Moto2 Sachsenring: Remy Gardner dominates to extend championship lead

Remy Gardner dominated the German Moto2 Grand Prix at the Sachsenring to secure his third consecutive victory of the 2021 season.

Gardner and Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Raul Fernandez immediately pulled away from the rest of the field and were over five seconds clear after four laps. The Aussie took the lead at turn 12 on the second lap and began to open a little gap over his title rival. Gardner got the hammer down and disaster would soon strike for Fernandez on the fifth lap when he crashed out of the race at turn three.

Moto3: Pedro Acosta seals his fourth victory of 2021

This set Gardner free, and he was able to take a comfortable victory to open up a championship advantage of 36 points over his teammate. It’s Gardner’s third victory of the season, and his seventh podium from eight races, whilst it’s the first mistake that Fernandez has made in his maiden intermediate class campaign.

Behind the race winner Aron Canet finished second after holding off a late surge from Marco Bezzecchi. It’s the Aspar Team rider’s second podium of the season following his second at Portimao earlier in the year.

Fabio Di Giannantonio finished in fourth ahead of Sam Lowes, who recovered brilliantly from a disappointing start. The Brit was as low as 14th at one stage but was the fastest man on the circuit with seven laps remaining. He was able to take full advantage of crashes for Xavi Vierge (T1) and Ai Ogura (T8) on the final lap, diving down the inside of Marcel Schrotter at turn 12.

Jorge Navarro finished seventh, whilst Albert Arenas, Marcos Ramirez and Cameron Beaubier completed the top 10. It’s Arenas’ first top 10 finish in the intermediate class, whilst it’s another impressive Sunday performance from American Beaubier in his debut year.

Simone Corsi’s race only lasted a couple of corners as the MV Agusta Forward Racing rider hit the deck at turn two. A few laps later Fermín Aldeguer crashed out at turn three. Corsi’s teammate Lorenzo Baldassarri became the fourth rider to crash out of the race when he fell at turn eight on lap eight. The Italian was taken to the medical centre as a result for a check-up.

On the same lap Jake Dixon and Augusto Fernandez, who were running inside the top 10, made contact with each other heading into turn 12. Fernandez crashed out as a result and the incident will be reviewed by race direction after the race. Dixon fell to 25th and eventually finished the race in 21st.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta’s race came to a cruel end when he was forced to retire with a bike problem on lap 15. The Italtrans Racing Team rider was chasing down the top 10 before he was forced to stop. It’s Dalla Porta’s fourth consecutive DNF. Joe Roberts crashed out of 11th spot on the final lap, falling at the first corner.

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Moto3 Sachsenring: Pedro Acosta returns to winning ways in Germany

First published: 20 June 2021 at 11:01 by Josh Close

Pedro Acosta claimed his fourth victory of the 2021 Moto3 season after yet another fightback through the order.

Acosta started the race from 13th on the grid, but it didn’t take the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider long to catch up with the leading pack. From then on, Acosta was much stronger on the brakes than his rivals and was able to move through the order.

Moto2: Raul Fernandez takes pole for the GermanGP

Acosta crossed the line with an advantage of 0.130s over Kaito Toba to take his fourth victory of the season. Acosta now has a 55-point lead in the championship standings. Meanwhile, Toba bounced back from a trip to the medical centre on Saturday afternoon, and was able to fight through the pain barrier.

Jeremy Alcoba crossed the line in third spot but was demoted one position for ignoring a penalty during the race. Alcoba was told to give a place back on the final lap after exceeding track limits, however it was deemed that he ignored this message. As a result, Dennis Foggia inherited third spot for his third podium of the year.

Andrea Migno was fifth ahead of Sergio Garcia, Tatsuki Suzuki and Niccolo Antonelli, whilst Xavier Artigas and Izan Guevara completed the top 10. However, after the race it was revealed that Garcia and Suzuki exceeded track limits on the final lap and were demoted one place each. Antonelli was promoted to sixth as a result.

John McPhee had to settle for 11th after getting caught up in a multi rider incident midway through the race. Until that point the Scot had been challenging for the victory but had to take avoiding action to avoid crashing.

Darryn Binder opted to take his ride through penalty, given to him as further punishment for the incident with Joel Kelso in Q1, at the end of lap three. The South African dropped to the back of the field and was initially 12 seconds behind the rider ahead of him. Due to all of the chaos ahead of him, the South African managed to secure two points in 14th.

Adrian Fernandez was the first rider to crash out of the race. The Spaniard went down at turn one on the third lap. It’s the Sterilgarda Max Racing Team rider’s fifth DNF of the season.

At the end of the fourth lap Yuki Kunii went down at the final corner following contact with Masia. As a result, Jaume Masia was handed a long lap penalty.

Gabriel Rodrigo suffered his second highside of the weekend at turn five on lap 11. The Indonesian Gresini Racing rider was inside the top six when he fell. Moments later, polesitter Filip Salac returned to his pit box and retired.

There was chaos at turn one for the next couple of laps. First, Deniz Oncu and Lorenzo Fellon hit the deck after Fenati collided with Oncu. Fenati was given a long lap penalty as a result and ended the race 13th, whilst Oncu was able to remount and crossed the line in 16th.

Then, on the following lap, Masia ran in too hot and hit the back of Foggia. Masia went down and behind him Ryusei Yamanaka, Stefano Nepa and Riccardo Rossi were involved in a multi rider incident. Fenati also got caught up in the second incident, whilst Yamanaka remounted and finished 18th.

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Moto2 Sachsenring: Raul Fernandez sets new lap record to take pole

First published: 19 June 2021 by Josh Close

Raul Fernandez broke the lap record at the Sachsenring to secure his third pole position of the 2021 Moto2 season.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider beat the old record, set by Jorge Navarro in 2019 (1:23.426), with a 1:23.397. That was enough to beat MotoGP-bound Fabio Di Giannantonio by a comfortable 0.347s.

Moto3: Filip Salac secures his maiden pole

It’s yet another remarkable result for Fernandez, who continues to shine in his debut intermediate class campaign. Across Moto3 and Moto2, today’s pole position is his ninth in 20 race weekends.

Championship leader Remy Gardner completed the front row, whilst Marco Bezzecchi heads the seconds row for SKY Racing Team VR46. Bezzecchi was 0.415s slower than Gardner and 0.787s behind the polesitter, and therefore has plenty of work tomorrow if he’s to stay in touch with the podium contenders.

Xavi Vierge’s run of form continued in fifth spot ahead of Navarro, whilst Sam Lowes qualified seventh after crashing at the first corner early in the session. Ai Ogura, Bo Bendsnyeder and Aron Canet completed the top 10.

Jake Dixon qualified 15th on his first Saturday with new crew chief Mark Woodage, whilst reigning Moto3 champion Albert Arenas was the final Q2 rider in 18th spot. Fellow rookies Tony Arbolino, Celestino Vietti and Cameron Beaubier will start tomorrow’s race from 20th, 21st and 25th respectively.

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

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Moto3 Sachsenring: Filip Salac clinches his maiden pole position

First published: 19 June 2021 at 12:42 by Josh Close

Filip Salac secured his first-ever Moto3 pole position this afternoon ahead of the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring.

The Czech rider posted his fastest lap-time on his third flying lap, with his time of 1:26.913 being enough to beat Dennis Foggia by 0.183. It’s also Salac’s first-ever front row start, whilst this is only the second time that Foggia has found himself on row one in his career.

Moto2: Remy Gardner ends the opening day on top

Tatsuki Suzuki completed the front row for the SIC58 Squadra Corse team, with John McPhee narrowly missing out by 0.101s. The Scot is joined on row two by Kaito Toba and Lorenzo Fallon. However, it’s not yet known whether Toba will be able to continue this weekend following a huge crash at turn eight. The Japanese rider was seen holding his left shoulder afterwards and appeared to be in some discomfort.

Niccolò Antonelli qualified seventh ahead of Romano Fenati, whilst Stefano Nepa and Andrea Migno completed the top 10. Deniz Öncü bounced back from a crash at turn eight to qualify 11th, ahead of Izan Guevara and championship leader Pedro Acosta. The latter has only qualified inside the top 10 on two occasions this season. 

Darryn Binder had a dramatic day for Petronas Sprinta Racing. In the closing seconds of Q1, the South African collided with newcomer Joel Kelso at turn one. Kelso had gone slightly wide and Binder, who was on an out lap, attempted to go down the inside of him, but there wasn’t enough room. 

Binder’s crew, with help from McPhee’s side of the garage, worked tirelessly to get his bike fixed in time for Q2. They did just that, however following an investigation from race direction, Binder was given the black flag and removed from Q2. He’ll start from 18th on the grid.

Gabriel Rodrigo was knocked out of the top four in Q1 after running wide at turn nine on his final flying lap. Him teammate Jeremy Alcoba also missed out, and the Indonesian Gresini Racing riders will start tomorrow’s race from 19th and 20th respectively.

Ryusei Yamanaka, Riccardo Rossi, Adrian Fernandez, Kelso, Elia Bartolini and Andi Farid Izdihar complete the Moto3 grid. Tomorrow’s Moto3 race is scheduled to begin at 10:00 (UK).

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Moto2 Sachsenring: Remy Gardner beats teammate Raul Fernandez on day one

First published: 18 June 2021 by Josh Close

Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez continued their entertaining Moto2 title fight at the Sachsenring this afternoon with Gardner leading a Red Bull KTM Ajo one-two.

The teammates have been head and shoulders above the rest of the field in recent weeks, with Gardner currently holding an 11-point lead over Fernandez. The Aussie topped the combined standings today with a lap-time of 1:24.197 – giving him a 0.339 advantage over Fernandez.

Moto3: John McPhee leads the way for Petronas Sprinta Racing

It was an unusual day in the intermediate class, with the afternoon session initially delayed due to what seemed to be a small twister which left debris at Turn 11. The session was then stopped after more debris was left scattered on the front straight.

The closest rider to the two title challengers was MotoGP-bound Fabio Di Giannantonio. The Italian, who has signed for Gresini Racing Ducati for 2022, was less than half-a-second slower than Gardner’s best lap-time.

Sam Lowes was fourth overall but crashed at turn 12 with only a few minutes remaining of the opening day and appears to have caused some discomfort. Lowes explained: “It was a shame to have the crash at the end. I’ve hurt my neck, so I need to go and get that checked because it feels quite sore at the moment.”

Xavi Vierge turnaround in fortunes continued as he completed the top five for Petronas Sprinta Racing. The Spaniard is aiming to secure back-to-back podiums for the first time in his career this weekend.

Augusto Fernandez also continued his return to form in sixth spot, MV Agusta Forward Racing’s Simone Corsi. Marcel Schrotter ended the first day of his home GP in eighth, whilst rookie Tony Arbolino recovered from a fall in FP1 to finish ninth. Veteran Tom Luthi completed the top 10.

Elsewhere, Marco Bezzecchi and Joe Roberts struggled in 14th and 16th respectively, whilst Aron Canet finds himself languishing in 18th. Regular top 10 contender Ai Ogura also had a difficult day in 20th, with fellow rookie Cameron Beaubier in 22nd. Jake Dixon ended his first day at the German track as a Kalax rider in 26th./span>

Tomorrow’s Moto2 FP3 session is due to begin at 09:55 (UK), and will be followed by Q1 and Q2 at 14:10 and 14:25 respectively.

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Moto3 Sachsenring: John McPhee bounces back to lead on day one

First published: 18 June 2021 at 16:46 by Josh Close

John McPhee was the fastest rider overall in the Moto3 class on the opening day of action at the Sachsenring.

The Scot has a new crew chief this weekend in Daniel Bonmati, following the Petronas Sprinta Racing team’s decision to move former crew chief Mark Woodage into Jack Dixon’s box in Moto2. Nevertheless, McPhee was able to produce a positive performance in Germany, topping the combined standings with his 1:26.739 from FP1.

MotoGP Sachsenring: Miguel Oliveira ends day one on top for KTM

It’s a great response from McPhee after crashing out of the lead at the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks’ ago. Prior to that incident, McPhee had started to turn his season around with a fourth at Le Mans and then seventh at Mugello.

That was enough to keep Tatsuki Suzuki at bay by 0.113, whilst championship leader Pedro Acosta moved up to third overall after topping FP2. Gabriel Rodrigo was fourth overall for Indonesian Gresini Racing after finishing second in the second practice session.

Deniz Öncü completed the top five on day one ahead of Stefano Nepa and Romano Fenati, whilst Leopard Racing’s Dennis Foggia was eighth. Filip Salac and Petronas Sprinta Racing’s Darryn Binder completed the top 10.

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jaume Masia was 14th overall after pulling off a big save at the final corner (T13). Spanish Grand Prix winner Sergio Garcia had a difficult day down in 17th. The Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team rider suffered a big highside on the exit of turn three but was fortunately able to walk away from the accident.

Tomorrow’s Moto3 FP3 session is due to begin at 08:00 (UK), and will be followed by Q1 and Q2 at 11:35 and 12:00 respectively.