Czech Moto2 rider Salač turns pole position into fourth position! Acosta triumphs in Portugal

In the first race of the Moto2 season, Filip Salač, the only Czech representative in the World Championship, recorded an excellent fourth place. Although he did not convert his first pole position in the medium category into a podium finish, his pace throughout the race suggests that he could continue to be at the top. Favoured Spaniard Pedro Acosta took the win, with compatriot Arón Canet and Italian Tony Arbolino completing the podium.

Saturday’s qualifying brought a pleasant surprise for the Czech fans when Filip Salač circled the circuit in Portimao, Portugal, the fastest of all. Arón Canet and Pedro Acosta, two candidates for the overall triumph in the Moto2 class, lined up alongside him on the front row at the start.

After the lights went out, the Mladá Boleslav native lost the lead to Canet. Immediately afterwards, a group led by the 18-year-old super-talent Acosta started breathing down his neck. Salač also lost his second position to the Spaniard, who managed to manoeuvre on the leader Canet a few corners later.

The Czech rider, on the other hand, started to lose positions from the second circuit onwards. Celestino Vietti made a cheeky but clean break ahead of him, followed by Manuel González and Albert Arenas. Vietti later served a double long lap penalty from last year’s Valencia. This allowed Salac to launch his attack on the podium from fifth position.

Meanwhile, Acosta and Canet managed to close the gap to the others to more than one second. Although the latter was clearly keeping up with his compatriot’s pace, on the straights Aki Aja’s KTM machine helped Acosta fend off any attempts to attack. After a slower start, the Italian Arbolino began to work his way up the order, taking over third place from Gonzalez on lap nine.

Salac’s speed didn’t let up in the second half of the race. This was confirmed by the individual lap times, which were comparable to the leading duo. He was able to handle Arenas and also beat González by a few laps. The twenty-one-year-old Czech thus settled into fourth place, which he did not relinquish until the end of the race.

At the front of the race, Acosta gave Canet no chance and, thanks to a lead of almost one and a half seconds, dominated the first race of the Moto2 season. Arbolino crossed the line third under the chequered flag, with Salac and González completing the top five places.

Results of the Portuguese Grand Prix Moto2 (Race 1/21, 21 laps = 96.432 km; top 10 only):

1. Pedro Acosta (Sp., Kalex) 36::04.193
2. Arón Canet (Span., Kalex) +1.358
3. Tony Arbolino (Ita., Kalex) +4.460
4. Filip Salač (CZ, Kalex) +7.110
5. Manuel González (Sp., Kalex) +8.193
6. Jake Dixon (Brit., Kalex) +9.146
7. Sam Lowes (Brit., Kalex) +9.649
8. Albert Arenas (Span., Kalex) +12.270
9. Somkiat Chantra (Tha., Kalex) +13.941
10. Jeremy Alcoba (Span., Kalex) +13.840*

*loss of one position after breaking the track limits on the last lap

Source: MotoGP