15. October 2012
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At Motegi, racers from three teams sponsored by the Akrapovič factory could be seen on the podiums in all three classes. Lorenzo took second, Márquez celebrated a hard-fought victory, and Kent was also enjoying his first victory.
The fifteenth round of the MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 championships took place in the land of the rising sun; in all of these classes, the Akrapovič factory is supporting a good number of outstanding teams this year. In the elite MotoGP class, Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo continued his pattern of fast but careful riding because he really can’t afford to drop out. This time he finished once again in a safe second place behind fellow countryman Dani Pedrosa, who’s edging ever closer to him in the overall count.
After the race, Lorenzo commented: “I was completely at the maximum trying to stay with Dani, but today we had such a different performance on the straights and he was also riding really well. I tried to stay with him but it was impossible—maybe next time it’ll be different. For sure, the championship’s closer now, but we’re still very competitive and have a chance of winning.”
In the Moto2 class, Marc Márquez was riding behind the pack in the first turn after an error at the start. With his characteristic fighting spirit, by the end of the first lap he managed to work his way up to ninth place; by the sixth lap he was third, and in the tenth he took the lead and rode his way to his eighth victory this year. His energetic riding was an outstanding substitute for Sunday-morning coffee for those of us watching from Europe.
The race in the Moto3 class was no less exciting. Sandro Cortese could have already secured the world championship title in Japan, but he fell in the last lap and crossed the finish line in sixth place. Victory went to his teammate Danny Kent, who rides a KTM equipped with an Akrapovič exhaust system.
The situation in the overall count, three rounds before the end of the season, looks like this: Lorenzo has a 28-point lead over Pedrosa in the MotoGP class, in the Moto2 class Márquez is 53 points ahead of Espargaró, and Cortese has a 56-point advantage over Viñales in the Moto3 class. Things are going to be interesting in Malaysia, Australia, and Valencia!
Photo: Yamaha Racing, Micro Lazzari, Gold and Goose