Moto2 Catalonia Barcelona Race: Remy Gardner as solid leader

During qualifying, Remy Gardner and his Red Bull KTM teammate Ajo Raul Fernandez put on a show and exchanged first place throughout Q2, until the Australian took of the lap record with the only time of 1'42 of the weekend and which the Spanish rookie is unable to improve. Gardner will defend his championship lead from pole position, being a tenth of a second faster than Fernandez. Bo Bendsneyder made a much-welcomed appearance on the front row, with the Dutch driver qualifying third and four tenths off pole.

Augusto Fernandez continues its momentum at home to take fourth place on the grid, while Fabio DiGiannantonio finished in fifth place. The Italian was back in action after a bad crash at Turn 4 during FP3 that sent him taking a detour through the Medical Center, and he managed to move from Q1 to the second row on the grid. Xavi Verge completes this second line, while the rookie Ai Ogura opens the third line in front Sam Lowes, who struggled to get within seven tenths of the pole and was only two hundredths of a second faster than Somkiat Chantra, who went through Q1.

Marco Bezzecchi also experienced difficulties, qualifying in 10th position and in the company ofAron canet and the leader of Q1, Jorge Navarro, who suffered a fall at the start of Q2. Marcel schrotter qualified 13th, after the impressive save he made at turn 4 at the start of the session. He will be joined on the 5th line by his teammate and rookie Tony Arbolino and Lorenzo Dalla Porta.

Who will be the winner of this Catalan Grand Prix ? Before answering this question, here is the table which summarizes the facts known so far.

Catalonia – Barcelona Moto2™	2020	2021 (New turn #10)
FP1	1'44.122 Sam Lowes	1'43.703 Augusto Fernandez
FP2	1'44.531 Marcel Schrötter	1'43.687 Raul Fernandez
FP3	1'43.523 Sam Lowes	1'43.446 Remy Gardner
Q1	1'43.595 Joe Roberts	1'43.684 Jorge Navarro
Q2	1'43.355 Luca Marini	1'42.977 Remy Gardner
Warm Up	1'43.924 Luca Marini	1'43.732 Augusto Fernandez
Course	Marini, Lowes, Di Giannantonio	Gardner, R. Fernandez, Virgo
All time lap record	1'43.355 Luca Marini 2020	1'42.977 Remy Gardner

Before starting this last race of the day, the air temperature was 26°C and that of the track 39°C.

The drivers are ready to set off for this 22-lap race.

When the red lights go out, the poleman Remy Gardner maintains the advantage, ahead Raul Fernandez et Will Bendsneyder. The positions at the back move around a lot.

At the end of the first round, Gardner already has a nice advantage of more than half a second over his Red Bull KTM teammate Ajo, Raul fernandez. Bo Bendsneyder is still third, ahead Xavi Virgo.

The times go down relatively quickly and Raul Fernandez, who has his teammate in his sights, achieves a 1'43.757, he is currently the fastest on the track. The leading trio, who are running below 1'44, are not changing for the moment, but Will Bendsneyder already a full second behind the leader, after 3 laps.

After 5 rounds of curls, Remy gardner is a strong leader in front Raul fernandez. It manages its advance, which is between 0.3 and 0.6s depending on the sector. Bo Bendsneyder is firmly clinging to third place, ahead Xavi Verge et Marco Bezzechi. There are already 10 seconds separating the top 20.

Aron canet fall at turn 5, without seriousness, but the race is over for him, who was then 9th in the Championship. Marcos Ramirez also fell, at turn 1, on the following lap. He had pulled straight while braking and lost his balance in the gravel. Lorenzo Baldassarri inherits a Long Lap for exceeding the limits of the track.

At the halfway mark, the lead between Remy gardner et Raul fernandez is reduced slightly but the Australian manages brilliantly and retains first place, ahead Will Bendsneyder who remains clinging to third place, despite the loss of an aerodynamic appendage from his helmet.

It was his count on Raul fernandez who overtakes him at the end of the straight, braking for turn 1. The Spanish rookie is in very good shape and sets his pace in an attempt to widen the advantage.

Remy gardner hangs on and takes advantage of the Spanish driver's few small errors to stay clinging to his rear wheel. The battle is good between the two KTM riders of the Red Bull Ajo team, and this benefits the pursuers, Bendsneyder, Virgo et Bezzechi, to move up slightly on the leading duo.

On the pit straight, it seems that it is better to be behind, in order to protect yourself from the slight headwind and to grab a few thousandths. 7 laps from the finish, Xavi Virgo pass Will Bendsneyder for the benefit of 3 position.

There are 5 laps left before the checkered flag is presented, Raul fernandez enjoys a slight lead over Remy gardner, who remains relatively close and could take advantage of the slightest gap from his teammate. The gap with Xavi Verge slowly reduces. Marco Bezzechi also passed Bo Bendsneyder, which drops to 5th position.

Indeed, Raul fernandez , who is very regular, is warned for exceeding the limits of the track too often. Twice more and he will be penalized with a Long Lap! Lorenzo Dalla Porta falls at turn 1, he loses the front on the corner.

With 3 laps to go, Remy gardner regains the advantage over his teammate when braking for turn 1, nothing is over yet. The Australian took a comfortable lead of more than half a second quite quickly. Ai Ogura fall at turn 4, without seriousness.

With 2 laps to go, Hector Garzo et Fabio di Giannantonio hang on and fall at turn 1. It's violent but the drivers get up.

At the start of the last round, Remy gardner leads with almost 2 seconds ahead of Raul Fernandez, who is 1,3 seconds ahead of Xavi Virgo.

Remy gardner wins his 2nd Moto2 race, 1,9 seconds ahead of his teammate Raul Fernandez. A great way to celebrate your MotoGP contract next year!

Xavi Verge climbs onto the 3rd step of the podium.

Classification of the Moto2 Catalan Grand Prix:

 

Credit Ranking: motogp.com