by releasing the brakes in sector 1, which allowed Canet to take the lead of the race. The #54 then showed great determination, taking all the risks.
He finally tried a maneuver on the brakes a few bends later, sticking his fairing to that of the n°44 to force it past. An action that has also remained etched in the mind of Marc Marquez, whose duel with Jorge Martin animated the MotoGP race, a few hours later.
When referring to the incisive nature of his overtaking of the number 89, the multiple world champion said to his opponent: "It's not as much as Aldeguer", before going up on the podium.
After securing his third Moto2 victory this season, the winner of the day is naturally satisfied, and issues a warning to his rivals for the rest of the championship. Last year, the SpeedUp rider also had a fairly poor season in terms of victories, before climbing onto the top step of the podium in the last four races.
Could he repeat this feat in 2024? If he displays the same level of performance during the rest of the triple header, nothing is impossible. So it remains for Aldeguer to confirm in Thailand.
“In the middle of the race I felt safe and I knew I could give much more, entrusts the latter upon arrival. On the last lap I came in very strong and when I saw that Canet made a mistake at the entrance, I won. I am very satisfied with the way I managed this race which was incredible. From now on, we have to go in this direction if we want to close the championship in style.
A championship in which he currently occupies third place, one point behind Aron Canet, and sixty-six points from the leader, defended by Ai Ogura who will have a second opportunity to be crowned next week in Buriram.
