Moto2: Baldassarri victorious in first Triumph-powered race

Lorenzo Baldassarri has taken the first victory of Moto2’s new Triumph-powered era, winning a thrilling race at the Qatar Grand Prix to just about hold off the advances of Tom Luthi on the line. However, Remy Gardner wasn’t as lucky behind him, losing out on the final podium spot to Marcel Schrotter by a mere 0.002 with Augusto Fernandez rounding out the top five.

Sam Lowes was sixth, delighted with a solid start to the season despite not capitalising on his race pace during testing, saying: “It was the first race of the year and as usual, everybody gives a little extra. That is why I lost touch with the front group due to some battles with other riders, and it’s a shame because I know in the last ten laps I had podium pace. But we can take this result as the highlight of the weekend and I’m sure there’s something to learn ahead of the next race in Argentina. I want to thank the team because they did an outstanding job. It was good to start on the right foot and score some important points.”

Fellow Brit Jake Dixon was an unfortunate DNF, crashing out of his rookie race while running strongly inside the top twenty.