Pedro Acosta cruised to a dominant seventh win of the 2023 Moto2 season in the Indonesian Grand Prix to extend his points lead to 65.
The Ajo rider made a spirited start and managed to rise from fourth on the grid to second as the field exited Turn 1, the Spaniard quickly heaping the pressure on pole man Aron Canet.
Acosta managed to dispatch Canet at Turn 1 only a few tours into the encounter, the KTM junior rider swiftly settling into a rhythm that allowed him to continuously eke out a gap over his pursuers.
Having also looked after his tyres effectively, Acosta was never headed beyond this point and ended up taking the chequered flag first for the seventh time this term in assured fashion by just over two seconds on Canet.
The Pons pilot held off the advances of Speed Up’s Fermin Aldeguer in the closing stages, the British Moto2 GP victor having seemingly saved his rubber better than the pole man.
Aldeguer got to within six-tenths-of-a-second of his target as the race entered its climactic moments, though ultimately fell away once again. This left Canet to claim his 12th runners-up result in the intermediate class ahead of Aldeguer, who claimed his second career rostrum finish.
Jake Dixon meanwhile enjoyed a late-race charge to grab fourth from Manuel Gonzalez on the final tour, the GasGas rider recovering from a mistake that saw him run wide while battling with Marc VDS’ Tony Arbolino.
The Brit managed to recover the deficit and get back ahead of Arbolino before dispatching Gonzalez, the latter’s gamble on opting for the harder compound rear tyre failing to pay off as he rounded off the top five.
Arbolino’s title chances continue to look ever more remote as he took sixth having struggled for rear grip past half-distance, though he still had enough speed to stay ahead of Japanese GP winner Somkiat Chantra.
Sergio Garcia came home eighth on the sister Pons entry, while Joe Roberts claimed ninth for Italtrans ahead of the other Marc VDS machine of Sam Lowes.
Ai Ogura had a tough day and could only salvage 17th having run outside the top 20 in the opening circulations, while Alonso Lopez also failed to score after crashing at Turn 1 on the first lap with Alberto Surra.
Gresini’s Filip Salac also suffered a tough day, the Czech rider first making a mistake that dropped him towards the back end of the top 20 before going down at the final bend after making contact with Ogura.
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