Australian Moto2: Luthi wins title-changing thriller

The Swiss rider got off to a good start from pole, with Mattia Pasini slotting in second as Jonas Folger kept third.

Behind the Top 3, Franco Morbidelli and Lorenzo Baldassarri got themselves inside the Top 5 after starting from the lower half of the Top 10.

With Folger dropping down the order, it soon became a three-way fight for the win involving Luthi, Morbidelli and Pasini, with Baldassarri and Sandro Cortese not too far back.

A late fall for Pasini meant it came down to Luthi and Morbidelli, with the Italian chasing his first championship victory.

After a few lead changes, the final lap saw Morbidelli move ahead of Luthi – but the Marc VDS rider's maiden win wasn't to be. 

Luthi utilised the start/finish line slipstream to his advantage and snatched victory from Morbidelli’s hands – the two separated by just 0.010s as chequered flag was waved.

With Pasini out of equation, Cortese held his nerve to claim the final podium slot, his first top 3 finish of the season.

Behind the top 3, Baldassarri was fourth after losing touch with the lead group, being closely followed by Takaaki Nakagami.

Further back, Folger eventually finished sixth having started from the front-row, with Simone Corsi in at seventh.

Axel Pons, Marcel Schrotter and Xavi Vierge rounded off the top 10 – the latter registering his best finish of the season.

Meanwhile, championship leader Johann Zarco had a difficult race ending only 12th, unable to clear Xavier Simon in the end, 0.034s separating the two.

But the French rider still keeps his lead as both of his contenders Alex Rins and Sam Lowes crashed out of the race.

With his fourth win of the season and unfortunate luck to Rins and Lowes, it means Luthi now has got himself in second in the standings, 22 points behind leader Zarco with two races remaining.

Race results:

Pos	Driver	Bike	Laps	Time	Gap
1	Thomas Luthi	Kalex	25	39'15.891
2	Franco Morbidelli	Kalex	25	39'15.901	0.010
3	Sandro Cortese	Kalex	25	39'16.421	0.530
4	Lorenzo Baldassarri	Kalex	25	39'18.972	3.081
5	Takaaki Nakagami	Kalex	25	39'19.706	3.815
6	Jonas Folger	Kalex	25	39'26.978	11.087
7	Simone Corsi	Speed Up	25	39'29.182	13.291
8	Axel Pons	Kalex	25	39'32.302	16.411
9	Marcel Schrötter	Kalex	25	39'33.541	17.650
10	Xavi Vierge	Tech 3	25	39'33.556	17.665
11	Xavier Simeon	Speed Up	25	39'33.653	17.762
12	Johann Zarco	Kalex	25	39'33.687	17.796
13	Jesko Raffin	Kalex	25	39'47.466	31.575
14	Edgar Pons	Kalex	25	39'50.561	34.670
15	Ratthapark Wilairot	Kalex	25	39'56.345	40.454
16	Luca Marini	Kalex	25	40'03.598	47.707
17	Robin Mulhauser	Kalex	25	40'50.361	1'34.470
18	Ramdan Rosli	Kalex	24	39'26.190	1 lap
	Alessandro Nocco	Kalex	23	38'11.544	2 laps
	Mattia Pasini	Kalex	22	34'34.627	3 laps
	Danny Kent	Kalex	22	35'05.193	3 laps
	Remy Gardner	Kalex	13	21'50.867	12 laps
	Julian Simon	Speed Up	9	14'21.367	16 laps
	Iker Lecuona	Kalex	9	14'36.321	16 laps
	Alex Rins	Kalex	6	9'33.844	19 laps
	Sam Lowes	Kalex	2	3'16.300	23 laps
	Hafizh Syahrin	Kalex	0