MotoE: Pons takes maiden win in Catalunya as title fight tightens

Miquel Pons rode a clever race to clinch his first MotoE victory ahead of Dominique Aegerter and Jordi Torres.

Positions kept changing in the six-lapper at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and Pons brought himself into the right place at the right time to grind out an advantage big enough to bring him home in first.

Aegerter beat Torres to runner-up by less than a tenth of a second and reduced his title race deficit over cup leader Alessandro Zaccone to a single point.

Polesitter Eric Granado (One Energy Racing) was forced to start from pit lane when he was wheeled off the grid with a technical problem. The race was delayed by a few minutes as a result and when the lights finally went out, Dominique Aegerter (Dynavoly Intact GP) shot into the lead.

Lukas Tulovic (Tech 3 E-Racing) was the first pursuer through the opening turns, but the German had his feathers ruffled and was handed down the order by Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40), Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) and Alessandro Zaccone (Octo Pramac MotoE).

The slipstream down the start/finish straight shuffled the order lap after lap and positions kept chopping and changing. A group of seven contested at the front with Pons riding aggressively while Aegerter and Torres controlled their positions and ensured to stay within touching distance to the lead.

Mattia Casadei’s (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) race ended prematurely on Lap 5 when he lunged down the inside and lost the front at T10 while battling in the head group.

Pons claimed P1 on the penultimate lap and managed to stay ahead down the start/finish straight going into the final round. The Spaniard put just enough breathing space between himself and the chasing duo of Aegerter and Torres to bring his advantage over the line and celebrate his first win in the series.

Aegerter kept Torres behind him by a mere 0.046 seconds and reduced his deficit to Zaccone in the cup standings to a single point.

Granado had started a spectacular comeback and was the fastest rider on track. However, the Brazilian lost any points he might have salvaged when he crashed out at T4 on the final lap.