Video: The wild Portugal Moto2 race and an American rider's breakthrough win

One round after he got his first Moto2 pole position at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas in Texas, six-time MotoAmerica Superbike champion Cameron Beaubier of the American Racing Team again qualified on the front row in Portugal, this time second. His pole position in Austin was followed by disappointment, as he crashed out late in the race while running in the top five. With a second straight strong qualifying performance, it looked like Beaubier was finally poised to make the breakthrough that many have expected of him in Moto2 and he took the lead off the start. But his shot at victory was robbed by a sudden burst of rain that sent the race into chaos.

Dorna blocks their YouTube videos from being embedded on other websites, but it's worth clicking over to YouTube to see the race highlights.

Instead of Beaubier's day, the race belonged to fellow American Joe Roberts, of the Italtrans Racing Team, who was one of the riders who stayed upright when those ahead of him crashed. He not only got the holeshot on the restart, but cruised to a 2.818-second victory, his first in the class. It was clear how much the breakthrough win meant to Roberts as he broke down with emotion on the cool-down lap.

It was the first grand prix win by a U.S. rider since Ben Spies more than a decade ago and the first in the intermediate class in more than three decades. The joke of the day was that the only copy of "The Star Spangled Banner" the MotoGP team had on hand for the podium ceremony was still on vinyl.

The top two U.S. riders in the intensely competitive Moto2 class have not had the greatest luck. Certainly, Roberts benefited from some good fortune in getting his first win. But given some of the breaks he's had in the past, it feels like payback.