Going in to today's race, Toni Elias had a 55 point lead in the Moto2 Championship standings, and two consecutive race wins. Elias took his third consecutive race win today, and extended his lead to 67 points over Andrea Iannone.
It is the first time in Elias' Moto2 career that he has ever won three races in a row. The Gresini Racing rider beat out pole sitter Julian Simon and Scott Redding for the win, in a race that was restarted and shortened to 17 laps.
Two separate crashes on the opening lap caused the restart. Shoya Tomizawa and Michael Ranseder both went down at the beginning of the original race. Neither were able to get back on their bikes for the restart.
Elias started from 6th place when the race was restarted, but got the hole shot and quickly made his way up to first. Elias was overtaken by Simon on the fifth lap, and the two Spaniards battled upfront for the lead for the remainder of the race.
With just 6 laps to go, Elias mad a fantastic overtaking move to regain the lead, and was able to hold onto it until he crossed the checkered flags. It was Elias' fifth win of the Moto2 season, and makes him the clear contender for the title.
Scott Redding crossed the line in third to claim his first ever podium victory, and Andrea Iannone was close behind in fourth. Iannone let Elias widen the gap in the Moto2 standings, but things could have been much worse. Iannone started from the 7th row today, and had a great race to work his way back up into the top five.
Simon Corsi also started from the back of the pack, but was able to maneuver his way up into the fifth place spot.
Thomas Luthi, who finished 7th, is now tied in third place with Julian Simon, behind Andrea Iannone and Toni Elias.
All the Americans improved on their starting positions today, and Jasin Di Salvo managed to break into the top ten with a ninth place finish. Roger Lee Hayden was the next hometown boy to cross the line in 17th, followed by Kenny Noyes in 19th.
Moto2 - Indianapolis GP - Race Results
| Pos. | Rider | Nation | Bike | Time/Gap | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | Moriwaki | 30'27.480 | ||||
| 2 | Julian SIMON | SPA | Suter | +0.405 | ||||
| 3 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Suter | +4.227 | ||||
| 4 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Speed Up | +5.978 | ||||
| 5 | Simone CORSI | ITA | Motobi | +7.058 | ||||
| 6 | Sergio GADEA | SPA | Pons Kalex | +9.432 | ||||
| 7 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | Moriwaki | +9.815 | ||||
| 8 | Gabor TALMACSI | HUN | Speed Up | +10.141 | ||||
| 9 | Jason DI SALVO | USA | FTR | +17.564 | ||||
| 10 | Anthony WEST | AUS | MZ-RE Honda | +17.592 |
