Headline: Pirelli Moto2 Race at Assen’s ‘Cathedral of Speed’ Ends in Victory for Ai Ogura
In an exciting Moto2 race at Assen’s famous ‘Cathedral of Speed’, Ai Ogura of MT Helmets held off a late charge from Fermin Aldeguer of SpeedUp to claim victory. This win propelled Ogura to second place in the Moto2 standings.
At the start of the race, Aldeguer, Ogura, Tony Arbolino, and Sergio Garcia fought for positions. However, Garcia slipped down to fifth place after swapping places with Alonso Lopez. On the second lap, Lopez and Ogura exchanged positions to secure third and fourth place respectively.
Aldeguer, the future recruit for Ducati MotoGP in 2025, quickly built a half-second lead in the opening laps. Ogura and Garcia, both riding for MT Helmets, led the rest of the pack. Garcia attempted to overtake his teammate, giving Aldeguer an opportunity to extend his lead by another half-second within the first five laps.
Aldeguer received a warning for exceeding track limits, putting him at risk of a potential penalty. Meanwhile, local hero Zonta van den Goorbergh crashed out of the race, disappointing the home fans. Aron Canet and Alberto Arenas also had separate crashes, eliminating their chances of a strong finish.
Ayumu Sasaki, the runner-up in the 2023 Moto3 championship, crashed again after colliding with Mario Aji’s Idemitsu Team Asia machine. This incident forced Sasaki off track and into the gravel trap.
Aldeguer continued to increase his lead, reaching 1.3 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Behind the MT Helmets duo, Arbolino and Lopez battled for fourth and fifth place. Ogura’s speed became evident on Lap 13 as he lapped two tenths quicker than Aldeguer. He overtook his teammate after a small mistake at Turn 13.
With nine laps remaining, Aldeguer once again exceeded track limits, resulting in a long lap penalty. He took the penalty two laps later and rejoined the race half a second behind Garcia. Dixon moved up to fourth place, but he couldn’t catch up to the leading trio.
The MT Helmets duo of Garcia and Ogura swapped the lead multiple times in the final five laps. This allowed Aldeguer to rejoin the fight and overtake Garcia on the following lap. Garcia’s chances of victory diminished as he went off track in Turn 1. Ogura maintained his lead on the final lap, securing his second win of the season and moving up to second place in the championship.
Aldeguer finished in second place, earning his first podium since his win in Jerez. Garcia settled for third place, extending his lead in the championship standings. Dixon recovered from a difficult start to finish in fourth place. Thai rider Somkiat Chantra impressed with a fifth-place finish for Honda Team Asia Idemitsu.
Marcos Ramirez finished seventh for the American Racing Team, while Lopez, Manuel Gonzalaz, Senna Agius, and Celestino Vietti completed the top eleven. Dennis Foggia secured his second point-scoring finish of the season in twelfth place. Jacob Alcoba and Bo Bendsneyder followed in thirteenth and fourteenth place respectively. Darryn Binder claimed the final point in fifteenth place, finishing six seconds behind Bendsneyder.