Photo by Gold & Goose
Moto2
The first five positions barely changed after the first couple of laps, but nobody could say the Moto2 race wasn’t a thriller, with escalating tension in a bitter battle between team-mates, resolved by a spectacular crash on the final lap.
The team-mates were Franco Morbidelli and EG-VDS Kalex colleague Alex Marquez; the loser was the latter, who had shadowed the Italian constantly, and briefly got ahead the lap before. Marquez could almost have reached out and touched the VDS Kalex when he finally asked too much of the rear tyre, and went looping into the gravel.
At the same time, first-time pole starter Miguel Oliveira on the all-new Red Bull KTM had been closing on the pair, cutting a gap of more than two seconds on lap eight down to some seven tenths with five laps to go. At the finish, he’d barely dropped away, just 1.7 seconds behind.
It was Morbidelli’s second straight win; and a second podium in succession for Thomas Luthi (CarXpert Kalex), almost ten seconds down in third.
Remy Gardner was knocked down in the first corner of the Moto2 race, he broke his right ankle. He’ll be flown to Spain to see if he needs surgery.
GRAN PREMIO MOTUL DE LA REPÚBLICA ARGENTINA Moto2 Race Classification 2017
| 1 | 25 | 21 | Franco MORBIDELLI | ITA | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Kalex | 166.4 | 39’50.036 |
| 2 | 20 | 44 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | POR | Red Bull KTM Ajo | KTM | 166.3 | +1.683 |
| 3 | 16 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | CarXpert Interwetten | Kalex | 165.7 | +10.551 |
| 4 | 13 | 7 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | ITA | Forward Racing Team | Kalex | 165.4 | +15.577 |
| 5 | 11 | 97 | Xavi VIERGE | SPA | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 164.8 | +24.527 |
| 6 | 10 | 24 | Simone CORSI | ITA | Speed Up Racing | Speed Up | 164.7 | +24.783 |
| 7 | 9 | 42 | Francesco BAGNAIA | ITA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | Kalex | 164.7 | +24.965 |
| 8 | 8 | 11 | Sandro CORTESE | GER | Dynavolt Intact GP | Suter | 164.7 | +25.156 |
| 9 | 7 | 41 | Brad BINDER | RSA | Red Bull KTM Ajo | KTM | 164.7 | +25.622 |
| 10 | 6 | 55 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | MAL | Petronas Raceline Malaysia | Kalex | 164.7 | +25.933 |
| 11 | 5 | 23 | Marcel SCHROTTER | GER | Dynavolt Intact GP | Suter | 164.6 | +26.139 |
| 12 | 4 | 10 | Luca MARINI | ITA | Forward Racing Team | Kalex | 164.6 | +26.456 |
| 13 | 3 | 2 | Jesko RAFFIN | SWI | Garage Plus Interwetten | Kalex | 164.6 | +26.697 |
| 14 | 2 | 77 | Dominique AEGERTER | SWI | Kiefer Racing | Suter | 164.6 | +27.461 |
| 15 | 1 | 9 | Jorge NAVARRO | SPA | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | Kalex | 164.5 | +27.628 |
| 16 | 57 | Edgar PONS | SPA | Pons HP40 | Kalex | 163.9 | +36.690 | |
| 17 | 32 | Isaac VIÑALES | SPA | BE-A-VIP SAG Team | Kalex | 163.8 | +39.132 | |
| 18 | 60 | Julian SIMON | SPA | Garage Plus Interwetten | Kalex | 163.8 | +39.297 | |
| 19 | 45 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | JPN | Teluru SAG Team | Kalex | 163.7 | +39.444 | |
| 20 | 54 | Mattia PASINI | ITA | Italtrans Racing Team | Kalex | 163.4 | +43.908 | |
| 21 | 73 | Alex MARQUEZ | SPA | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Kalex | 163.4 | +44.165 | |
| 22 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | AGR Team | Kalex | 163.3 | +45.719 | |
| 23 | 62 | Stefano MANZI | ITA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | Kalex | 162.9 | +52.618 | |
| 24 | 89 | Khairul Idham PAWI | MAL | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | Kalex | 162.4 | +59.071 | |
| 25 | 47 | Axel BASSANI | ITA | Speed Up Racing | Speed Up | 162.2 | +1’02.113 | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 52 | Danny KENT | GBR | Kiefer Racing | Suter | 164.4 | 9 Laps | ||
| 5 | Andrea LOCATELLI | ITA | Italtrans Racing Team | Kalex | 160.2 | 16 Laps | ||
| 19 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 | Kalex | 162.1 | 21 Laps | ||
| 49 | Axel PONS | SPA | RW Racing GP | Kalex | 157.0 | 22 Laps | ||
| 40 | Fabio QUARTARARO | FRA | Pons HP40 | Kalex | 156.8 | 22 Laps | ||
| 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | JPN | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | Kalex | 70.6 | 22 Laps | ||
| 87 | Remy GARDNER | AUS | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 0 Lap | |||
Moto2 World Standing 2017
| 1 | Franco MORBIDELLI | Kalex | ITA | 50 |
| 2 | Thomas LUTHI | Kalex | SWI | 36 |
| 3 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | POR | 33 |
| 4 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | Kalex | ITA | 21 |
| 5 | Xavi VIERGE | Tech 3 | SPA | 18 |
Moto3
Fast tracks make close racing, and it took until beyond half distance for a five-strong group to break clear of the brawling Moto3 field. It looked like anybody’s race … but for the strength of Qatar winner Joan Mir.
The Leopard Honda rider had started from 16thxxx on the grid, but by lap seven took the lead for the first time.
Mir had the lion’s share of it over the line, but the pressure was huge – and the last lap as fraught and thrilling as the preceding 20.
Mir led fellow-Honda riders Jorge Martin and pole starter John McPhee and the KTM’s of Philipp Oettl and Andrea Migno onto the start of it.
The strongest challenge came from British Talent Team’s McPhee, whose efforts almost put him wide through the final right-left corner set, allowing Gresini teamster Martin a sniff at second.
They crossed the line covered by less than four tenths, with fifth-placed Oettl (Schedl KTM) only three more behind; SKY VR46’s Migno right on his heels.
It was an exact repeat of the Qatar podium.
GRAN PREMIO MOTUL DE LA REPÚBLICA ARGENTINA Moto3 Race Classification 2017
| 1 | 25 | 36 | Joan MIR | SPA | Leopard Racing | Honda | 157.0 | 38’33.377 |
| 2 | 20 | 17 | John MCPHEE | GBR | British Talent Team | Honda | 157.0 | +0.261 |
| 3 | 16 | 88 | Jorge MARTIN | SPA | Del Conca Gresini Moto3 | Honda | 157.0 | +0.339 |
| 4 | 13 | 65 | Philipp OETTL | GER | Südmetall Schedl GP Racing | KTM | 157.0 | +0.641 |
| 5 | 11 | 16 | Andrea MIGNO | ITA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | KTM | 156.9 | +0.890 |
| 6 | 10 | 11 | Livio LOI | BEL | Leopard Racing | Honda | 156.5 | +7.598 |
| 7 | 9 | 5 | Romano FENATI | ITA | Marinelli Rivacold Snipers | Honda | 156.5 | +7.761 |
| 8 | 8 | 24 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | JPN | SIC58 Squadra Corse | Honda | 156.5 | +7.831 |
| 9 | 7 | 58 | Juanfran GUEVARA | SPA | RBA BOE Racing Team | KTM | 156.2 | +12.000 |
| 10 | 6 | 27 | Kaito TOBA | JPN | Honda Team Asia | Honda | 156.2 | +12.079 |
| 11 | 5 | 44 | Aron CANET | SPA | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | Honda | 156.2 | +12.278 |
| 12 | 4 | 40 | Darryn BINDER | RSA | Platinum Bay Real Estate | KTM | 156.2 | +12.294 |
| 13 | 3 | 42 | Marcos RAMIREZ | SPA | Platinum Bay Real Estate | KTM | 156.2 | +12.480 |
| 14 | 2 | 14 | Tony ARBOLINO | ITA | SIC58 Squadra Corse | Honda | 156.2 | +12.620 |
| 15 | 1 | 6 | Maria HERRERA | SPA | AGR Team | KTM | 156.1 | +13.083 |
| 16 | 8 | Nicolo BULEGA | ITA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | KTM | 156.2 | +14.393 | |
| 17 | 7 | Adam NORRODIN | MAL | SIC Racing Team | Honda | 155.7 | +18.861 | |
| 18 | 84 | Jakub KORNFEIL | CZE | Peugeot MC Saxoprint | Peugeot | 155.6 | +20.573 | |
| 19 | 12 | Marco BEZZECCHI | ITA | CIP | Mahindra | 155.2 | +26.774 | |
| 20 | 71 | Ayumu SASAKI | JPN | SIC Racing Team | Honda | 155.2 | +26.905 | |
| 21 | 96 | Manuel PAGLIANI | ITA | CIP | Mahindra | 155.2 | +27.400 | |
| 22 | 95 | Jules DANILO | FRA | Marinelli Rivacold Snipers | Honda | 155.2 | +27.534 | |
| 23 | 64 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NED | Red Bull KTM Ajo | KTM | 155.2 | +27.612 | |
| 24 | 41 | Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT | THA | Honda Team Asia | Honda | 154.7 | +35.218 | |
| 25 | 75 | Albert ARENAS | SPA | Aspar Mahindra Moto3 | Mahindra | 153.7 | +50.124 | |
| 26 | 4 | Patrik PULKKINEN | FIN | Peugeot MC Saxoprint | Peugeot | 151.9 | +1’18.379 | |
| 27 | 33 | Enea BASTIANINI | ITA | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | Honda | 151.8 | +1’20.064 | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 21 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | ITA | Del Conca Gresini Moto3 | Honda | 156.7 | 9 Laps | ||
| 48 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | ITA | Aspar Mahindra Moto3 | Mahindra | 154.4 | 9 Laps | ||
| 19 | Gabriel RODRIGO | ARG | RBA BOE Racing Team | KTM | 156.6 | 10 Laps | ||
| 23 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | ITA | Red Bull KTM Ajo | KTM | 152.3 | 20 Laps | ||
Moto3 World Standing 2017
| 1 | Joan MIR | Honda | SPA | 50 |
| 2 | John MCPHEE | Honda | GBR | 40 |
| 3 | Jorge MARTIN | Honda | SPA | 32 |
| 4 | Andrea MIGNO | KTM | ITA | 21 |
| 5 | Romano FENATI | Honda | ITA | 20 |
