Ajo Motorsport claims victory number eight of the year in Malaysia, pulling level with the record for podiums in a single season in the intermediate category.

Luthi, Zarco, Folger, Moto2 race, Malaysian MotoGP 2015

Johann Zarco needed only a week to recover a disappointing result in Australia, getting back on form at the Sepang International Circuit and taking his eighth win of the season. The new Moto2 World Champion managed to be patient and wait until the last lap of the Malaysian GP to make his final attack, winning the penultimate round of the season. With 14 podiums from 17 races, the Ajo Motorsport rider equals the record for rostrums in a single season in the intermediate category.

A good start saw Zarco keep his the second position from the starting grid at the first corner. He quickly overtook Thomas Luthi on the first sector, but a subsequent pass before completing the first lap put the Frenchman back into second. From that moment, the Ajo Motorsport rider placed himself right behind the Swiss, keeping him never more than a second away.

On the last three laps the Frenchman launched his final attack, but it was not until the second corner of the last lap that Zarco passed Luthi. It was a move that the Swiss could not counter and which allowed the Ajo Motorsport rider to claim his eighth triumph of the year.

With this latest victory in the bag and with the title already decided in his favour, Johann Zarco has a 129-point lead in the overall standings. In a fortnight, from November 6th to 8th in Valencia (Spain), the Ajo Motorsport rider will be able to enjoy the last GP of a dream season.

Race – Results
1. Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) 40:37.772
2. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) +0.598
3. Jonas Folger (Kalex) +9.846
4. Takaaki Nakagami (Kalex) +14.139
5. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) +16.440

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2015
1. Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) 343 points
2. Alex Rins (Kalex) 214 points
3. Tito Rabat (Kalex) 206 points
4. Sam Lowes (Speed Up) 175 points
5. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) 163 points

 Johann Zarco,
“From the beginning I felt good, but Luthi was even better than I was. What I did was try to follow him as best I could; things were a little different than I thought, so I tried to stay calm and not even look back because I had a very good pace. I figured that if I stuck to him it would be the two of us fighting for first and second place -and that was how it ended up being. From the middle of the race I saw that he was faster than me; I made a few mistakes and I tried to keep calm on the bike. At the end I was able to catch him and on the last lap I tried to overtake him to finally cross the line first.

This latest win is fantastic, and I am very happy. It has been a very long three weeks and it’s been hard mentally and physically. I’ve won this race and now I can rest for a week before Valencia.”

Aki Ajo,
“This was a great performance by Johann [Zarco]. The race was incredible, because as everyone knows the conditions at this track are always very demanding and difficult as it is very hot and humid. Johann did what he told us on the grid: Control both himself and the tyres.  He did it to perfection. All the group behind Johann deserve great respect, because to do all that he is doing you need to have a hard-working and passionate team like we have. I’m very proud of this.”