2012 Brno Moto2 Race Result: Tense Race-Long Battle Sees Four Men Chase Victory

Results and summary of the Moto2 race at Brno:

Marc Marquez has won a tense four-way fight to take victory in the Moto2 race at Brno on Sunday, consolidating his lead in the championship to 48 points over Pol Espargaro. 

Thomas Luthi got the holeshot, leading the cream of the Moto2 crop into the first corner, with Pol Espargaro, Marc Marquez and Andrea Iannone following closely on his tail. A brief reshuffle left Luthi leading Marquez, with Iannone ahead of Marquez, the front four breaking away from those chasing behind. Luthi looked incredibly strong all race long, easily holding off Marquez' challenges. They came every lap, at least twice a lap, going into Turns 1 and 3. But each time Marquez drew alongside on the way into the corner, Luthi held him off with a masterful display of late braking.

The duel between Luthi and Marquez gave Iannone and Espargaro a chance to recuperate. After a modest start, Espargaro came into his own as the race entered its second half. But his charge would go unrewarded: he passed Andrea Iannone on the way into Turn 1 as yellow flags were being waved. The pass was penalized, and Espargaro was told to drop to 4th, though by this time he was setting about trying to pass Marquez as well. The HP Tuenti rider dutifully dropped the necessary places, but lost his momentum in the course of doing so. He would get back past Iannone and into 3rd once again, but a win was gone.

Victory would be decided between Luthi and Marquez, with Luthi holding the strongest hand until the final couple of laps. But at the start of lap 18, Marquez finally forced his way past Luthi on the way into the first corner. Luthi tried all he could to get into position to attack Marquez back, but the Spaniard had just too much speed for the Interwetten rider to find a place to pass. Marquez went on to take his sixth win of the season, and more importantly, another 9 points advantage over Espargaro.

With six races to go, Marquez now has a comfortable 48-point lead over his main rival. Espargaro's chances are slipping away race by race.

Results: