2021 MotoGP – Round 18 – Valencia

Che spettacolo! For the fourth time in 2021, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) took victory as the Italian led home a historic Ducati 1-2-3 at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, Pecco once again perfectly-poised as this time he saw the flag just ahead of Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) for a Bologna lockout.

The race will forever be remembered as Valentino Rossi’s (Petronas Yamaha SRT) last dance too, and The Doctor delivered a P10 in his farewell MotoGP appearance in front of a packed Circuit Ricardo Tormo crowd. Pecco also dedicated the win to his mentor.

Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) saw the chequered flag in P17 as the Italian premier class race winner also says goodbye to Grand Prix racing in an emotional Sunday in Valencia, and team-mate Iker Lecuona heads for WorldSBK after scoring a final point of the year.

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MotoGP Race Report

Rewinding to lights out and polesitter Martin grabbed the holeshot into Turn 1 as fourth place Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) got a great start to get the better of Bagnaia, with Miller slotting into second. Rossi made a good start and was up a place into P9, whereas World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was P6. Up ahead, Miller then dived up the inside of Martin at Turn 1 on Lap 2 to take the lead, but it was short-lived. Martin and Mir cut through on Lap 2, and Miller down to third, then it was fourth, then fifth – the Australian was going backwards after briefly leading.

The Suzukis were charging though – hard. Mir was harassing Martin, before Pecco then used the GP21’s superior grunt to take P2 off the 2020 Champion. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) then snuck past Mir at Turn 6 on Lap 3, as the top four – Martin, Bagnaia, Rins and Mir – started to create a gap to now fifth-placed Quartararo. Miller was down to P6, seemingly struggling in the early stages.

The race then settled as the front runners held station, but Martin, Bagnaia and Rins were now 0.7s ahead of Mir. After a few laps of following the World Champion, Miller was back through on Quartararo and up to P5, as Rins set the fastest lap of the race. However, at Turn 6 on Lap 11 of 27, Rins then went down. The Spaniard tucked the front of his GSX-RR, handing teammate Mir third.

Rossi, meanwhile, was now 10th, 0.6s down on Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) who, as things stood, was losing out on the Rookie of the Year crown with Martin leading…

Bagnaia was swarming all over the back of the race-leading rookie though and with 12 laps to go, at Turn 14, Pecco pounced. Now, with some clear air, what could the Italian do? The fastest lap, a 1:31.042, came next and the hammer was well and truly down. His mentor Rossi was still 10th with 11 laps to go, but VR46 Academy’s first World Champion and fellow Yamaha star Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was right behind him…

Up front though, Martin was not letting Pecco pull clear. On two consecutive laps, the rookie was quicker than Bagnaia, and a second or so behind, Miller grabbed P3 off Mir at Turn 2. It was a Ducati 1-2-3 with eight laps to go, and history was on the cards for the Bologna factory. Miller wasn’t done yet either, the Australian 1.3s back when he passed Mir, but by five laps to go, he was just 0.7s off Martin.

With two laps of the season to go, Pecco was 0.8s clear of Martin and it seemed the battle would be for second. Miller was closer than ever to Martin, but the rookie was holding firm. Unable to make a move, Miller couldn’t quite make it a factory Ducati 1-2 as Bagnaia crossed the line to win for a fourth time in 2021, although Martin clinched the Rookie of the Year crown with a P2 – his fourth podium of the season. Miller, in third, helps Ducati make history with their first 1-2-3 in MotoGP with his fifth rostrum. In addition, Bagnaia’s P1 and Miller’s P3 helps Ducati take the Teams’ Championship, adding to their Constructors’ crown.

Mir held onto P4 by just 0.2s in the end as Quartararo homed in, but El Diablo takes P5 to cap off a title-winning season. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) was P6, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was P7, with Bastianini’s P8 was not quite good enough for the Rookie of the Year title – nine points split the Italian and Martin in the end. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) struggled in the latter stages and slipped to P9, finishing one place ahead of The Doctor.

Valentino Rossi took P10, where he started, to bow out in style. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the Italian’s glistening Grand Prix career, as one of the world’s biggest sporting icons bids a fond farewell to the sport he loves – and the sport that loves him. Grazie Vale, from millions of fans around the globe!

Morbidelli crossed the line less than a second away from Rossi as the Italian now aims to get fully fit for 2022, Andrea Dovizioso (Petronas Yamaha SRT) had a good final weekend of the season to finish in P12, and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol), Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and WorldSBK-bound Lecuona take home the final points of 2021.

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) joined Rins in suffering a DNF in Valencia, the Japanese rider was perfectly ok after his Turn 6 crash.

And that, as they say, is a wrap. The curtain comes down on 2021, as we say ciao to the icon that is Valentino Rossi. The number 46 will be missed immensely on and off track in 2022 and beyond, but MotoGP couldn’t be in a better place. The next generation is here, Rossi’s legacy will live on with his VR46 Academy and new MotoGP team, and Yamaha and Quartararo will be aiming to defend their title against a whole host of unbelievable bikes and riders. What a year! And #GrazieVale!

Francesco Bagnaia – Race Winner

“It’s the only possible thing today – to give a present for Vale. With this helmet, to do a race like that so I want to dedicate this race to him and say thanks to him for what’s he done for us in the academy. So it’s for him, I’m very happy because before the weekend I wasn’t sure it was possible to do a race like this but all the improvements we made this year with my riding style and the bike, finally, we arrived here and were one of the fastest. I’m very happy we won today and it’s an incredible way to end the season.”

MotoGP Race Results

MotoGP Championship Standings

MotoGP Constructor Standings

MotoGP Team Standings

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Moto2

In a tense, red-flagged race at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was crowned the 2021 Moto2 World Champion after finishing P10 on Sunday afternoon. Teammate and title rival Raul Fernandez won for an incredible eighth time to finish just four points down in the overall standings, as Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) claimed podiums.

The Moto2 title decider got underway but a crash involving Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46), Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (MV Agusta Forward Racing) brought out the red flags, with an oil spillage occurring between Turns 2 and 3. All riders were ok, a brief pause in proceedings happened with a clean up operation underway before the race got back in business.

There was a little more drama though. After claiming his first pole since 2012 on Saturday, Simone Corsi (MV Agusta Forward Racing) pulled into pitlane after the Warm Up lap and the experienced Italian was out of the race with a technical issue. Meanwhile on track, Augusto Fernandez led Raul Fernandez into Turn 1, with the latter taking the lead at Turn 6 on Lap 2. Gardner made a steady start and was ninth.

Raul Fernandez wasn’t having it all his own way at the front though. Di Giannantonio came through on the Spaniard to lead on Lap 4, with Gardner slipping backwards. Jorge Navarro (Termozeta Speed Up), Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) and Tom Lüthi (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) all passed Gardner and suddenly, the Australian was P11 – and had former teammate Tetsuta Nagashima (Italtrans Racing Team) swarming all over the back of him. Still, though, as things stood – Raul Fernandez P2, Gardner P11 – the title was heading to Gardner.

With six laps to go, the Australian found a way past Lüthi at Turn 4 into P10. The top three – Diggia, Raul Fernandez and Augusto Fernandez – were split by nothing, with Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) 1.2s back on the podium scrap in P4. Then, with four to go, Raul Fernandez pounced on Diggia at Turn 2. A classic block pass from the Spaniard saw him take the lead, but with Gardner 10th, it still wasn’t enough. Gardner, in turn, was two seconds behind Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) in ninth, although only 0.6s ahead of Nagashima in 11th…

Two laps to go saw Raul Fernandez P1, Gardner P10. Diggia and Augusto Fernandez were still in touch with the race leader too, and Gardner was keeping Nagashima at bay.

By the last lap, a tense 0.3s was the advantage Raul Fernandez held over Diggia and Augusto Fernandez, and Gardner was still 10th – able to just keep his own three-tenth advantage over Nagashima on the chase. Raul Fernandez was holding up his end of the bargain and so was Gardner, but as the rookie sensation crossed the line to take a Marquez-beating, mesmerising eighth victory of the season, taking the chequered flag in P10 made Remy Gardner the the 2021 Moto2 World Champion.

Diggia and Augusto Fernandez rode superbly to finish just behind Raul Fernandez in P2 and P3, and rookie Vietti ended his campaign with an equal-best result in P4. Aron Canet (Inde Aspar Team) rounded out the top five, with Vierge finishing P6 despite being involved in the red-flagged crash, a great result for the Spaniard who heads off to WorldSBK in 2022.

Lowes, Navarro and Schrötter crossed the line in 7th, 8th and 9th respectively, before Gardner claimed 10th. It was a nervy race, but 10th was more than enough. Nagashima claimed P11, and Lüthi – in his final Grand Prix – notched up P12 as we bid a fond farewell to the fourth highest Grand Prix appearance maker after 318 starts. Stefano Manzi (Flexbox HP40), Marcos Ramirez (American Racing) and WorldSBK-bound Hafizh Syahrin (NTS RW Racing GP) claimed the final points.

A simply outstanding title race between Gardner and Raul Fernandez ends with the Australian coming out on top. A staggering season by both, now we get ready to watch them move to MotoGP with Tech3 KTM Factory Racing in 2022.

Raul Fernandez – Race Winner

“It was a fantastic race, I did my job and won. I’m happy with that. We did an incredible season, in the end we didn’t win the Championship but in was the best season of my life, I enjoyed it like a kid and we won eight races. Before we started if anyone told me I’d win two or three I wouldn’t believe it. Now we have eight, it’s incredible.”

Moto2 Race Results

Remy Gardner
2021 FIM Moto2 World Champion

Heading in to the Valencia finale with a 23-point advantage, the Australian needed to take a handful of points in the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana to wrap up the crown, and that he did with a tenth place finish. After an incredible season of consistency with 12 podiums, of which five have been victories, Gardner kept his nerve to the last to become a World Champion.

Gardner started the 2021 season with three podiums in a row in Qatar, Doha and Portimão, before a fourth place from pole in Jerez. Le Mans was another podium, this time in second place, before Gardner won three in a row on an incredible run of form: Mugello, Catalunya and Germany, the latter of which was the 200th Moto2 race. Another podium at Assen saw him head into the summer break with an advantage in the title fight of 31 points. His closest rival, however, was team-mate Raul Fernandez and the rookie sensation would continue to prove the key challenger as the season rolled on.

Gardner came back from the summer break off the podium in both races at the Red Bull Ring as Raul Fernandez took another win in the second, not going down without a fight.

The Australian hit back with victory at Silverstone as his team-mate crashed out, but both Aragon and San Marino saw the number 87 forced to settle for second as Raul Fernandez began a serious comeback and strung together his own run of three wins in a row – including at the Circuit of the Americas, where Gardner made his first big mistake of the season and crashed out.

And so, as the paddock returned to Misano for the Emilia-Romagna GP, the gap between the two was just nine points… but there was another twist in the tale just around the corner. Despite the race proving a tougher once for Gardner, Raul Fernandez crashed out the lead – doubling Gardner’s advantage in one fell swoop as the gap shot back out to 18 points in favour the Australian.

That set up the first match point in the Moto2 World Championship for the Algarve GP, and despite a dramatic crash on Friday that left Gardner riding a little bruised on Sunday, the Australian dug deep and took an incredible win under intense pressure from his teammate. That added another five points of advantage, making it 23 on the way in to the season finale.

After a Red Flag and restart, Gardner kept his nerve from P8 on the grid, dropping a couple of places and duelling it out in the latter half of the top ten. Raul Fernandez had to win to keep his chances alive and that the number 25 did, but Gardner stayed calm and avoided any risks near the front to come out on top in the fight for tenth – three places higher than he needed – and take a history-making World Championship crown. Wayne and Remy join Kenny Roberts and Kenny Roberts Jr as father and son World Champions.

Remy Gardner on winning the World Championship

“It’s definitely been an intense season. Raul did an amazing job this year, as a rookie he really made me work for it for sure. It’s such an amazing season, so many podiums, great races, four wins. [Speaker: five wins]. Five wins? Five. Well that shows how much I’m keeping track. It’s been an incredible season. So many parc fermes and podiums, incredible moments with the team. There were times I’d finish second and think that was a bad day but you have to enjoy every moment. It’s been such an amazing season but intense for sure, especially the last quarter has been really intense, Raul has been so fast, I’ve made a few mistakes and he has too, but consistency was key in the end and the days when I just couldn’t win or he won, it was just about finishing and getting the points I could. Ultimately that’s what got us over the line.

“With the first race I had a pretty good first lap, after that incident at Turn 2 I got though on the inside and ended up with the front guys and I thought that would be a good opportunity to go with those guys and break up the group and have a good consistent race, then with the Red Flag everything stopped.

“I made a good start in both, the second wasn’t as good on the first lap and for the first few laps I was just hanging in there and going with the guys but it was a bit scary cause I saw there was a bit of commotion, guys were passing, Raul was going for it and I thought ‘I’m not going to put myself in the middle there, I’m going to hang back.’ Then I came under fire from the guys behind and had to pull my finger out a little bit and break up the group a bit.

“I had to push a bit harder to get away from Tetsu, he was going crazy and as my team-mate in the past, I know how he rides! Just tried to break up the group a bit and finish the race in a respectable position and safely. Managed to do that, keep my nerves and for sure it was a lot of pressure but I managed to bring it home.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet to be honest. There have been so many hard years, decent success this year and even last year, I really kind of changed my chip last year and everything started to go a bit better. I didn’t have the most podiums in the world but managed to get my mind under control, everything was falling into place and I was trying to keep positive about everything. From 2015 to even 2019 they were really, really tough years for me and like I said, there were points in my career I honestly believed that was it, there was no more and that was the end of the road. Especially after injury for sure, fighting through that was incredibly difficult.”

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Moto 2 Championship Standings

Moto2 Constructor Standings

Moto2 Team Standings

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Moto3

Xavier Artigas (Leopard Racing) is a Grand Prix winner! The rookie played it to perfection with a last corner lunge on Sergio Garcia (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) to take his first Moto3 win in style, with the number 11 forced to settle for second. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) rounds out the season on the rostrum, with drama earlier on the final lap as contact between Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) and World Champion Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) saw the latter crash out.

Off the line it was as you were for the front row, with Acosta getting a great start from pole to lead the freight train away. Izan Guevara (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) soon struck to take second from Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) though, and drama came early just behind. Lorenzo Fellon (SIC58 Squadra Corse) crashed out, and almost simultaneously Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) had his own higside mid-track, forcing a few into avoiding action. Ryusei Yamanaka (CarXpert PrüstelGP) wasn’t able to and also went down, riders ok but the group taking a few corners to settle.

At the front, the leaders were a train of 12. Acosta, Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Artigas, Masia, Guevara, Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team), Garcia, Filip Salač (CarXpert PrüstelGP), Foggia, Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) and Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team). As ever, the chopping and changing saw plenty of places exchanged in Moto3.

Another frisson of drama then saw Öncü and Salač both get Long Laps for track limits, which they took quickly – but they slotted back in at the back of the group. In turn, that helped the second gaggle of riders, led by Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy) tag onto the group, and he brought the likes of John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) – the Japanese rider from the very back after an incredible charge after a tough qualifying – into the mix. Next, Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) crashed at Turn 1 too, making one less in the group.

As the final few laps dawned, the melee turned into a 2021 Moto3 classic at the front: Acosta vs Foggia. And heading onto the final lap, the Leopard machine led the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider over the line, with Artigas, Garcia and Öncü for close company.

Acosta attacked at Turn 1, and Foggia lined him up to return the favour at Turn 2. But the Leopard rider was in too deep and there was contact between the two, with the newly-crowned World Champion then unable to hold it and skidding off into the gravel. Rider ok and Foggia continued, but the incident was under investigation by the FIM MotoGP Stewards.

Artigas picked their pockets in the melee and in turn, Garcia then attacked the number 43. The GASGAS rider took over in the lead, holding on as the corners ticked down. Masia also got past Öncü with some well-judged, clean aggression, but it all went down to the last apex.

As they headed into the final corner, Artigas attacked for the lead as Öncü attacked for third. The rookie – and wildcard Valencia podium finisher – pitched it to perfection to slot past Garcia, but Öncü headed well wide. On the drag to the line, Garcia tucked in to try and hit back but Artigas held on, the rookie taking his first win and completing the set for the three frontrunning rookies this season: Acosta, Guevara and Artigas have now all won races after an incredible season.

Garcia was forced to settle for second but returns to the podium after his injury struggles, and Masia completes the rostrum to end the year on a high. Öncü was picked off by Salač as the Czech rider took one of his best finishes in his last Moto3 race, with Öncü relegated to fifth by the flag.

Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) took sixth after an impressive Sunday, with Guevara just behind. Carlos Tatay (Avintia Esponsorama) was next up as he made good progress to take a good haul of points, with Antonelli taking ninth to sign off from Moto3 in the top ten. Completing that top ten was Sasaki after a stunning recovery ride from the number 71, coming from the very back to P10.

McPhee took P11 ahead of Fenati, another who leaves for Moto2, after the veteran Italian exceeded track limits on the final lap and was demoted a position behind McPhee. Meanwhile, the result of the Stewards’ investigation relegated Foggia to thirteenth as the Italian was given a three-second penalty for the Acosta incident.

An incredibly tight three-way fight for P14 saw Adrian Fernandez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) just take it, with Jeremy Alcoba (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) taking the last point to deny Riccardo Rossi (BOE Owlride).

Aussie teenager Joel Kelso suffered two crashes over the course of the weekend, including a crash out of the race.  Kelso had been substituting for Covid positive rider Maximilian Kofler for CIP-Green Power team but will form the backbone of the 2022 Moto3 rider line-up for the team in 2022.

Joel Kelso (DNF)

“I’m super happy with the way the weekend went. We showed that we have good pace and potential. Unfortunately, I crashed out, but I’m still happy. I’m looking forward to next year. I’m looking forward to it more and more as I ride this bike. I would like to thank the team CIP GREEN POWER for everything they have done. Let’s keep it up for the upcoming season!”

KTM also wrapped the Constructors’ crown, their fifth in the class, with a KTM needing to finish in the top nine and that more than fulfilled with one on the podium in P3 with Masia.

That’s a wrap on 2021, with pastures new for some and a recharge and reset for others. It’s been a truly remarkable season and the Champion now moves up, so join us again next year to see who succeeds Acosta and writes their own chapter in the history books!

Xavier Artigas – Race Winner

“This is amazing to be here with victory this weekend, it was important for me. This season as hard. I’m happy with the race, it was hard but I pushed a lot, did my maximum and I’m happy with the result. I need it because the first part of the season was hard. The last few races I finished in the front group but I didn’t feel great at the end of the race. In this race I felt better and I did my best.”

Moto3  Race Results

Moto3  Championship Standings

Moto3 Constructor Standings

Moto3 Team Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au