Moto2: Gardner goes back-to-back with Barcelona victory

The seventh round of the 2021 Moto2 World Championship, the Catalan Grand Prix, took place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Remy Gardner started from pole position as he looked to defend his 6-point championship lead from teammate, Raul Fernandez.

It was Gardner who made the holeshot, leading from Fernandez. It remained that way for 11 laps, with Bo Bendsneyder close behind the two Red Bull KTM Ajo riders. 

At the first turn on lap 12, though, Fernandez made his move for the lead. He could not escape, though, as Gardner remained resolutely glued to the rear wheel of the Spaniard. 

Eventually, the teammates were able to drop those behind, especially as Bendsneyder began to struggle with grip, and drop back through the pack. The first beneficiary of Bendsneyder’s fading tyres was Xavi Vierge, then it was Marco Bezzecchi, and eventually Augusto Fernandez, who was back on form in Montmelo. 

Back to the lead battle, and it was on lap 20 that Gardner, somewhat unintentionally, made his move for the lead. It looked like the Australian was intending to remain behind his teammate, but a mistake in braking meant he had to either go for the inside and pass Fernandez, or go outside and possibly lose any chance of winning. Gardner went for the inside, and promptly bolted. By the beginning of lap 21, the #87 had already pulled 0.6 seconds on Fernandez, and the last lap was a relatively comfortable victory tour for the championship leader, who took back-to-back wins for the first time and extended his points lead to 11. 

Fernandez rode well, and it is always important in these situations to remember that he is a rookie in the intermediate class. It remains the case that the only rider to have done anything like what Fernandez is doing in Moto2 in 2021 was Marc Marquez when he stepped up as the 125cc World Champion to Moto2 in 2011. Marquez was fast and sketchy, inconsistent, at least in the beginning. Ultimately, the edginess of Marquez’ style cost him the 2011 title when he had that horrendous, potentially career-ending eye injury in Sepang. Fernandez maybe doesn’t have the outright speed Marquez had in 2011 – there’s no shame in that – but he has more consistency in this early part of the championship. The Spaniard is not making mistakes, and he is the only rider who can get anywhere near Gardner on a regular basis at the moment. 

Xavi Vierge dealt with the pressure of Marco Bezzecchi behind to score his first podium since Australia 2018, and Petronas Sprinta Racing’s first Moto2 podium ever. It was a good return to form for Vierge, however overdue, and well-timed considering the potential for a vacant seat in Petronas’ MotoGP setup in 2022. 

Marco Bezzecchi had a better race than perhaps could have been expected after his disappointing qualifying. Bezzecchi struggled in Barcelona last year, so in some ways fourth place was a positive finish. The Italian is now third in the championship, but 38 points behind Gardner. If he is to truly mix it in the points with the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders, he needs to find more speed.

Augusto Fernandez completed the top five in a return to form for the Spaniard, finishing ahead of Bo Bendsneyder. 

It was a tough day for Sam Lowes and his championship aspirations, as the Briton finished seventh, falling 64 points down in the championship compared to Gardner. Behind him, Marcel Schrotter was eighth, ahead of Somkiat Chantra and Joe Roberts who completed the top 10. 

Jorge Navarro was the top non-Kalex on his Boscoscuro, in front of Albert Arenas. Tony Arbolino was 13th, ahead of Celestino Vietti and Tom Luthi who completed the points. 

Simone Corsi was 16th, ahead of Nicolo Bulega, Jake Dixon, Cameron Beaubier, Hafizh Syahrin, Alonso Lopez (replacing Yari Montella), Barry Baltus, Lorenzo Baldassarri, Stefano Manzi, Piotr Biesiekirski (wildcarding), and Keminth Kubo (wildcarding) who was last on his grand prix debut. 

Aron Canet was fighting inside the top 10, far ahead of his Boscoscuro stablemates, but fell at turn five while battling with Augusto Fernandez. Marcos Ramirez, Lorenzo Dalla Porta, Ai Ogura, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Hector Garzo all also fell, the latter two going down together.