Sam Lowes secured the Qatar double as he fended off pressure from KTM Ajo’s Remy Gardner to win the Doha Grand Prix by just 0.190.
Lowes made a reasonable start from pole to exit Turn 1 second behind the quick-starting Marc Bezzecchi, the Brit immediately settling in behind the VR46 racer in the early laps.
He made the move for the lead a few tours into the contest as he came under pressure from the two Ajo machines of Gardner and Raul Fernandez.
Lowes tried to gap his pursuers after moving to the head of the pack, though Gardner and Fernandez were soon back onto his rear wheel soon after demoting Bezzecchi to fourth with a double move at Turn 1 a couple tours later.
The leading foursome soon became a trio as Bezzecchi lacked the final coupe-tenths he needed to remain in with a shout of victory, Gardner all the while riding firmly within striking distance of the Marc VDS bike in front.
Things remained static for the bulk of the remainder of the encounter, Fernandez eventually beginning to fall away from the leading duo as they started to push hard across the final few circulations.
Lowes and Gardner traded fastest laps as they pushed each other hard, the Aussie seemingly getting close enough to lunge as they made their way round the Losail International Circuit for the final time, though a late-braking Lowes managed to keep him at bay.
A poor exit for Gardner from the final turn all but secured victory for Lowes, his second-straight success after dominating last weekend’s Qatar GP, while the Ajo machine was forced to settle for second once again after securing the position last week.
Fernandez took the chequered flag to secure a first ever Moto2 rostrum in only his second start meanwhile, the Spaniard controlling the gap to Bezzecchi over the final few tours.
The VR46 man ended the race a lonely fourth well ahead of the close battle for fifth between several riders, Ai Ogura getting the best of Augusto Fernandez on the final lap to complete the top five ahead of the Marc VDS racer.
Celestino Vietti put in a late race charge to take seventh having run outside the top 15 in the early stages of the race, while Stefano Manzi was eighth for Pons Racing.
Xavi Vierge was ninth on the first of the Petronas SRT entries while Fabio Di Gianantonio rounded out the top ten after finding himself unable to repeat his late challenge for the podium he made in the Qatar GP as he faded late on.
Joe Roberts was an early casualty after tucking the front of his Italtrans Kalex while running fifth, while fellow American Cameron Beaubier lost any chance of scoring more points after going down from 13th mid-race.
Jake Dixon and Marcel Schrotter both made early exits after colliding as the race entered its climactic stages, while Aron Canet also went out from eighth after asking a little too much from his Aspar-run bike.
Lowes continues to lead the Moto2 riders standings thanks to his second straight win by 14 points over Gardner, while Fernandez moves into third 23 points adrift of the Marc VDS pilot.
