Round sixteen of the Moto2 championship, the Japanese Grand Prix, began with a🔴 red flag as the rain returned with the riders who took the slick tyre gamble coming out on top over the revised twelve lap distance, with Manuel Gonzalez victorious for the first time.

The QJMotor Gresini rider apologised for taking a home first away from the Japanese fans, but gave♚ a masterclass in risk taking to come ho🔯me the winner.

From 14th on the g⛦rid, his slick tyres took a few laps to come into their ow🥀n, which saw a drop to 23rd .

Gonzalez was s💫oon back in action and cutting thro🐼ugh the pack, reaching leader Ai Ogura on lap nine after setting three fastest laps of the race in a row, taking the lead through Victory Corner.

Once ahead Gonzalez pulled a gap as quickly as he had 📖caught Ogura aboard his Kalex, leaving him 2.535s behind for a first Moto2 win for the Spaniard as the ninth different wiꦏnner this season.

The risk was much higher for championship leader Ogura, who also took the slick gamble, and cut to the front much faster, using all of the kerbs to rapidly pass MT Helmets - MSI teammate Sergio ꧑Garcia moving al the way forward to earl꧒y leader - while the weather allowed - Jake Dixon, passing him on lap four.

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With the title at stake, the Japanese rider did not try to keep pace with a flying Gonz🅷alez, taking second on the Boscoscuro in front of his home crowd.

The podium was co🤪mpleted by a 🐻very emotional Filip Salac.

The Elf Marc VDS rider was in a class of his own topping practice on Friday, but an issue in qualifying with his Kalex bike🐭 saw the Czech rider miss the key window before the rain arrived and lef🌠t him last in the session for 18th on the grid.

Salac fought through after convincing his mechanics that a 💖slick tyre gamble was the way to go, and it paid off - collecting his first podium of the year ♎since joining the team.

Jeremy Alcoba is in the hunt to find a Moto2 seat for next season, and improved his chances with the right tyres,ꦬ moving from 22nd on the grid to finish fourth for Yamaha VR46 Master Camp, his equal best result.

Zonta van den Goorbergh came through Q1 for a career best second 𒁏on the grid. His race began with a severe dip back after early contact on the first lap, dropping to twelfth. The Netherlands rider also had th🐲e right rubber underneath him, so was able to stage a comeback for fifth, his best result to date.

There was one final rider taking a slick gamble - Xavier Artigas. The Klint Forward racing rider has endured a tough season with the unfancied chassis, with a previous best of 20th. The weather and tyre situation allowed the Spaniard to display his race craft had not left him, coming from 26t꧟h on the grid for a best result of sixth for rider and team.

Celestino Vietti was the best of the wet weather tyre riders, finishing seventh for Red Bull KTM Ajo, but over fifty seconds behind the race w𒁃inner.

Diogo Moreira was the top rookie in race trim ⛎for Italtrans in eighth, four seconds ahead of Alonso Lo❀pez, who was the best of the Speed Up riders after frantically waving to stop the original start when then in second as the rain poured, finishing in ninth.

Izan Guevara tucked in behind his Inde Aspar teammate as the race got underway for a secon🐟d time. He went on to be the t🐟eams top placed rider, completing the top ten.

He had competition🌞 for the position, with Tony Arbolino forced to settle for eleventh on the second Marc VDS bike, while Fermin Aldeguer fought his way back into the points for twelfth for Speed Up.

Jake Dixon started from pole -twice - after managing the tricky ♍weather of qualifying best, with the fastest banker lap but his luck ran out in the race, losing three places in a feisty final lap t▨o place 13th for Aspar.

Sergio Gar﷽cia was 14th with the final point on offer going to Darryn Bi💞nder for the Liqui Moly Intact GP team.

Form rider, Indonesia race winner Aron Canet was moved up to 16th for Fantic rꦯacing after Deniz Oncu was demoted a place for exceeding track limits on the last lap on the Red Bull KTM Ajo bike.

The second Japanese rider in the class, r๊ookie Ayumu Sasaki🤪 finished 21st.

Albert Arenas♓ we✱nt for slicks then second guessed himself and returned to his Gresini mechanics for a tyre change, leading to a pit lane start. He finished 22nd.

Joe Roberts gambled on exits and risked a tyre change in the race when he realised his wet tyres were not competitive. The risk didn’t pay off, leaving the American Racing rid💙er 27th.

Crashes, injuries and replacements

Daniel Munoz had a fast crash on Saturday and was later dec💞lared unfit with a right a🅰nkle fracture.

ꩲ2023 race winner Somkiat Chantra was checked on arrival at Motegi and given the all-clear to rider following his injury, picked up🥀 in Indonesia after contact from Aldeguer. The Honda team Asia rider missed his teams home race after picking up the illness that has been doing the rounds in the paddock.

Their second rider, Mario Aji, was the on🍌ly bike to retire.

Championship Standings

Ogura remains in charge overall, with second taking him to 228 - a gapဣ of sixty points offing his first shot at taking the titl♚e at the next round in Australia.

Garcia remains second overall, despite p♏icking up just🍷 seven points in the last six rounds, now on 168.

Lopez is third on 163 while Canet finishing our of the points leaves him on 156.Mathematically everyone down to Dixon can theoretically still win, with Arbolino🤪 officially ✅out of the hunt after the trip to Motegi.

In the rookie standings Senna Agius leads, staying on 47, wi💖th Moreira moving on to36 points, while Oncu did not score remaining on a total of 34.