The fairytale continued for Idemitsu Honda Team Asia as they secured a one-two at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, with Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) perfect under the pressure of having been the fastest rider all weekend and stealing the spotlight in the Moto2™ race. The Thai rider dominated from start to finish, establishing a lead which ultimately proved insurmountable.
Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) gave it a good go before being forced to settle for second, with Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completing the podium as he battled through a gaggle of riders to extend his lead.
The lights were barely out before the drama started. Chantra’s rapid launch ensured the holeshot to establish his lead. Meanwhile, Aron Canet (Pons Wegow Los40) – who was fast away from seventh on the grid – and Acosta made aggressive starts before coming together, something that proved costly for both riders as they made life difficult for themselves early on. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) took advantage, moving up to P2 briefly before going wide at Turn 5 and falling to fourth.
Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) made his way up to second from sixth, despite a double long-lap penalty looming over him for irresponsible riding last weekend in India. Two laps in, Ogura made his move on Lopez, and the Idemitsu Honda Team Asia one-two that had become so familiar at Mobility Resort Motegi this weekend was restored.
Lopez would eventually have to pay the price for his misdemeanors in India, doing so with 15 laps to go and dropping into 10th, just ahead of Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team).
Acosta began to advance up the field, picking off Filip Salač (QJMotor Gresini Moto2™) before overtaking Dixon to move into third, a podium position and crucially 16 points in the Championship that Acosta wouldn’t relinquish without a fight.
Meanwhile, his title rival Arbolino struggled and spent much of the race engaged in a duel with Canet for ninth place, managing to hold off the Spanish rider until lap 13, at which point the Spaniard successfully made his move.
Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) found himself in the gravel trap at Turn 10, plummeting out of the points, with Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp) doing the same shortly afterwards. The duo rejoined, but the next two to take a tumble couldn’t: Kohta Nozane crashed out of his home Grand Prix at that same corner after a career-best Qualifying, before Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) had been progressing as well, before crashing out at Turn 14 with 12 laps to go.
On the final laps, Dixon sought to cut the gap with Acosta in the battle for third, but was unable to position himself to make a move on the #37. At the same time, Chantra’s lead, which had looked insurmountable, suddenly started to shrink. Ogura managed to make up sixth tenths of a second with eight laps to go, before Chantra pushed back to hold his lead for a spectacular finish. It was a win which also meant that Kalex claimed the Moto2™ Constructors’ World Championship.
Behind Dixon, Salač completed the top five ahead of Manuel Gonzalez (Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Team), with Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing) in seventh ahead of Canet. Zonta van den Goorbergh (Fieten Olie Racing GP) took another top ten result in ninth, with Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husvarna Intact GP) completing the top ten.
Third place was enough for Acosta to extend his lead in the riders’ standings to a whopping 50 points, but there remain plenty left on the table. Make sure to tune in for the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia!
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