INDIANAPOLIS, IN, SEPT. 14 – Jack & Jones Aprilia’s Nicolas Terol won a rain-shortened 125cc Grand Prix today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the soon to be 21-year-old benefitting from a red flag that saw the race pushed back a lap to decide the outcome. Terol’s win was not only the first of his career, but he also became the first race winner in the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.
Terol was fortunate that the red-flag came out when it did as he had been passed by Belson Derbi’s Pol Espargaro on the 17th lap as rain began to fall at Indy. When race direction stopped the race and reverted it back to the 16th lap, Terol had his first-ever victory. And the win was earned as he’d passed Espargaro on the ninth lap and led every lap after than until the conditions changed drastically with the rainfall.
Third place went to Stefan Bradl, the German having fought through from well back in the pack to pass Brit Scott Redding one the final lap. Bradl ended up 3.9 seconds behind Terol and .293 of a second ahead of Redding.
Sandro Cortese rode his Cafe Latte Aprilia to fifth – by just .041 of a second over Marc Marquez. Simone Corsi was seventh on the Jack & Jones Aprilia, though he was beginning to come under threat from Brit Bradley Smith, who had started slowly and was buried in the pack early on.
American Stevie Bonsey rode his DeGraaf Grand Prix Aprilia to ninth, his first finish in the last five races. Mike di Meglio chased Bonsey home to round out the top 10.
The second American in the field PJ Jacobsen ended up 22nd in his Grand Prix racing debut.
Despite finishing 10th, di Meglio holds on to the championship points lead, the Frenchman ahead of Corsi, 192-167. Bradl, in fourth, moves to within seven points of Gabor Talmacsi, the Hungarian finishing 14th in today’s race.
125cc Grand Prix
1. Nicolas Terol (Aprilia)
2. Pol Espargaro (Derbi)
3. Stefan Bradl (Aprilia)
4. Scott Redding (Aprilia)
5. Sandro Cortese (Aprilia)
6. Marc Marquez (KTM)
7. Simon Corsi (Aprilia)
8. Bradley Smith (Aprilia)
9. Stevie Bonsey (Aprilia)
10. Mike di Meglio (Derbi)
