Moto2 Catalonia Barcelona Race: Celestino Vietti as an old veteran…

The intensity of the Catalan Grand Prix Moto2 which takes place this weekend in the suburbs of Barcelona is reinforced by the situation at the world championship where we find Celestine Vietti (Kalex, Mooney VR46 Racing Team, #13) and Ai Ogura (Kalex, Idemitsu Honda Team Asia, #79) in the lead, strictly tied on points!

Dominant at the start of the season, the young Italian saw his lead disintegrate when the intermediate category returned to Europe, and must now not only face the more consistent Japanese, but also to a lesser extent Aron Canet (Kalex, Flexbox HP40, #40) which only concedes 19 points and precedes a whole pack with long teeth made up of Joe Roberts (Kalex, Italtrans Racing Team, #16), Tony Arbolino (Kalex, ELF Marc VDS Racing Team, #14) and Augusto Fernandez (Kalex, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #37).

Celestine Vietti therefore had to react in Catalonia, and this is what he did by winning, after having recovered in Q1, his second pole position of the year by only eight thousandths ahead of Aron Canet, (poleman at Mugello) and 179 thousandths ahead Joe Roberts (winner in Portugal) who completes the first row.

The picture is therefore clear: it will be a tug-of-war!

 

 

The second line, consisting of Jake dixon (GasGas, GasGas Aspar Team, #96), Albert Arenas (GasGas, GasGas Aspar Team, #75) and Sam Lowes (Kalex, ELF Marc VDS Racing Team, #22), seems less dangerous for the protagonists in search of the world title, while Will Bendsneyder (Kalex, Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team, #64), Augusto Fernandez, Marcel Schrötter (Kalex, Liqui Moly Intact GP, #23) and Ai Ogura finish making the top 10.

Marcel Schrötter is the only rider to have chosen a hard rear tire.

 

 

The 31 riders taking part in the Catalan Moto2 Grand Prix, the explanation will take place over 22 laps of the 4,7 km track with a loose surface...

The conditions are as good as they can be, with clear skies and temperatures of 29° in the air and 52° on the asphalt.

What will this have in store for us? Grand Prix of Catalonia ? Before answering this question, here is the table which summarizes the facts known so far.

 

Catalonia – Barcelona Moto2™	2021	2022
FP1	1'43.703 Augusto Fernández	1'44.450 Arón Canet
FP2	1'43.687 Raul Fernández	1'44.752 Joe Roberts
FP3	1'43.446 Remy Gardner	1'44.154 Joe Roberts
Q1	1'43.684 Jorge Navarro	1'44.446 Alonso Lopez
Q2	1'42.977 Remy Gardner	1'43.823 Celestino Vietti
Warm up	1'43.732 Augusto Fernández	1'44.179 Arón Canet
Course	Gardner, R. Fernández, Virgo	Vietti, Canet, A. Fernández
All time lap record	1'42.977 Remy Gardner 2021

 

When the red lights go out... Joe Roberts starts best from the first row but it is Jake dixon who dives into the first corner in the lead.

 

Joe Roberts does not wait until the end of the first lap to regain the advantage and, at the end of the first lap, the peloton is made up of the American in front Jake Dixon, Arón Canet, Albert Arenas, Celestino Vietti, Ai Ogura, Marcel Schrötter, Augusto Fernández, Alonso Lopez (Boscoscuro, Speed ​​Up Racing, #21), Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex, Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team, #18) and Sam Lowes.

From the second lap, the Californian had a half-second lead over Aron Canet, himself detached in front of the peloton.

 

 

From then on, the gaps began to widen and the overtaking only concerned the peloton at the end of which a few falls were reported (Toledo, Salač, Beaubier, independently of each other).

 

 

With 15 laps to go, Joe Roberts is 1,7 seconds ahead of Aron Canet while the latter is gradually recovered by a group of four pilots composed of Jake Dixon, Albert Arenas, Celestino Vietti and Augusto Fernández.

Two laps later and after contact, Jake Dixon takes advantage of Aron Canet for second place.

Unfortunately, 12 laps from the checkered flag, Joe Roberts falls on his own at turn five, which significantly raises the suspense for victory…

 

Aron Canet takes command with 10 laps to go while Marcel Schrötter pass Albert Arenas for 5th place.

Celestine Vietti snatches second position two laps later and begins to put pressure on Aron Canet.

 

 

The championship leader moves into the lead in the later lap race, which virtually gives him a 17-point advantage in the world championship standings.

More Aron Canet does not give up and regains the leadership with five laps to go.

Sam Lowes fall and Albert Arenas abandoned.

 

 

At the start of the last round, Celestine Vietti regained the advantage over Aron Canet but the Spaniard took advantage of the straight to win under braking.

Celestine Vietti returns to the entrance to the Stadium and maintains its advantage until the finish.

 

 

Disappointing race for Ai Ogura, unlike Peter Acosta who finished 6th after starting 12th.

In the championship, Celestine Vietti regains some air, with 133 points against 117 Ai Ogura and 109 to Aron Canet.

 

Results of the Moto2 Catalan Grand Prix on the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit:

Credit ranking: MotoGP.com