Round 14 of the Moto2 World Championship was once again held at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, just two weeks after Aron Canet’s return to the podium at the same venue. The weekend started well for the Spaniard, who solidified his position as one of the most competitive riders on the grid. On Saturday, the Fantic Racing Moto2 rider took pole position, setting a new all-time lap record.
In the race, Canet got off to a good start, immediately placing himself among the leaders. The top three riders (Canet, Vietti, and Arbolino) quickly distinguished themselves from the rest of the field. The pace was relentless, with 22 laps run at qualifying speeds. Aron managed his race well, knowing it would come down to the final laps, and indeed it did. A fierce battle between the top three saw Canet leading at the last corner, only the photo finish declared Vietti the winner by just 0.029 seconds. Canet and Fantic celebrated another podium finish, confident they can take on all competitors in the upcoming Asian tour before the grand finale in Valencia.
Xavi Cardelus did a significant step forward over the weekend, identifying areas for improvement session after session. Starting from P30, he finished in 23rd after a solid race.
Aron Canet:
“I am happy with the podium and the whole weekend. I am a little upset about those last few meters, but overall, we did a great job. I felt really good on the bike, and we have shown great consistency in recent races. I want to thank Fantic and my team for their support, and I can’t wait to race in Indonesia, one of my favourite tracks.”
Xavi Cardelus:
“We made a big step forward during this weekend compared to the previous race. I am not fully satisfied because there is still work to do. The circuit in Indonesia will be new for me, but I am looking forward to racing there and continuing to improve."
Roberto Locatelli:
“It was a fantastic double podium for Fantic across the two rounds in Misano. Aron managed the race well, showing he is a complete rider, which is exactly what we are working on with him. Now, we head into the overseas races confident that we are among the strongest teams. Today, an Italian rider won, and he deserved it, but we fought right until the final sprint. Over the two Misano rounds, we were the most consistent. Cardelus had some issues with his feeling in Practice 1, but he solved them in qualifying. His race pace improved, and we want to continue growing in Indonesia.”
