New Moto2 World Champion places seventh in Moto2 race at Phillip Island.

Zarco, Moto2 race, Australian MotoGP 2015

After winning the Moto2 title a week ago in Japan, this Sunday Johann Zarco crossed the finish line at the Australian Grand Prix in seventh position. After starting from that same position on the grid, the Ajo Motorsport rider maintained a steady pace throughout the race, matching the times he had set in practice. With this result, Zarco moves even closer to the record for points in a single Moto2 World Championship season.

Starting from the head of the third row of the grid, Zarco held his position at the start. After gaining a place on Lap 2, the Frenchman saw his chances of a podium finish slip away and decided to maintain his pace –with the aim of claiming further points for his tally by the end. The Ajo Motorsport rider moved between fifth and eighth place during the 25 laps, finally taking the chequered flag in seventh place.

After the sixteenth round of the season, the new Moto2 World Champion has a total of 318 points to his name. His lead in the overall standings increases to 104 more than the rider in second place. Next weekend, at the Sepang circuit, the Frenchman will try to continue breaking records.

Race – Results
1. Alex Rins (Kalex) 39:00.084
2. Sam Lowes (Speed Up) +6.633
3. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) +10.408
4. Takaaki Nakagami (Kalex) +15.536
5. Xavier Simeon (Kalex) +16.205
7. Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) +20.456

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2015
1. Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) 318 points
2. Alex Rins (Kalex) 214 points
3. Tito Rabat (Kalex) 206 points
4. Sam Lowes (Speed Up) 172 points
5. Jonas Folger (Kalex) 145 points

Johann Zarco,
“The day started well, with third place in the warmup and me being able to relax when riding. However, the race itself was very difficult. At first I thought that as the laps went by I could be stronger than my rivals, but in the end as more laps passed, the bike was skidding so much that things were only getting worse. I wanted to finish the race, because I had suffered two crashes on my previous visits to this circuit and that’s not good for confidence. It was a good weekend for learning and I think we have done well. I’m sure this will help us in the future.”

Aki Ajo,
“It was not our best day in Moto2, but we can’t be disappointed after winning the title and the race we had last week in Japan. In this sport, sometimes there are weekends like this, where the rider does not feel entirely comfortable from the first practice onwards. But every GP is different and I am convinced that at the next races, starting with Malaysia, we will be back in the fight for the podium.”