ARBOLINO MAKES IT THREE PODIUMS ON THE BOUNCE IN MISANO THRILLER

Tony Arbolino just missed out on victory in an epic last lap fight in the Emilia Romagna GP, but still took a valuable 3rd place, while Filip Salac won out a late fight for 10th.

The 14th Moto2 race of the 2024 season got underway an hour earlier than usual, meaning Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Tony Arbolino and Filip Salac started the 22-lap race at 11.15 local time in dry conditions and ambient temperatures of 28 degrees.

The crowds didn’t quite come in their droves for the second race at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in succession with 45,467 in attendance on Sunday.

Sunday’s race marked Filip Salac’s 100th Grand Prix start since his Moto3 debut in 2018 and his 50th in the Moto2 class.

Starting from 3rd on the grid, Tony enjoyed one of his best starts of the year, and immediately assumed control, building up a 0.77s lead on the first lap.

He was then left to defend from Celestino Vietti and Aron Canet who closed in and put Tony under serious pressure. The Italian dealt with it well, and retook the lead on lap 21 after losing it for the 1st time on lap 19. But an issue downshifting into Turn 14 on the final lap led to Tony running wide, and losing 2 places.

Tony’s 3rd consecutive podium finish sees him remain in 10th place in the World Championship standings with 113 points.

Filip enjoyed a steady start from 12th on the grid and was as low as 15th on the first lap. But he quickly recovered those places to sit 12th by lap 6.

The Czech rider was then engaged in a tight fight for 10th with Manuel Gonzalez. He passed the Spaniard on the last lap to take the place.

Filip’s 3rd top 10 finish in 4 races sees him climb one place in the World Championship to sit 16th with 40 points.

TONY ARBOLINO, 3rd

“It was a nice race. I was pushing from the first lap and giving absolutely everything that I had. I really gave it my all. It was such a nice race. Sure, I won’t be able to sleep tonight after what happened at the end. I just need to forget it. This is the business of our sport. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t. But you have to learn. Today was the day of the mistake after such a perfect race. But we need to keep this in mind for the future. Fortunately, we have another race next weekend where I’ll be determined to put everything right!”

FILIP SALAC, 10th

“It was a hard race today because I was starting on the inside line. So, it was difficult to make a good first lap. I lost a few positions on lap 1. Then I was trying to come back as quickly as possible, but I had a few problems when I was downshifting. Anyway, in the end the pace was good. I was half a second faster per lap than the last race, which was really positive for us. We’ve had a few solid results in recent races now, and I can’t wait for the next one!”