Dixon delivers flawless performance to take victory in Termas whilst unfortunate crash ends Salac’s day

Jake Dixon executed his game plan to perfection at the Termas de Rio Hondo Circuit by leading every lap of the race, while Filip Salac suffered an unfortunate crash out of the podium battle.

The first Grand Prix in South America since 2023 was greeted with predictable enthusiasm. 79,227 people showed up at the Termas de Rio Hondo Circuit on Sunday to watch the 2^nd race of the Moto2 season.

While the threat of rain persisted through the day, conditions were dry for the 21-lap race, which got underway at 12.00 local time with ambient temperatures sat at 25 degrees.

Jake’s first victory in Marc VDS colours is the first for the team in the Moto2 class since the Australian GP in October, 2023.

Jake Dixon, 1^st

Starting from 2^nd on the grid, Jake immediately assumed control, passing Manuel Gonzalez for the lead at the race’s 1^st turn.

Jake set four successive fastest laps from the fourth to seventh laps, which opened up a healthy lead over the Spaniard. He was then able to manage that advantage to win his 5^th ever Moto2 race by 3.5 seconds.

The result sees Jake climb to 2^nd in the World Championship with 34 points.

“You always set out to win but it’s not that easy, especially in Moto2 against these guys! But this win is up there with the highlights of my career. I’m with a new team, riding a new chassis and that’s always difficult to adapt to. In the last five laps I was reflecting on all the dedication I’ve put in. I’m trying to be a different version of me this year and enjoy the good moments we have, as well as limit the bad ones. I want to say a massive thanks to my crew. The Elf Marc VDS team is working fantastically. I can’t thank my boys – Lucio, Micky and Nacho – enough. They work tirelessly and are on another level.”

Filip Salac, DNF

Launching from 4^th on the grid, Filip held position off the line and had jumped up to 2^nd by lap 2 thanks to neat moves on Marcos Ramirez and Gonzalez.

Then engaged in a tight fight for 3^rd, the Czech rider’s race came to an unfortunate end when he tangled with another rider at Turn 5 on lap 11 when fighting for 4^th. After rejoining the race, Filip retired due to damage to his bike.

Filip’s DNF means he drops to 15^th in the World Championship with 7 points.

“Sunday in Argentina is done. The start was good and I thought we could do a really good race. I got up to second behind Jake. When I was third I made two mistakes when downshifting, meaning I went a bit wide. I lost contact with the front guys but was still third and going quite easy because I know the Boscoscuro chassis can be much easier for the rider in the second half of the race. When Ramirez passed me, he was braking really late. I saw him sideways and thought he’d be wider than he actually was. I tried to re-pass him, thinking there was space there to do it. But there wasn’t. Unfortunately, I crashed. It was a racing incident. I’m so sorry for myself, but even more for the team. Today we could have both been on the podium. Jake won the race so I want to congratulate him. I’m really happy for him and the team. But I’m sad I didn’t finish the weekend off after the potential we had.”