Alonso Lopez batted away the advances of a charging Barry Baltus to secure victory in Qatar, while pre-season Moto2 title favorite Fermin Aldeguer failed to score.
Lopez took advantage of a poor start from pole-man Aron Canet, who dropped as low as eighth, to snatch away the initiative into the opening bend, with Gresini’s Manuel Gonzalez following him through.
His lead was short-lived though as a recovering Canet soon carved through the lead pack to re-take the lead only a few laps later, though Lopez’s patience would soon be rewarded. Canet was the first to fall victim to new intermediate-class tire supplier Pirelli’s rubber, which deteriorated much more severely than the previous Dunlop product used.
The Fantic rider started to struggle for rear grip after hitting the front, and he was soon overcome by Lopez and Gonzalez once more. Lopez continued to lead the encounter as Gonzalez eventually dropped away, though the Speed Up pilot was faced with a new threat in RW Racing’s Baltus and MT Helmet’s-MSI’s Sergio Garcia, who had kept more grip in their tires.
Lopez looked to be fading as Baltus ranged ever closer, the Belgian ace prodding for an opening as the lap counter ticked down. He looked to find a way through as the duo started the final lap, though Lopez put his Boscoscuro machine in all the right places to prevent Baltus from finding an opening.
Try as he might, Baltus was unable to stage an attack on Lopez, allowing him to take the chequered flag and win by just 0.055s. The runners-up spot still marked Baltus’ and the RW squad’s maiden Moto2 podium finish, his previous best being sixth.
Garcia meanwhile started to run out of grip over the last couple of tours and dropped away from the lead battle, though still claimed third to grab his first-ever rostrum result ahead of team-mate Ai Ogura. Gonzalez ended up fading to fifth, the Gresini man narrowly hanging on from a charging Marcos Ramirez.
The American Racing rider fell to as low as 17th in the early stages as he prioritized keeping his tires in good shape. His decision paid off handsomely across the second half of the encounter as he scythed through the pack to sixth, the Spaniard by far the fastest man on track to end up just five seconds from victory.
His team-mate Joe Roberts was seventh ahead of the other Gresini entry of Albert Arenas, while Ajo’s Celestino Vietti snatched ninth from a struggling Canet on the run to the line.
Pre-season championship tip Aldeguer meanwhile had a horrible evening in Qatar, the Speed Up man making a poor start and dropping to 14th. He later recovered to ninth, but later fell back once more as he seemingly destroyed his rubber. Ajo rookie cemented his pain by stealing away the final point for 15th at the death, leaving 2023 Qatar winner Aldeguer only 16th.
Marc VDS also had a tough evening under the Qatari lights, Tony Arbolino dropping back throughout the contest to eventually take 20th just ahead of new team-mate Filip Salac.
CFMoto’s Sergio Garcia capped off a tough weekend for the Aspar Moto2 team by retiring in the pits with a mechanical issue just past mid-distance. This followed team-mate Jake Dixon being ruled out of the rest of the weekend due to a nasty crash in final practice, though the Brit looks likely to be back for the next round in Portugal.
