Moto2: Fernandez takes first win in Portuguese battle royale

Round three of the 2021 Moto2 World Championship took place in Portimao, at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Sam Lowes started from his third pole position of the season. 

Remy Gardner made the holeshot on the Red Bull KTM Ajo Kalex, ahead of Marco Bezzecchi. Sam Lowes looked like he was going to slot into third, but had to go wide to avoid Gardner, lost the rear, and his race was over before it had even really begun.

Gardner led the opening stages, until Bezzecchi took point on lap three at the first turn. Things seemed to be working out well for Bezzecchi as the group of five behind him began to fight, and he was able to get away to the tune of around 1.5 seconds. 

It was at that point, though, that Gardner was able to start closing the gap back down, though, and soon the front group was a 14-wheeler once more, with Bezzecchi, Gardner, Joe Roberts, Aron Canet, Augusto Fernandez, Raul Fernandez and Xavi Vierge. 

Bezzecchi held firm at the front until lap 10, when Canet moved through at turn 14. Bezzecchi fought back on the straight with the superior aerodynamics of the Kalex, before a response from Canet in turn one that pushed them both wide, and allowed Roberts to assume the lead. 

Canet’s maintenance of the advantage over Bezzecchi in their fight between turn 14 and turn one was important, because the #72’s rear tyre was beginning to suffer, and Roberts’ pace was superior. 

Eventually, Roberts and Canet were able to break away, but just as it looked like the fight for the win would be only between them, Raul Fernandez broke through into third and began to impose his pace. 

Fernandez was able to catch the leading two in the closing stages, and finally hit the front on lap 20. It was impossible for either Roberts or Canet to do anything about the Spanish rookie, who simply had more grip. 

Instead, they had to turn their attentions backwards once more, as the second Red Bull KTM Ajo bike of Gardner was coming back into the fight. 

Roberts put a beautiful pass on Canet in turns 10 and 11, but the Spaniard fought back in turn 13. The move of Canet put Roberts in tight to turn 14, which gave Gardner the space to move up the inside in the middle of the corner. He expected Roberts to go wide, but the gap was less than he expected, and that meant the front tyre of Gardner left a mark on the right arm of Roberts’ leathers. It was a tough move from the #87, but just about fair enough. 

That was enough to protect Canet in second, his first Moto2 podium, and it secured third for Gardner, but none of them could do anything about Fernandez, who took his first Moto2 win in just his third intermediate class race. The Spaniard moves to within one point of the championship lead, which now belongs to Remy Gardner for the first time in his career. 

Ultimately, despite the first lap crash, things did not work out too badly for Sam Lowes, who will go to Jerez, where he won in 2016, just three points adrift of the championship lead. 

In fourth place was Roberts, who was unfortunate but seemingly not too upset about missing the podium. He finished ahead of Augusto Fernandez, who completed the top five to prove the progress he has made from Doha, while Marco Bezzecchi completed the top six ahead of Xavi Vierge. 

Hector Garzo took a step forward from Qatar, and took his first top 10 of the season in eighth, ahead of the continually impressive Cameron Beaubier in ninth, and Marcel Schrotter who completed the top 10.

Fabio Di Giannantonio’s weekend was mired by technical issues, and he could only manage 11th, ahead of Lorenzo Dalla Porta, Albert Arenas, Lorenzo Baldassarri and Marcos Ramirez who took the final point in his first finish of the season with his broken humerus. 

Tony Arbolino was 16th, ahead of Tom Luthi, Hafizh Syahrin, Miquel Pons (replacing Tomasso Marcon, who was replacing Simone Corsi), Fraser Rogers (replacing Barry Baltus), Somkiat Chantra who got taken out by his teammate Ai Ogura, and Jorge Navarro who crashed early on and was the final classified finisher in 22nd. 

Sam Lowes was the only rider to not see the end of the first lap, but he was joined on the sidelines by Stefano Manzi and Yari Montelli, who were both involved in a horrible-looking crash at turn 15, but were both okay afterwards; Ai Ogura, whose crash that took out Chantra ended his race; Bo Bendsneyder; Nicolo Bulega, who made a big error in turn one and took out Celestino Vietti; and Jake Dixon who crashed on the kerb between turns seven and eight.