Agius scores Moto2 podium despite penalty

The Sydneysider bounced back from the long-lap penalty for a clash with Celestino Vietti to clinch third place after a thrilling battle with Diego Moreira in the closing laps.

“Honestly, I thought Phillip Island was the highlight of my career, this smashes that,” said Agius.

“Cele started to struggle, I was going to make a pass for P2 and I was a bit optimistic. I have to say sorry to them because that pass was on the limit.

“I did the penalty and then I said ‘Okay, don’t do any mistake’ because by that time I had no tyre left.

“I was catching Moreira one by one and I should have passed him more aggressively but I was just a bit tense on the bike – but that will come. I can’t believe I got it done.”

The Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP rider qualified fourth and immediately put himself onto the podium on the opening lap.

Celestino Vietti, who started third, shot to the lead of the race on Lap 1 but was a non-finisher after he crashed on Lap 12 of the contest.

At the end of Lap 1, Vieti led Manuel Gonzalez, Agius, Darryn Binder, and Izan Guevara who shot up the order after jumping the start from 11th.

Teammates Jorge Navarro and Alex Escrig crashed on the opening lap in a horror visit for the KLINT Forward Factory Team.

On Lap 2, Gonzalez tried to put a pass on Vietti but the switchback meant the positions stayed the same as they were at the end of Lap 1.

Agius found himself embroiled in a battle with Binder over the last place on the podium in the opening laps.

After a brief battle, Gonzalez got to the lead on Lap 3 and set about skipping away.

The race soon settled into a rhythm with Gonzalez teetering on a one-second lead over Vietti while Agius was another half a second in arrears.

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Then, with 11 laps to go, Agius stuck his nose down the inside of Vietti for second and made contact.

Vietti fell while Agius continued unabated. Stewards frowned upon the move, however, and delivered the Australian a long lap penalty.

“Turn 11, that’s not an overtaking spot from my previous history of watching around here,” said MotoGP commentator Matthew Birt.

“Vietti, slightly wide, but of course it’s a left-hander coming up next. So as you go through [Turn] 10, you’re quickly right into [Turn] 11 and I’m not so sure there was a gap there for Agius to ride through.”

The battle for 3rd is heating up! 🔥

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After the incident, and even before the penalty was delivered, Agius fell behind Canet and Diogo Moreira.

Agius didn’t lose a position after taking the long-lap penalty but conceded several seconds to Moreira.

The gap from Moreira to Agius sat comfortably at two seconds in the closing laps but it soon began to dwindle down and with two laps to go, there were just a few bike lengths between them.

With three laps to go, Agius put a pass on Moreira, but the Brazilian fought back and retook third away from the Australian. Ultimately, with two laps to go, Agius got the pass completed.

All told, it was Gonzalez who won by 2.6 seconds over Canet while Agius was 6.4 seconds adrift while Moreira finished 0.3s back.

Results: Moto2 Thailand Motorcycle Grand Prix