Moto2 Styria: Marco Bezzecchi clinches his first win of 2021

Marco Bezzecchi secured his first win of the 2021 Moto2 season in an enthralling race at the Red Bull Ring.

The SKY Racing Team VR46 rider took the lead at the start of the race but would fall back down to third on lap seven after running in too deep at turn one. Remy Gardner took the lead and was pulling away after setting two consecutive fastest laps, however Bezzecchi regrouped and made his way back up to second.

Moto3: Pedro Acosta beats Sergio Garcia to win in Austria

Bezzecchi pulled away from Aron Canet and began to chase Gardner down with eight laps remaining. The Italian made his move at turn one on lap 19, with the duo exchanging the lead a few times on that lap. Gardner then made a rare mistake on the following lap. To avoid hitting the back of Bezzecchi at turn four, Gardner had to run one and off the circuit, falling to fifth in the process.

Bezzecchi crossed the line with a 1.171s advantage over Canet to win for the first time since Valencia 1 last October. It’s the Italian’s second consecutive victory at the Red Bull Ring.

It’s Canet’s third podium of the season, whilst Augusto Fernandez finished third to clinch his second consecutive podium finish. It’s Fernandez’s first back-to-back podium success since 2019, when he won at the Sachsenring and Silverstone.

Championship leader Gardner ended the race in fourth ahead of Ai Ogura. Gardner now holds an 35-point advantage over teammate Raul Fernandez. Fernandez made a mistake at turn nine on lap seven, ran off the circuit and re-joined in seventh. The mistake cost the newly named Tech3 MotoGP rider 1.5 seconds, and he’d end the race in seventh.

Meanwhile, Ogura’s race could have had a much better ending. The Honda Team Asia rider was second and closing down Bezzecchi when he was handed a long lap penalty for exceeding track limits. Ogura then went over the white line when taking the penalty and was consequently handed a three-second penalty for failing to take another long lap penalty.

Celestino Vietti finished sixth after overtaking, and setting the fastest lap of the race, Raul Fernandez on the final lap. It’s Vietti’s best result so far in his rookie Moto2 campaign, having previously finished seventh in Qatar.

Somkiat Chantra, Xavi Vierge and Marcel Schrotter completed the top 10, whilst Jake Dixon enjoyed a positive day in 11th. Dixon went from 21st to 12th on the opening lap of the race.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Fabio Di Giannantonio were 12th and 13th respectively, whilst Sam Lowes dropped down to 14th on the Elf Marc VDS bike. Albert Arenas secured the final point in 15th.

Simone Corsi’s race came to an end at turn three on the opening lap, whilst Joe Roberts also crashed at turn nine on lap one. It’s the American’s third consecutive DNF and his fifth of the 2021 season.

Barry Baltus crashed at turn one on lap two, whilst NTS RW Racing GP teammate Hafizh Syahrin suffered the same fate at turn six on lap 11. Hector Garzo crashed at turn four on lap 18 whilst chasing down the top 10. Cameron Beaubier made up 10 places on the opening lap of the race, but his day ended in retirement.

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Moto3 Styria: Pedro Acosta wins after great battle with Sergio Garcia

First published: 8 August 2021 at 11:01 by Josh Close

Pedro Acosta secured his fifth victory of the 2021 Moto3 season after coming out on top in an excellent duel with Sergio Garcia.

The duo pulled away from the rest of the pack in the early stages on their wet tyres and proceeded to exchange positions multiple times throughout the race.

Moto2: Remy Gardner secures his third pole of 2021

The final lap proved to be an entertaining one, with Acosta putting a block pass on Garcia at turn one, who duly repaid the favour at turn three. Acosta was forced off the track in the process following contact between the two riders. Acosta stalked Garcia and went down the inside at tune nine, with Garcia running a little wide and falling.

After assessing the final lap, Race Direction confirmed that they would not be taking any action and that the race result would stand. Acosta extends his championship lead over Garcia, who remounted and still managed to finish second, to 53 points. Acosta now has a 50% win rate in Moto3 after winning five of his 10 races in the GP paddock.

Romano Fenati completed the podium after a last lap move on Jaume Masia, whilst Ayumu Sasaki completed the top five on his return to action.

A group of riders opted to change to slick tyres in the hope of a dry line appearing on the circuit during the race, as well as some sunshine. Whilst there were some dry sections, it wasn’t enough to give those on dry tyres enough of an advantage to challenge for the podium.

Darryn Binder was the only rider on slicks to make a real impact on the race, first breaking into the points on lap 11 and then into the top 10 with eight laps remaining. The South African set his fastest lap with seven laps remaining and was able to pick up a few more positions in the final few laps, crossing the line in sixth.

Ryusei Yamanaka and Yuki Kunii were seventh and eighth respectively, whilst Maximilian Kofler finished his home Grand Prix in ninth – his first-ever top 10 result. Adrian Fernandez completed the top 10 for the Sterilgarda Max Racing Team.

Filip Salac and Kaito Toba narrowly missed out on a top 10 result, whilst John McPhee made up some ground in the closing stages to finish 13th on slick tyres. Izan Guevara and Tatsuki Suzuki clinched the final points on offer today.

Polesitter Deniz Oncu was forced to start from the back of the grid after changing to slick tyres too late on the grid. The change was made after the three-minute warning sign has been shown. As a result, the Turkish rider finished the race in 21st after failing to make an impact on dry tyres.

Andi Farid Izdihar, on slick tyres, was the first faller in the race. The Honda Team Asia rider crashed at turn one but was able to re-join the race. The Indonesian rider then crashed again at turn three on lap 14 and retired from the race. Moments later, newcomer David Salvador, on slick tyres, also fell at turn three and retired.

Xavi Artigas did not start the race after receiving a “non conclusive” PCR test on Sunday morning. The Leopard Racing rider underwent another test; however he didn’t receive a result in time for the race. The team did confirm that Artigas has had his vaccinations. Carlos Tatay also failed to start today’s race at the Red Bull Ring.

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Moto2 Styria: Remy Gardner takes pole at the Red Bull Ring

First published: 7 August 2021 by Josh Close

Championship leader Remy Gardner secured his third pole of the 2021 Moto2 season at the Red Bull Ring.

The Aussie posted a best lap-time of 1:28.668 in the closing moments of the session and is in prime position to extend his championship lead tomorrow afternoon. It’s his fifth pole in the intermediate class.

Moto3: Deniz Öncü claims his maiden pole

Ai Ogura clinched his best-ever qualifying result in second spot. The Japanese rider was at the top of the timesheets at one stage but will still be thrilled with the middle of the front row. Ogura is enjoying an impressive maiden Moto2 campaign, with five top seven results from the opening nine races.

Marco Bezzecchi completed the front row despite suffering from some technical issues throughout. The Italian has been linked with a potential move to MotoGP next year, with rumours circulating that both Petronas Yamaha and Valentino Rossi’s Ducati team are interested. 

Raul Fernandez could only manage fourth today and was held up slightly on his final flying lap. Prior to qualifying, it was confirmed that Fernandez will be promoted to the Tech3 KTM MotoGP team next year. 

Fernandez is joined on the second row by Aron Canet and Augusto Fernandez, whilst Sam Lowes will start from seventh on the grid. Lorenzo Dalla Porta, Somkiat Chantra and Marcel Schrotter complete the top 10. 

Xavi Verge (11th) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (12th) narrowly missed out on a spot inside the top 10, whilst Thomas Luthi was 13th on the Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team machine. 

Jake Dixon qualified down in 21st, completing the seventh row behind Celestino Vietti and Joe Roberts. American rookie Cameron Beaubier qualified 24th on his first visit to the Red Bull Ring. 

Tomorrow’s Moto2 race is due to begin at 11:20 (UK time).

MCN has been the home of bike racing since 1955. To get behind the scenes access, big name exclusives and hear from some of the best motorcycle racing journalists in the world, pick up a copy in your local newsagent every Wednesday. Or why not subscribe and get four issues for £2.

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Moto3 Styria: Deniz Öncü secures his maiden pole position

First published: 7 August 2021 at 12:34 by Josh Close

Deniz Öncü clinched his first-ever pole position in the Moto3 class this afternoon at the Red Bull Ring.

Öncü went to the top of the timesheets will only a few seconds remaining in Austria, posting a 1:36.453 to knock Sergio Garcia off top spot. Garcia will start second, however there’s a good chance that he’ll be visiting the medical centre after a big crash towards the end of the session.

Garcia suffered a highside at turn three and appeared to land heavily on his right leg. He had to be assisted by marshals when walking away from his bike. Romano Fenati completes the front row, clinching back-to-back front row starts after qualifying second at Assen.

Jeremy Alcoba heads the second row ahead of championship leader Pedro Acosta and Izan Guevara, whilst Dennis Foggia will start the race from seventh. Jaume Masia, Darryn Binder and Gabriel Rodrigo completed the top 10.

Niccolo Antonelli could only manage 11th after suffering his own highside at the final corner early in the session. The Italian appeared to be unhurt and was able to walk away from the incident. John McPhee completes the fourth row in 12th spot.

Riccardo Rossi, Tatsuki Suzuki and Ayumu Sasaki line-up on row five, with the latter crashing on his opening lap of Q2. Suzuki came through Q1 earlier in the day.

Xavier Artigas was best of the rest in Q1, missing out on a spot in Q2 by 0.124s, and will start tomorrow’s race from 19th on the grid. He’s joined on row seven by Carlos Tatay and Ryusei Yamanaka.

Yuki Kunii, Lorenzo Fallon, and Maximillian Kofler will start from row eight, whilst Kaito Toba heads the ninth row. Moto3 newcomer David Salvador will line-up 26th on the grid. Salvador, riding for the Rivacold Snipers team, is a podium finisher in the CEV Moto3 Championship and finished sixth overall last season, whilst he finished fourth in the Red Bull Rookies Cup in 2019. Adrian Fernandez and Andi Farid Izdihar complete the field.

Tomorrow’s Moto3 race is due to begin at 10am (UK Time).

MCN has been the home of bike racing since 1955. To get behind the scenes access, big name exclusives and hear from some of the best motorcycle racing journalists in the world, pick up a copy in your local newsagent every Wednesday. Or why not subscribe and get four issues for £2.