Moto2: Lowes holds of Gardner for second straight win

The second round of the 2021 Moto2 World Championship took place at the Losail International Circuit, which hosted its second motorcycle grand prix in the space of a week. Sam Lowes started from pole position for the second time this season. 

Just like last week, though, it was Marco Bezzecchi who made the holeshot and led into turn one, ahead of Lowes, Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner.

Equally similar to last week, Bezzecchi was unable to put any time into those behind, and on lap four Lowes sensed his opportunity to take the lead, and he did so at turn one. 

Two laps later, at the same turn, the two Red Bull KTM Ajo bike passed Bezzecchi for second and third, with Gardner moving into second ahead of his teammate, Fernandez. 

The top four stayed together for much of the race, although Bezzecchi faded in the final 10 laps and drifted from contention. 

Additionally, the top three was somewhat faux, as Raul Fernandez had all the pace to stay with Lowes and Gardner, but no more, and could do nothing to attack either of them. He hung with them for long enough to be clear of Bezzecchi at the end, but the fight for the win was between the front two. 

Lowes and Gardner traded fastest laps of the race right up until the flag. They pushed each other to the very limit, and both overstepped it, at least slightly, on multiple occasions. The pair were incredibly evenly matched, but that parity played into Lowes’ advantage, since he had the track position. 

Going onto the final lap it looked as though Lowes had the race under relative control, but Gardner put in a superb final tour to be within range to attack in the final two corners. A twitch over the crest between turns 14 and 15 cost Gardner one opportunity, and Lowes’ exit from the penultimate turn was strong enough to keep the Australian out of reach into the final corner. Gardner’s only remaining opportunity was to slipstream Lowes to the line, but in his eagerness to carry as much exit speed from turn 16 as possible, the #87 spun the rear tyre up, and lost drive. That was the final error which guaranteed Lowes the win, his second of the season – a perfect 50 points from Qatar for the #22. 

Twice in two races Gardner has come up short of Lowes, but at least this weekend the Australian was able to prove he can run the Briton’s pace. But, psychologically, it will be important for Gardner to beat his rival in Portugal in a couple of weeks, where last year he took his first grand prix victory.

Raul Fernandez secured third place, his first Moto2 podium in just his second intermediate class start. The Spaniard was perhaps the safest-looking of the three podium finishers, perhaps displaying a level of caution the other two ignored, as he looked to avoid errors. Although he is a rookie, 5-3 in the opening two races of the season mean Fernandez is in range of the championship, and as a rookie it is only natural that the expectation is for him to only get better from here. 

It was another disappointing fourth place for Marco Bezzecchi. Unlike last week, though, he simply did not have the pace for the top three, and he will need to bounce back in Portimao to get his championship back on track. 

Behind Bezzecchi was a monumental battle for fifth, with countless riders involved. In the end, it was the rookie, Ai Ogura, who came out on top for his first top five as a Moto2 rider. Behind the Japanese was Augusto Fernandez, who confirmed a step up compared to last week, finishing sixth ahead of Celestino Vietti, the rookie taking seventh place from 18th on the grid; while Stefano Manzi was eighth, in front of Xavi Vierge and Fabio Di Giannantonio who went from third place a week ago to rounding out the top 10 this week. 

Tony Arbolino just missed out on the top 10 in his second Moto2 start, finishing 11th ahead of Bo Bendsneyder, Jorge Navarro, Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Albert Arenas, the reigning Moto3 champion taking his first Moto2 point with 15th in Doha. 

Hector Garzo was 16th, ahead of Nicolo Bulega, Yari Montella, Somkiat Chantra and Lorenzo Baldassarri whose first finish for MV Agusta was down in 20th place, ahead of only Hafizh Syahrin in 21st on the sole NTS. 

Joe Roberts was the first retirement, with a fast crash at turn 14 . The American would later be joined on the sidelines by his rookie compatriot, Cameron Beaubier, as well as Tomasso Marcon; Tom Luthi; Marcel Schrotter; Jake Dixon and Aron Canet.