ARBOLINO DIGS IN FOR CRUCIAL SECOND PLACE AT THE SACHSENRING!

The Italian rider held his nerve under intense pressure from behind to take an important 2nd place at the German Grand Prix, while Sam Lowes scored good points for 7th.

After two days of mixed weather, the sun was out on Sunday for the 7th round of the World Championship, with the Moto2 race taking place in perfect conditions and ambient temperatures of 25 degrees.

A bumper crowd of 96,151 were in attendance at the Sachsenring to watch the three Grand Prix races, including the 25-lap Moto2 race, which got underway at 12.15 local time.

After qualifying sixth on Saturday, Sam enjoyed a good start, but had to lift at the race’s first turn due to another rider’s pass on the inside.

The Briton lost two places on lap 3, but soon began his fightback from 9th place. He claimed 7th from Celestino Vietti on lap 13, which he held to the chequered flag, 14s behind the victor.

The 9 points gained today means he remains 8th in the World Championship with 53 points to his name.

A day on from securing second on the grid, Tony raced into the lead at Turn 1, before slotting in behind eventual winner Pedro Acosta at the end of Lap 1.

Despite sticking with the Spaniard for the first five laps, Tony couldn’t hold on and instead focussed on maintaining second from Jake Dixon. Despite the Englishman’s best efforts in the final two laps, the Italian defended masterfully to claim the runner up spot.

Tony’s sixth podium of the season maintains his championship lead. The 22-year old is now on 139 points, 15 ahead of second.

SAM LOWES, 7th, + 14.457 s.

“I probably expected a little more even if I wasn’t expecting a podium here. Missing the track time this weekend due to the weather didn’t help me, even if it was the same for everybody. It’s one of those tracks where I take a little bit of time to get going. I have to really focus on my riding style and use of the throttle in the middle of the lap. In the race I just fell into my usual style and it just wasn’t fast enough in that part of the track. I’m actually quite happy with how I managed the race. In the last two laps I was fast and managed to pull away from a few riders behind me to get a seventh place. Obviously, I’m not happy with that. Last week we were a lot stronger. If I got a good result at Mugello then I’d have been pleased with the nine points today. I know my weak points here and, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to improve them this weekend. This track is my Achilles’ heel but the race wasn’t a disaster. There are some positives to take from it. It was a good day for the team, and Tony did a really good race. I did OK so it was nice for the Team’s Championship. Now we’re looking forward to Assen. It’s a track I like and it definitely suits my style more than here.”

TONY ARBOLINO, 2nd , + 2.730 s.

“The race was extremely tough! I was not feeling so confident but I still tried to push to the limit and over 100 percent to secure my position. Second place is unbelievable today because Dixon was really fast behind me. Although I’m really happy with the result, we still need to improve and understand what happened and what we can do to be better. Next up is Assen and now I’m focussing everything on that. It will be a good race weekend, I’m sure. Let’s see how to improve these feelings and finish even better there!”