Lopez stuns as Dixon crashes
From a rider without a job, to being Moto2’s next hot ticket, Alonso Lopez capped a remarkable 21-month turnaround on Sunday. The 20-yearold led every lap of the race aboard the lesser-fancied Boscoscuro chassis, becoming the first non-Kalex chassisbacked rider to win a race since 2019.
As well as leading every lap, Lopez expertly managed the gap to Aron Canet behind to win by 1.2s. This was no bolt from the blue, either. After replacing the sacked Romano Fenati ahead of the seventh round of the season, the rider from Madrid has finished in the top eight in every race bar one, as well as leading each of the previous three encounters.
In December 2020, he feared his career may be over after losing his seat in the Max Racing Husqvarna Moto3 team. A lot of soul searching followed that moment. From there, he resolved to get his career back on track. His showings in last year’s European Moto2 series, where he rode for current team owner Luca Boscoscuro’s outfit, were enough to earn him his current ride.
“This is a very important moment in my career. At the end of 2020 I was at home without a ride, but I learned many things. Every weekend at the track I’m improving, pushing at 100%. This has been key.”
In a wide-open season, Lopez is now the seventh first time winner in the class in 2022.
‘Every weekend I am improving, pushing at 100%’ ALONSO LOPEZ
Meanwhile, Jake Dixon was unable to maintain his run of three straight podiums. The Brit was on the backfoot from Saturday when he failed to set a time in qualifying due to a crash. He then fell just two turns into the race, despite his data showing the 26-yearold did nothing strange. “It wasn’t a great day,” he conceded.