Salač finishes seventh in Moto2 at the Indonesian Grand Prix

Czech rider Filip Salač finished seventh in the Moto2 race at the Indonesian Grand Prix in Mandalika. After a poor qualifying that left him only 11th on the grid, the Czech improved his position and made it into the top ten, finishing 9.821 seconds behind the winner. In the overall standings after 17 of 22 rounds, Salač is seventh with 153 points.

A red flag and a restart

The Moto2 race was disrupted by a red flag after a multi-rider crash at the first corner of the opening lap: Daniel Holgado hit David Alonso, and Salač's team-mate Joe Roberts and Collin Veijer were also caught up. Before the stoppage, Salač had managed to climb from 11th on the grid to seventh.

The race was restarted and shortened by eight laps, to 14. Roberts and Veijer did not make the restart. Salač started ninth, moved up to eighth on the first lap, but was soon passed by Australian Agius. On lap five the Czech overtook the error-prone Arbolino and returned to eighth, and near the end he gained one more place: race leader Alex Escrig, who had led from the first lap and was close to his first career win, retired on the way into the final lap with technical problems.

His compatriot Izan Guevara celebrated the victory, his third in a row. Fighting for the world title, he again cut the gap to overall leader Manuel González, which is now just 5.5 points. González could have lost the lead, but a charge from eighth on the grid to second at the finish kept him at the top of the standings. The all-Spanish podium was completed by Holgado, who was involved in the crash at the first attempt to start the race.

Bezzecchi wins, Martín back in front

In MotoGP, Italian Marco Bezzecchi won on the factory Aprilia. On lap 19 he passed Saturday's qualifying winner Raúl Fernández and cruised to his fifth win of the season, the first since his home Grand Prix at Mugello in May.

The fight for the championship title goes on: Jorge Martín, who finished third on an Aprilia, returned to the top of the overall standings by two points. Marc Márquez, who had led the standings for just a day after winning Saturday's sprint, managed only sixth on his factory Ducati. Japan's Ai Ogura came fourth, and Aprilia took the first four places in the premier class for the first time in its history.

A new Moto3 champion

In the junior class, Máximo Quiles won for the tenth time this season. The 18-year-old Spaniard clinched the world title five races early, in only his second season in the championship. He has a 132-point lead over his closest rival and compatriot David Almansa.

The next round, the Australian Grand Prix, takes place in two weeks. It is being held for the last time at the circuit on Phillip Island.

Source: sport.cz