Race report
Moto2 Austin
Austin Moto2: Luthi takes first win since MotoGP exit
Ex-MotoGP rider Tom Luthi won the third race of his return to Moto2 at Austin ahead of Marcel Schrotter, as championship leader Lorenzo Baldassarri crashed on the opening lap.
David Gruz
Edited: Apr 14, 2019, 6:37 PM
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Baldassarri was an innocent victim of Jorge Martin's bike having a major moment at the fast Turn 10 left-hander, the Italian unable to avoid the KTM.
The Italian still leads the championship, but his lead is down to three points ahead of Schrotter.
It was the second crash of the opening lap as Fabio Di Giannantonio and local rider Joe Roberts tangled heading into the first turn, the duo also collecting Xavi Vierge.
At the front, polesitter Schrotter had a lightning start but went too wide at Turn 1, allowing Alex Marquez and Luthi through.
Luthi challenged Marquez from the get-go but the Spaniard showcased some great defensive riding to hold on to the lead for seven laps.
Then Luthi finally found a way past at the end of the back straight, and as Schrotter put pressure on Marquez as well, Luthi was able to pull away.
The Swiss rider built a lead of 2.5s in just two laps, a gap which he maintained to the finish.
Schrotter completed an Intact GP 1-2 as he also passed the Marc VDS bike of Marquez at Turn 20 two laps after Luthi.
Marquez continued to drop back and struggled with stopping at hard braking zones in the late stages, going wide on several occasions.
He kept third place until only three laps were remaining, when he ran wide on two occasions and lost three positions.
Speed Up's Jorge Navarro took third as a result, celebrating his maiden podium in the category.
Mattia Pasini, stepping in for the injured Augusto Fernandez at Pons, took an impressive fourth while Marquez was able to salvage fifth ahead of Luca Marini (Sky Racing VR46).
Gresini Racing's Sam Lowes finished seventh followed by Italian trio Simone Corsi (Tasca), Enea Bastianini (Italtrans) and Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans).
Reigning Moto3 champion Martin was the top KTM runner in 15th as teammate Brad Binder retired with a clutch problem and Marco Bezzecchi crashed.
Iker Lecuona had a highside, while Xavi Cardelus, whose Angel Nieto teammate Jake Dixon did not race due to concussion, retired in the pits.
Race results:
Pos. Rider Bike Gap 1 
Thomas Luthi Kalex 39'11.508 2 
Marcel Schrotter Kalex 2.532 3 
Jorge Navarro Speed Up 3.836 4 
Mattia Pasini Kalex 4.757 5 Alex Marquez Kalex 7.741 6 Luca Marini Kalex 8.031 7 
Sam Lowes Kalex 8.282 8 Simone Corsi Kalex 8.953 9 Enea Bastianini Kalex 10.706 10 Andrea Locatelli Kalex 16.868 11 
Remy Gardner Kalex 25.633 12 
Tetsuta Nagashima Kalex 25.948 13 
Bo Bendsneyder NTS 26.997 14 Dominique Aegerter MV 27.462 15 Jorge Martin KTM 27.482 16 Jesko Raffin NTS 39.435 17 
Khairul Idham Pawi Kalex 49.582 18 Philipp Ottl KTM 51.247 19 Lukas Tulovic KTM 51.380 20 
Somkiat Chantra Kalex 53.778 21 Gabriele Ruiu MV 1'19.156 22 
Dimas Ekky Pratama Kalex 1'19.286 Iker Lecuona KTM 5 Laps Marco Bezzecchi KTM 6 Laps 
Xavi Cardelus KTM 12 Laps 
Brad Binder KTM 16 Laps Fabio Di Giannantonio Speed Up Lorenzo Baldassarri Kalex Xavi Vierge Kalex 
Joe Roberts KTM
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