Moto2: Lowes wins damp French GP as Dixon crashes from lead

Round 10 of the 2020 Moto2 World Championship took place in Le Mans for the French Grand Prix, as Joe Roberts started from his third pole position of the season.

The start of the race was one of the most bizarre and amateur things to be seen in World Championship motorcycle racing. Joe Roberts had problems on the grid, meaning he was late to depart for the warm up lap. His pole position was forfeited and he should have started from the back of the grid. The rest of the field arrived on the grid while Roberts was in the final sector of the lap, but by the time the American had rounded the final corner the lights had gone out. Roberts essentially had a rolling start, but was also behind the safety car.

Aside from the mess at the start, the track conditions were awful. The racing line was dry, and the field went with slicks, but the line was narrow, the temperature was cool and mistakes were easy to come by. Passing, also, was not easy thanks to that narrow dry line, but that did not stop Sam Lowes from moving from fourth to the lead between turn 13 on lap one and turn eight on lap two. 

As Lowes hit the front, Jorge Martin ejected himself from the leading group by running off track at turn eight, leaving a leading group of five: Lowes led from Remy Gardner, Xavi Vierge, Jake Dixon and Marco Bezzecchi.

The two Petronas Sprinta Racing riders, Dixon and Vierge, soon dealt with Gardner, moving into third and second, respectively, at the beginning of lap three. However, a mistake from Vierge allowed Dixon into second and Gardner back into the podium places, whilst Bezzecchi was lurking behind.

Dixon caught Lowes on lap four, but it was not until lap seven that the #96 moved into the lead as Lowes locked the front tyre into turn eight forcing him to run wide. In fact, Lowes was fortunate to be able to continue in the race after such a severe lock-up, although he had a significant deficit now to Dixon, and pressure behind from Bezzecchi and Gardner. 

By the point that Dixon had taken the lead, all the hopes of the Petronas team were on him, as Xavi Vierge had previously had a harsh high side on the exit of turn 10, similar to one Jorge Martin had suffered a couple of laps previously. Vierge was okay, as was Martin, but both were lucky to be avoided by the pack behind, as they were launched straight on, right into the track.

Lowes was able to close the over-two-second gap that Dixon had down to around a second, at which point Dixon began to respond. For around 10 laps, the #96 was able to keep his compatriot at bay, but a crash on lap 21 at the final turn ended Dixon’s chances of victory. Just four laps and a corner from the finish, it was harsh for Dixon, but he proved in this race why he deserves to be in the World Championship and why he should be in a team as strong as Petronas. 

Lowes, then, was handed the lead on a silver platter from his compatriot with four laps to go. From there, there were no issues for the #22, who took his first win in over four years, since the Grand Prix of Aragon in 2016. Heading there next, Lowes is just 22 points down in the championship and certainly in the fight. 

The fight for second place went down to the final corner between Marco Bezzecchi and Remy Gardner, with the Australian seizing second place in the final opportunity to score his second podium of the season after his third place in Styria. For Bezzecchi, the four points lost could be crucial, but in any case he closes to within 20 points of the championship lead with third place, his fifth podium of the season. 

Augusto Fernandez had been the fastest rider on track at many occasions throughout the race and was in the podium fight for much of it. However, the #37’s pace dropped in the final two laps, and he could do no better than fourth, finishing ahead of Tom Luthi who completed the top five. 

Joe Roberts’ recovery was supreme, coming from last even to the safety car to finish sixth, having set the fastest lap multiple times on the way. No doubt the American could have fought for the win in Le Mans, but he proved his speed in the cool conditions nonetheless and as we move deeper into the autumn that will continue to be a useful asset for the #16. 

Behind Roberts was the injured Fabio Di Giannantonio in seventh, ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri who, with eighth, took his best result since Jerez. In ninth was Somkiat Chantra for his first top 10 of 2020, while Marcel Schrotter completed the top 10. 

Enea Bastianini crossed the line in ninth, but was docked three seconds for cutting the track on the final lap and is classified 11th as a result. That cost the #33 two crucial championship points, and he is now 15 behind Luca Marini with five rounds to go.

Behind Bastianini was Hector Garzo in 12th, the Spaniard finishing ahead of Marcos Ramirez, Stefano Manzi and Hafizh Syahrin who completed the points. 

Missing out on the points by 0.2 seconds was Simone Corsi in 16th, the Italian finishing ahead of his compatriot and championship leader Luca Marini who struggled to find tyre temperatures and confidence, which understandably could be put down to a combination of pain in the ankle injured in his free practice high side on Friday, as well as a loss of confidence as a result of the crash. 

Behind Marini, Lorenzo Dalla Porta was ahead of Edgar Pons and Bo Bendsneyder who completed the top 20.