Enea Bastianini stormed to Moto2 victory at the Emilia Romagna GP after the race was delayed due to poor weather conditions resulting in a 10-lap sprint to the line.
The Italtrans rider looked untouchable for the shortened stint, gradually opening up a gap of just under a second from the rest of the field by the half-distance mark of the race.
Prior to the re-start, all eyes were on SRT man Xavi Vierge who led the way coming out of turn 1, the number 97 rider slipping past the VR46 rider of Luca Marini to head the pack.
A mistake from Marini’s team-mate Marco Bezzecchi meant the Italian dropped from podium contention in third to sixth place, as Jake Dixon moved up to P3 following a well-timed overtake on Marini.
Marini lost out for a second time as race winner Enea Bastianini went through to steal P2 from the VR46 pilot, who dropped to P3, though he was given another chance later on and was able to regain his position.
With 22 laps to go, disaster strikes for American Joe Roberts as he was stretchered off the track following a violent high-side crash at turn 10 which caused him to slide into the gravel and put a premature end to his race.
But it was Enea Bastianini who clinched the lead from Xavi Vierge, having fought off both Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini, just as the race stewards brought out the red flag at the end of lap 6 due to a weather conditions which dampened the track surface.
After a delayed re-start, it was all to play in the final charge as the riders took their positions on the track determined by the standings as of lap 6.
Marini made a quick get away from P2 heading into the first corner, overtaking Enea Bastianini but both were later sniped by Xavi Vierge who flew past the Italians to take control of the race for a second time until Bastianini took revenge on the SRT rider and regained the top spot.
Further down, Estrella Galicia pilot Sam Lowes made a move on Vierge’s team-mate Jake Dixon for P7 but the Brit was unable to make the move stick and stayed in 8th.
However, luck was on Lowes’ side, and he was able to slip into 7th at the next corner, diving down the inside of Vierge, causing the SRT rider to drop one place.
With just 5 out of the 10 laps remaining Vierge’s hopes of victory were crushed when German rider Marcel Schrotter crashed into the side of his opponent at turn 9 an incident which knocked the SRT rider off his bike while Schrotter continued.
Enea Bastianini sealed the deal with just three laps to go as the gap between him and Marco Bezzecchi in P2 was just under a second, the Italian rider dominating the second half of the event.
The final podium spot was taken up by Sam Lowes, while Marini and Schrotter finished in 4th and 5th place.
Outside the top 10 were Nicolo Bulega, Hector Garzo, and AAron Canet, who finished in P13, with riders Edgar Pons, Somkiat Chantra, and Tetsuta Nagashima bringing up the rear.
