Moto2 World Championship leader takes third victory of the season in a race reduced to 16 laps after first lap stoppage.

Zarco, Moto2 race, Dutch MotoGP 2015

Johann Zarco was the winner of the Dutch TT on Saturday afternoon, taking his third victory from pole position. It was a hard-fought in which he had to make several overtaking moves, and the win allows him to increase his lead to 45 points in the Moto2 standings. It is the first time the Ajo Motorsport rider has placed on the podium at Assen and he becomes the first French rider to win back to back races in the intermediate class of Grand Prix racing since Christian Sarron in 1984.

The Moto2 Dutch TT was stopped shortly after the start. Luis Salom fell at the first corner and left oil on the track, forcing race direction to stop the race. Reducing the final distance to 16 laps, they ordered a restart. Johann Zarco ceded his lead with a discrete start, and was third at the end of Lap 1.

During the early stages, Zarco confirmed the good pace he had shown throughout the weekend, moving up into second place after eight laps. Closing the gap to race leader Tito Rabat, the Ajo Motorsport rider put himself right behind the Spaniard to launch his final attack on the penultimate lap. He passed Rabat at Turn 4, then held the lead until the finish.

Thanks to this victory, Zarco’s lead in the Moto2 World Championship standings has been extended to 45 points. The win also marks the first time Ajo Motorsport have had winners in both Moto2 and Moto3 at the same event.

The next round of the season will be the German Grand Prix, held the weekend of July 10th to 12th.

Race – Results
1. Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) 26:13.410
2. Tito Rabat (Kalex) +0.757
3. Sam Lowes (Speed Up) +2.080
4. Alex Rins (Kalex) +3.738
5. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) +4.530

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2015
1. Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) 159 points
2. Tito Rabat (Kalex) 114 points
3. Sam Lowes (Speed Up) 96 points
4. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) 89 points
5. Alex Rins (Kalex) 87 points

Johann Zarco,
“Making two starts was not a big problem, because I was able to keep calm before going out again. My first start was not good and I thought I had a second chance to do well, but it didn’t really work like that. I repeated that I had to remain calm and enjoy the race, because we had done well in practice. I was fighting with Tito [Rabat] at the beginning of the race and that showed he would be up there and it wouldn’t be easy. We led in the final stretch, but I saw that I had a stronger pace and I thought taking the lead and trying to escape would be the best solution to get victory. I passed him and I saw that first I opened a gap of two tenths, then another, and I continued pushing on the last lap. This is my second consecutive win and it’s great. I want to thank the team because I am very confident with the bike and I can ride it very fast.”

Aki Ajo,
“After the Moto2 race we can only say that Johann [Zarco] continues to put on an excellent show at every race. I have no words; we just support him as much as possible. As with Miguel [Oliveira] in Moto3, today the riders were the winners, so thanks to them. We have a great team and great riders. I cannot find the right words to describe how I feel right now after winning in two different categories. It is a very special feeling. Today has been a very, very good day for us. I want to thank everyone –our partners and all the team we have– for their hard work and passion.”