2023 Portimão Moto2 Race Result: A Strong Statement Of Intent
The second race of the day successfully avoided the sheer chaos of its predecessors but it did not lack in excitement, with compatriots Pedro Acosta and Aron Canet taking the fight to the very last lap. A nearly flawless Acosta eventually managed to distance his rival to secure his third victory at this track and lead the world championship after its opening round. Canet ditched the bow tie and begrudgingly accepted another second place to start the season. After an underwhelming qualifying and a sluggish start, Tony Arbolino went on to prove his speed and claimed the final place on the podium.
Once the lights went off, it was Canet who got the holeshot ahead of poleman Filip Salac and fellow front row starter Acosta. Salac was soon on the attack next time they reached turn one, but Canet and Acosta retaliated throughout the lap, the KTM Ajo rider picking up the lead at turn 10 by the end of that same lap. Acosta galloped away as soon as he hit the front and Canet pushed to keep up, while Salac lost ground to Celestino Vietti, Manuel Gonzalez and Albert Arenas on the fourth lap. However, the poleman got promoted one position on the following lap, when Vietti served the first of two long lap penalties for his shenanigans back in Valencia. Meanwhile, Arbolino had dropped as low was ninth on the opening lap but was steadily catching up and was soon up to sixth.
After only a handful of laps, Acosta and Canet had broken one second clear of the pack, which was led by Gonzalez, with Arenas, Arbolino, Salac, Jeremy Alcoba, Darryn Binder and Somkiat Chantra still in podium contention. Arbolino was running the hottest pace of the lot early on, quickly making his way through the pack and attacking Gonzalez at turn one to lead the pursuit by lap nine. The Italian had 13 laps left to recover the 1.5 seconds separating him from the victory fight, where Acosta was still keeping Canet behind.
By the halfway point, the front of the race featured several duets, with Acosta and Canet at the front, Arbolino and Gonzalez a second back and Salac challenging Arenas for fifth, while the rest of the top 10 had dropped 2.5 seconds back. Status quo was maintained in the top five over the next few laps, with Canet glued to Acosta but struggling to find a way past, while Arbolino was stuck one second behind, unable to quite match the leaders’ pace in the late stages of the race. Over two seconds behind, Gonzalez was coming under threat from Salac and the poleman eventually reclaimed fourth position with four laps remaining.
Acosta lined up red sectors in the last handful of laps in a final push to shake off Canet and the Pons rider seemed to accept yet another second place, allowing Acosta to enter the final lap with almost a second of advantage. After the Spaniards secured the first two steps on the podium, Arbolino took the chequered flag in third, with Salac and Gonzalez completing the top five. Dixon’s late comeback claimed him sixth ahead of a slow-starting Sam Lowes and a fading Arenas, with Chantra and Alcoba rounding out the top 10 and Vietti recovering from the double long lap penalty to take a few points in 11th position.
Results:
Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time/Diff |
1 | 37 | Pedro Acosta | Kalex | 36:04.1930 |
2 | 40 | Aron Canet | Kalex | 1.358 |
3 | 14 | Tony Arbolino | Kalex | 4.460 |
4 | 12 | Filip Salac | Kalex | 7.110 |
5 | 18 | Manuel Gonzalez | Kalex | 8.193 |
6 | 96 | Jake Dixon | Kalex | 9.146 |
7 | 22 | Sam Lowes | Kalex | 9.649 |
8 | 75 | Albert Arenas | Kalex | 12.270 |
9 | 35 | Somkiat Chantra | Kalex | 13.941 |
10 | 52 | Jeremy Alcoba | Kalex | 13.840 |
11 | 13 | Celestino Vietti | Kalex | 14.086 |
12 | 7 | Barry Baltus | Kalex | 14.515 |
13 | 54 | Fermín Aldeguer | Boscoscuro | 15.445 |
14 | 16 | Joe Roberts | Kalex | 25.444 |
15 | 11 | Sergio Garcia | Kalex | 26.876 |
16 | 15 | Darryn Binder | Kalex | 40.233 |
17 | 72 | Borja Gomez | Kalex | 41.710 |
18 | 71 | Dennis Foggia | Kalex | 41.806 |
19 | 19 | Lorenzo Dalla Porta | Kalex | 42.116 |
20 | 4 | Sean Dylan Kelly | Kalex | 42.141 |
21 | 24 | Marcos Ramirez | Forward | 44.802 |
22 | 33 | Rory Skinner | Kalex | 45.630 |
23 | 81 | Jordi Torres | Ducati | 62.643 |
Not Classified | ||||
21 | Alonso Lopez | Boscoscuro | 26:01.0560 | |
84 | Zonta Van Den Goorbergh | Kalex | 25:16.9500 | |
98 | David Sanchis | Forward | 09:17.0740 | |
64 | Bo Bendsneyder | Kalex | 01:47.2110 |
Comments
CFMoto and China are here…
CFMoto and China are here. Cheapest best single way to get a Chinese bike brand into the Paddock. Good pick with Gresini.
(Yeah, German chassis. British motor. But it says CFMoto! Just like a KTM, Gas Gas, etc eh?)
Acosta looks great. Manages tires too. His timing might be good to get on a KTM MotoGP bike "doing an Aprilia" next year.
2024 MotoGP Rookie of the year may already be decided : )
Miller and Binder had better make hay in 2023 because Acosta is coming for their ride...
In reply to 2024 MotoGP Rookie of the year may already be decided : ) by v4racer
V4! Right? Miller = new…
V4! Right?
Miller = new Pedrosa? But gregarious. Huge help to program, supports selflessly. Happily goes GasGas Pedro's 2nd yr. Excited he gets free KTM dirt bikes for his Ranch retirement, smiles arm in arm w everyone the whole way. He is a big help right now developing coming from Red and working eagerly. Fearless, big balls, blue collar just like his brother Cal.
I dream of Dani/Kallio/Folger et al "volunteering to help Michelin" sort the new Front at Spielberg for some "selfless reason." Much like Ducati generously shared their software for the Championship's sake.
The immediate future is Euro V4, eh? Orange finishes the season well methinks.
;)
Strange
I found it strange that Canet could not ever even get close to overtaking Acosta with slipstream even when tucked immediately behind after great corner exit.
Same motors, presumably the same gearing, maybe rider size?