Honda Racing Corporation would like to extend their sincerest thanks to Valentino Rossi and wish him all the best for the next stage of his life as an illustrious 26-year Grand Prix career comes to a close.
Together with Honda HRC, Valentino Rossi took three straight premier class World Championships from 2001 to 2003, winning 31 of the 48 races in this period and establishing himself as a force in MotoGP.
After a strong premier class debut in 2000 aboard the Honda NSR500 where he finished second, Valentino Rossi went on to take the final premier class two-stroke title aboard the iconic Honda machine. A dominating season saw the Italian rider finish more than 100 points ahead of his nearest rival. During this 2001 season Rossi achieved a milestone for Honda as he took Honda’s 500th Grand Prix win with a thrilling ride at Suzuka. This title would see out the 500cc class and take the last of the NSR500’s ten World Championship titles and 132 wins.
For 2002, a new era began in the premier class as four-stroke 1000cc machines were introduced and Honda debuted the RC211V with Valentino Rossi inside the Repsol Honda Team. Missing the top two just once that season, Rossi again went on to take the title and cementing the combination of the #46 and the RC211V as a force in the premier class. In its debut season the new RC211V, with its dominating V5 engine layout, won 14 of the 16 races and was on the podium at each event.
2003 followed a similar pattern as Rossi finished on the podium in all sixteen Grands Prix that season and claimed a third straight title with Honda. One of the standout moments of the 2003 season was at the Australian Grand Prix, Rossi pushing the RC211V to overcome a ten second penalty. Eventually finishing 15 seconds ahead of second place, Rossi won the race despite the penalty. The season, and his time with Honda, ended in style with a special one-off livery at the final race of the year in Valencia. Often referred to as the ‘Austin Powers bike’, this final Rossi era RC211V remains one of the most memorable liveries of his career. 2003 would also be Valentino Rossi’s most dominant season in the premier class as he averaged 22.3 points per race.
The RC211V would take a total of 48 wins, 33 of them belonging to Rossi, before the RC212V was introduced in 2007. Alongside the Italian, Nicky Hayden also claimed a World Championship aboard the machine during the thrilling 2006 season.
Since leaving Honda, Rossi has continued to be a fierce competitor and rival on the track. His level of competition has continued to help push Honda HRC and its riders to achieve their best on track. Now his Grand Prix racing career comes to an end, but ‘The Doctor’ leaves behind an incredible history and a defining chapter in motorcycle racing.
Honda Racing Corporation would like to thank Valentino Rossi for his collaboration, cooperation and competition over the years and wish him all the best as he begins a new stage of his life away from the circuit.
Bagnaia victorious in Valencia, Rossi bids farewell in 10th
A first ever Ducati 1-2-3 and an emotional goodbye for the ‘Doctor’ round out 2021 with a bang
Francesco Bagnaia (63) leads Jorge Martin (89) and Jack Miller (43) at Valencia. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Sunday, 14 November 2021
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 teammate Iker Lecuona heads for WorldSBK after scoring a final point of the year.
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!
Raul Fernandez wins the race, Gardner wraps up the title in a classic Moto2™ finale
The rookie keeps his end of the bargain but the Australian stays cool under pressure to take the World Championship
Raul Fernandez (25) takes the checkered flag at Valencia. Photo courtesy Dorna.
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. Tune in for more next season as they switch orange for… orange!
Raul Fernandez: “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.”
More, from another press release issued by Dorna:
Remy Gardner is the 2021 FIM Moto2™ World Champion!
Sunday, 14 November 2021
Remy Gardner stops on the cool-down lap to celebrate his Moto2 World Championship. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Remy Gardner is the 2021 FIM Moto2™ World Champion! Heading in 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, the number 87 kept his nerve to the last to become a World Champion.
Son of 1987 500cc Champion Wayne Gardner, Remy Gardner started riding bikes early as he got his first motorcycle at the age of four. He began his career racing dirt track and long track, as a good few greats from Down Under have done before him, competing at state and national level in his native Australia.
He then switched to tarmac not long after, and his first international race came in late 2010 thanks to an invite from Honda Australia to compete at the NSF100 Trophy Worldwide Mini Bike race in Albacete, Spain. Later that same year, Gardner made his Australian road race debut at the iconic Phillip Island, winning the MRRDA Australian Nippers Championship.
The next step in his career would prove crucial as Gardner travelled to Spain to compete in the pre-Moto3™ class in the Mediterranean Championship in 2011. He came second overall, and that prefaced a full-time move to Spain for 2012. The Aussie has called the country home ever since.
Gardner entered the Moto3™ class in the CEV for the first time in 2012, finishing most races and scoring points in his debut season. In 2013 he made more progress, including taking his first top five finish at the Albacete round, and he remained in the Championship for 2014 and took another step forward, scoring points in every race he started bar one and taking his first podium.
Gardner also made his Grand Prix debut that season, racing at Misano, Phillip Island and Sepang. His final appearance at the Malaysian Grand Prix provided a milestone as the Aussie scored his first World Championship point, finishing fifteenth. The move to the World Championship came full-time for 2015, and the NSW native finished the season 30th overall aboard a Mahindra – with his home Grand Prix at Phillip Island proving a highlight as Gardner took his first top ten finish Down Under.
For 2016, Gardner then moved to bigger machinery, taking on the Moto2™ European Championship with Race Experience and, from the Catalan GP on, the Moto2™ World Championship with Tasca Racing. In the former he impressed with a top five in Race 2 at MotorLand, before signing off his participation with his first win in Race 2 in Barcelona – and by a sizeable margin.
The same Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya also staged his Moto2™ World Championship debut, which saw Gardner come home in P15 and score a point first time out, just week before his first European Moto2™ win. Impressing with his adaptation, Gardner then remained in the Moto2™ World Championship for the remainder of 2016, taking more points at the Sachsenring with a 12th-place finish before another points-paying P13 at Sepang.
His performances earned him a seat at Tech3 Racing for 2017, and he was a regular points scorer, taking his first top ten in the Moto2™ World Championship with a ninth place at Brno. 2018 saw the Aussie take more points and move further forward once again, the progress clear despite a motocross accident ahead of the Spanish GP in which he broke both his legs. Once he was back from injury though, Gardner picked up where he left off, took his first front row at Silverstone and then ended both the season and his tenure with Tech3 in style at Valencia with his first Moto2™ top five.
2019 and 2020 added more milestones as Gardner moved to the SAG Team. In 2019 the number 87 took his first Grand Prix podium with second place at Termas de Rio Hondo, as well as setting the fastest lap, and the TT Circuit Assen saw the Australian take his first pole position. 2020 began with a top five in Qatar, Gardner took pole in Austria and by the Styrian GP he was back on the podium. However, a crash in Warm Up at Misano – where he was set to start from pole – saw the Aussie facing more injury struggles with a fracture to his left hand. He missed that race and the Emilia-Romagna GP, returning at Catalunya but only taking P16 after riding through the pain barrier. From there though, the momentum began its crescendo that would culminate in the 2021 Moto2™ crown: second at Le Mans, two top fives at MotorLand, and third and seventh at Valencia. That prefaced the season finale where, after mastering the rollercoaster as the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve joined the calendar, Gardner took his first Grand Prix win in some style: from pole and with the fastest lap.
For 2021, the rider on a roll joined Red Bull KTM Ajo and the rest is history, or likely become so. The number 87 started the 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 teammate 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 teammate 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.
Congratulations, Remy!
Remy Gardner, the 2021 Moto2 World Champion, with his team in parc ferme. Photo courtesy Dorna.
#REMYRULES IN STATS
Remy Gardner is the first Australian rider to clinch the Moto2™ title and the second to do so in the intermediate category of GP racing along with Kel Carruthers in 1969.
Remy Gardner is the seventh different Australian rider to clinch a GP world title along with Casey Stoner (2), Mick Doohan (5), Kel Carruthers (1), Tom Phillis (1), Keith Campbell (1) and Remy’s father Wayne Gardner (1).
In addition, with his father Wayne crowned World Champion in the 500cc class in 1987, they become the second father and son to both be World Champions, along with MotoGP™ Legends Kenny Roberts and Kenny Roberts Jr.
Aged 23 years and 263 days old, Gardner is the eighth youngest rider to clinch the title in Moto2™, behind Alex Marquez (23 years 194 days old).
With six wins in the intermediate category, Remy Gardner is the second most successful Australian rider in the intermediate class behind Kel Carruthers (7 wins).
Remy Gardner has won five races in 2021, three less than his teammate Raul Fernandez. However, he is tied with Fernandez as the riders most podiums in Moto2™ this season, with 12.
Remy Gardner: “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 my teammate 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.”
If you told your past self you’d be 2021 Moto2™ World Champion would you have believed it?
“Probably not, no. It’s taken a turn for sure!”
BIOGRAPHY
First Grand Prix: Misano 2014, Moto3™
First pole position: Assen 2019, Moto2™
First podium: Argentina 2019, Moto2™
First victory: Portugal 2020, Moto2™
Grands Prix: 113 (92 in Moto2™)
Victories: 5 (5 in Moto2™)
Podiums: 16 (16 in Moto2™)
Pole positions: 6 (6 in Moto2™)
Fastest laps: 5 (5 in Moto2™)
World Championships: Moto2™ (2021)
World Championship career:
2014: Moto3™ World Championship – 32nd, Kalex/Kalex KTM, 3 races, 1 point
More, from a press release issued by KTM Factory Racing:
REMY GARDNER BRINGS SECOND 2021 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TO THE KTM GP ACADEMY WITH MOTO2™ TITLE IN VALENCIA
2021 KTM GP Academy, Round 18 of 18, Circuit Ricardo Tormo (ESP) – Race
Remy Gardner has won the Moto2 World Championship for Red Bull KTM Ajo after taking 10th position at Valencia, Spain and round eighteen of eighteen in 2021 MotoGP. Teammate Raul Fernandez claimed the final round and classified runner-up in his rookie season.
– Gardner brings first Moto2 title to the KTM GP Academy thanks to five victories & 12 podiums
– The 23-year-old is the first Australian Moto2 champion and the first from his country to lift a title since Casey Stoner in 2011.
– Gardner’s teammate Raul Fernandez is an impressive runner-up in his first Moto2 year with eight race wins including Valencia success
– Jaume Masia 3rd on the Moto3 podium
– KTM toast Moto3 Constructors World Championship
Remy Gardner rode to 10th position at a sunny Ricardo Tormo Circuit for the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana and delivered his first world championship after six seasons learning his trade in the tight and competitive Moto2. The Australian completed a nervy race that had been red-flagged early-on and shortened due to an oil spillage on the track. Teammate Raul Fernandez sprinted to the checkered flag and the points difference between the two was just four by the end.
Gardner moved up from 15th to 6th and now to 1st in his last three Moto2 campaigns. He joined the Red Bull KTM Ajo team for 2021 for the final surge of performance to make a push for the title. He gathered 12 podiums through a consistent term that included five wins in Italy, Catalunya, Germany, Great Britain and Portugal. He captured three consecutive trophies in his first three races for the team in Qatar and Portugal.
Fernandez won eight Grands Prix and gathered 12 podiums. The rookie first triumphed at the Portuguese Grand Prix earlier this year, which was his first accolade in the class. He subsequently added another seven wins and three more rostrums to take the title dispute to the wire.
From 18 rounds Red Bull KTM Ajo finished 1-2 on the rostrum seven times. An Ajo bike was missing from a Moto2 celebration on only three occasions. Both Gardner and Fernandez’s next challenge will be 2022 MotoGP with the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing team.
Remy Gardner: “I’m lost for words. After so many years of suffering and so many points in my career where I thought ‘I’m not good enough, I’m not gonna make it’ we did it. This is a dream come true and I want to thank everyone who believed in me when others didn’t. I still cannot believe this has happened. I so grateful to be here.”
Raul Fernandez: “I’m really happy with my race and I did what I could to try and win the championship. It wasn’t lost here but in other races. Anyway, it has been a fantastic season thanks to an incredible team behind me. We won eight races and set a record for my first year in Moto2. I have a strange feeling now: I won today but not the championship but I’m still very happy.”
Aki Ajo: “In both categories this season has been incredible. On the other hand, I have to remind myself that this is part of the work: the result of that is the improvements we can see, and we can still make. It is always a pleasure to go through that process. It’s an emotional moment. Remy did it today and Raul had a great race; like for every rider, we just tried to help them take out the maximum of their potential. It’s important to draw out the best of everything around you in racing while also keeping it simple.”
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “It’s a great moment. Winning the title in Moto3 and then watching these boys in Moto2 – and knowing they are moving up to MotoGP – I feel like our foundation for the future is set. This year has been another milestone. It’s crazy what Red Bull KTM Ajo did this season and we’re looking forward to 2022 already.”
Moto3
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Pedro Acosta started the 23-lap Moto3 dash from Pole Position for the first time in his career. The 2021 world champion was part of a fantastic battle between 12 riders for victory until last lap contact with Dennis Foggia put him on the ground and out of the running. Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Deniz Öncü was a protagonist until he received a Long Lap penalty for exceeding track limits. The Turk valiantly fought back to 5th. It was left to Acosta’s Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate, Jaume Masia, to invade the final charge for the podium places and the Spaniard seized 3rd, less than three tenths of a second from the winner. It was Masia’s fourth visit to the rostrum this year. The KTM RC4 won 7 of the 18 rounds in 2021.
Featured In the November 2021 issue of Roadracing World:
“This year marks the 45th anniversary of my first shooting photos at what is now called ‘The Loudon Classic.’ I had shot club races and a lot of motocross, but it was my first time with a photo credential for what was the annual big race at Loudon.
“The track was then called Bryar Motorsports Park after the owner, Keith Bryar. It was a 1.6- mile road course, bare bones and very different from what is now New Hampshire International Speedway (NHMS). The race was called ‘The Loudon National.’ It was the only time the big guns of AMA Pro road racing came to compete in New England.
“To celebrate this anniversary I decided to go retro and shoot the USCRA North American Vintage Championships on black and white film, using the same equipment that I had shot the National on in 1976…”
—John Owens Photo Retrospective, by John Owens
John Owens has kept up with modern photographic technology, but old school photography remains something special to him. A special Roadracing World feature showcases Owens’ skills with film and black-and-white photography. It’s in the latest issue of Roadracing World!
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Martin, Bagnaia, Miller: a Ducati armada heads Mir at Valencia
The rookie turns it up to 11 for Bologna as Ducati and Suzuki lock out the top six and Rossi bids farewell from tenth
Jorge Martin (89). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Saturday, 13 November 2021
Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) put in a stunner at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana to take his fourth pole position of the season and Ducati’s first at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo since 2010, his final push enough to depose Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) by just 0.064. It’s an all-Ducati front row with Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) in third, with the factory riders suffering a crash each but once again, Bologna bringing the noise on Saturday afternoon. That’s now 11 poles for the manufacturer this season, and there’s been a Ducati on the front row at every single Grand Prix. They’ve taken 30 front row placements out of 54, to be exact.
Reigning Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) couldn’t move up from P8, with the departing Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) in tenth for his final dance.
Q1
As ever it went to the wire, but it was 2020 front row starter Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) who topped the session, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) heading through alongside.
Andrea Dovizioso (Petronas Yamaha SRT) just missed the cut but showed more good progress taking P13 on the grid. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) suffered a small crash, and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) a run off.
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) ended the session last after a tough day at the office, but behind him even is Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team). After such a strong Friday, the Spaniard had a monster highside in FP3 and headed to hospital for check ups. No major injuries were found, but the team confirmed the number 44 would sit out the rest of Saturday.
Q2
The first true benchmark came from Miller. The Australian put in a 1:30.325 to top the timesheets, with Bagnaia slotting into second and Mir third. Incredibly, Martin then did exactly the same time as Miller, although the Spaniard took over in second as his second best was a little off the Australian’s.
As the second runs began though, Bagnaia came out swinging. Already on pole six times this season, the Italian was gunning for glory at a tougher venue. He went faster and then put in a 1:30.000 exactly, showing some serious speed at a venue he’s struggled at in the past.
Still, it wasn’t over. After a low drama tip off for Bagnaia at Turn 2 interrupted laps for some behind the Italian, red sectors appeared once again – this time from Martin. The rookie was flying and just under a hundredth up on Bagnaia into the final sector. Could he hold onto it? Over the line, he could… setting a 1:29.936 to just pip Pecco to pole. Miller was also on a fast one and even further up, but the Australian then crashed out – rider ok – and that was all she wrote. Martin faces down the fight for Rookie of the Year from the best place possible: pole.
The Grid
Martin’s pole is his fourth of the season after a stunning premier class debut, and he heads the grid at the venue where he took his first Grand Prix win in Moto3™. It’s an all-Ducati front row as Bagnaia and Miller line-up alongside for the battle of the Bologna bullets into Turn 1.
Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) may not have taken another front row, but he had another great qualifying. He said after the Algarve GP he wanted to start routinely qualifying on the front two rows, and in the pre-event Press Conference in Valencia the 2020 Champion said he wanted to se if they could replicate the quality qualifying… so that’s mission accomplished in fourth. Alongside the number 36 on Row 2 are Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing), to make it four Ducatis in the top five, with Rins in P6 going from Q1 to make it two Suzukis in the top six.
Binder likewise converted the chance from Q1 into a good grid position, the South African taking P7 to head the third row. He’s joined by reigning Champion Quartararo as the Frenchman had another muted Saturday, out of the top six for the third race in a row.
Ninth went to Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) ahead of one of the best recent qualifying sessions for Rossi in tenth, the ‘Doctor’ also having gone straight through to Q2. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who also went straight through, is P11, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) taking P12.
That’s an interesting grid to round out the season. A Ducati front-row lock out, Mir with a lot less work to do on Sunday and Rins too, and of course, a farewell for the ‘Doctor’… Valencia promises much and will likely deliver even more, s tune in for the final race of the season, and of an era, at 14:00 (GMT +1). History guaranteed!
Jorge Martin: “I knew I could do it, before qualifying I was really confident. But the target was the front row, here it’s so important to be on the front row because it’s difficult to overtake. The first lap was good but I knew with some mistakes, and I could improve. On the second tyre was perfect, I felt a lot of speed from the beginning, improved the weak points and was fully focused. For sure still with some margin but on the limit. Really happy about my performance, the base isn’t bad. It’s a pity that in FP4 we tried to hard tyre but I think it’s not the race tyre. I hope the medium works well at the end of the race but I think we can battle for the podium for sure.”
Honda Racing Corporation would like to extend their sincerest thanks to Valentino Rossi and wish him all the best for the next stage of his life as an illustrious 26-year Grand Prix career comes to a close.
Together with Honda HRC, Valentino Rossi took three straight premier class World Championships from 2001 to 2003, winning 31 of the 48 races in this period and establishing himself as a force in MotoGP.
After a strong premier class debut in 2000 aboard the Honda NSR500 where he finished second, Valentino Rossi went on to take the final premier class two-stroke title aboard the iconic Honda machine. A dominating season saw the Italian rider finish more than 100 points ahead of his nearest rival. During this 2001 season Rossi achieved a milestone for Honda as he took Honda’s 500th Grand Prix win with a thrilling ride at Suzuka. This title would see out the 500cc class and take the last of the NSR500’s ten World Championship titles and 132 wins.
For 2002, a new era began in the premier class as four-stroke 1000cc machines were introduced and Honda debuted the RC211V with Valentino Rossi inside the Repsol Honda Team. Missing the top two just once that season, Rossi again went on to take the title and cementing the combination of the #46 and the RC211V as a force in the premier class. In its debut season the new RC211V, with its dominating V5 engine layout, won 14 of the 16 races and was on the podium at each event.
2003 followed a similar pattern as Rossi finished on the podium in all sixteen Grands Prix that season and claimed a third straight title with Honda. One of the standout moments of the 2003 season was at the Australian Grand Prix, Rossi pushing the RC211V to overcome a ten second penalty. Eventually finishing 15 seconds ahead of second place, Rossi won the race despite the penalty. The season, and his time with Honda, ended in style with a special one-off livery at the final race of the year in Valencia. Often referred to as the ‘Austin Powers bike’, this final Rossi era RC211V remains one of the most memorable liveries of his career. 2003 would also be Valentino Rossi’s most dominant season in the premier class as he averaged 22.3 points per race.
The RC211V would take a total of 48 wins, 33 of them belonging to Rossi, before the RC212V was introduced in 2007. Alongside the Italian, Nicky Hayden also claimed a World Championship aboard the machine during the thrilling 2006 season.
Since leaving Honda, Rossi has continued to be a fierce competitor and rival on the track. His level of competition has continued to help push Honda HRC and its riders to achieve their best on track. Now his Grand Prix racing career comes to an end, but ‘The Doctor’ leaves behind an incredible history and a defining chapter in motorcycle racing.
Honda Racing Corporation would like to thank Valentino Rossi for his collaboration, cooperation and competition over the years and wish him all the best as he begins a new stage of his life away from the circuit.
Bagnaia victorious in Valencia, Rossi bids farewell in 10th
A first ever Ducati 1-2-3 and an emotional goodbye for the ‘Doctor’ round out 2021 with a bang
Francesco Bagnaia (63) leads Jorge Martin (89) and Jack Miller (43) at Valencia. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Sunday, 14 November 2021
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 teammate Iker Lecuona heads for WorldSBK after scoring a final point of the year.
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!
Raul Fernandez wins the race, Gardner wraps up the title in a classic Moto2™ finale
The rookie keeps his end of the bargain but the Australian stays cool under pressure to take the World Championship
Raul Fernandez (25) takes the checkered flag at Valencia. Photo courtesy Dorna.
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. Tune in for more next season as they switch orange for… orange!
Raul Fernandez: “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.”
More, from another press release issued by Dorna:
Remy Gardner is the 2021 FIM Moto2™ World Champion!
Sunday, 14 November 2021
Remy Gardner stops on the cool-down lap to celebrate his Moto2 World Championship. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Remy Gardner is the 2021 FIM Moto2™ World Champion! Heading in 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, the number 87 kept his nerve to the last to become a World Champion.
Son of 1987 500cc Champion Wayne Gardner, Remy Gardner started riding bikes early as he got his first motorcycle at the age of four. He began his career racing dirt track and long track, as a good few greats from Down Under have done before him, competing at state and national level in his native Australia.
He then switched to tarmac not long after, and his first international race came in late 2010 thanks to an invite from Honda Australia to compete at the NSF100 Trophy Worldwide Mini Bike race in Albacete, Spain. Later that same year, Gardner made his Australian road race debut at the iconic Phillip Island, winning the MRRDA Australian Nippers Championship.
The next step in his career would prove crucial as Gardner travelled to Spain to compete in the pre-Moto3™ class in the Mediterranean Championship in 2011. He came second overall, and that prefaced a full-time move to Spain for 2012. The Aussie has called the country home ever since.
Gardner entered the Moto3™ class in the CEV for the first time in 2012, finishing most races and scoring points in his debut season. In 2013 he made more progress, including taking his first top five finish at the Albacete round, and he remained in the Championship for 2014 and took another step forward, scoring points in every race he started bar one and taking his first podium.
Gardner also made his Grand Prix debut that season, racing at Misano, Phillip Island and Sepang. His final appearance at the Malaysian Grand Prix provided a milestone as the Aussie scored his first World Championship point, finishing fifteenth. The move to the World Championship came full-time for 2015, and the NSW native finished the season 30th overall aboard a Mahindra – with his home Grand Prix at Phillip Island proving a highlight as Gardner took his first top ten finish Down Under.
For 2016, Gardner then moved to bigger machinery, taking on the Moto2™ European Championship with Race Experience and, from the Catalan GP on, the Moto2™ World Championship with Tasca Racing. In the former he impressed with a top five in Race 2 at MotorLand, before signing off his participation with his first win in Race 2 in Barcelona – and by a sizeable margin.
The same Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya also staged his Moto2™ World Championship debut, which saw Gardner come home in P15 and score a point first time out, just week before his first European Moto2™ win. Impressing with his adaptation, Gardner then remained in the Moto2™ World Championship for the remainder of 2016, taking more points at the Sachsenring with a 12th-place finish before another points-paying P13 at Sepang.
His performances earned him a seat at Tech3 Racing for 2017, and he was a regular points scorer, taking his first top ten in the Moto2™ World Championship with a ninth place at Brno. 2018 saw the Aussie take more points and move further forward once again, the progress clear despite a motocross accident ahead of the Spanish GP in which he broke both his legs. Once he was back from injury though, Gardner picked up where he left off, took his first front row at Silverstone and then ended both the season and his tenure with Tech3 in style at Valencia with his first Moto2™ top five.
2019 and 2020 added more milestones as Gardner moved to the SAG Team. In 2019 the number 87 took his first Grand Prix podium with second place at Termas de Rio Hondo, as well as setting the fastest lap, and the TT Circuit Assen saw the Australian take his first pole position. 2020 began with a top five in Qatar, Gardner took pole in Austria and by the Styrian GP he was back on the podium. However, a crash in Warm Up at Misano – where he was set to start from pole – saw the Aussie facing more injury struggles with a fracture to his left hand. He missed that race and the Emilia-Romagna GP, returning at Catalunya but only taking P16 after riding through the pain barrier. From there though, the momentum began its crescendo that would culminate in the 2021 Moto2™ crown: second at Le Mans, two top fives at MotorLand, and third and seventh at Valencia. That prefaced the season finale where, after mastering the rollercoaster as the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve joined the calendar, Gardner took his first Grand Prix win in some style: from pole and with the fastest lap.
For 2021, the rider on a roll joined Red Bull KTM Ajo and the rest is history, or likely become so. The number 87 started the 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 teammate 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 teammate 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.
Congratulations, Remy!
Remy Gardner, the 2021 Moto2 World Champion, with his team in parc ferme. Photo courtesy Dorna.
#REMYRULES IN STATS
Remy Gardner is the first Australian rider to clinch the Moto2™ title and the second to do so in the intermediate category of GP racing along with Kel Carruthers in 1969.
Remy Gardner is the seventh different Australian rider to clinch a GP world title along with Casey Stoner (2), Mick Doohan (5), Kel Carruthers (1), Tom Phillis (1), Keith Campbell (1) and Remy’s father Wayne Gardner (1).
In addition, with his father Wayne crowned World Champion in the 500cc class in 1987, they become the second father and son to both be World Champions, along with MotoGP™ Legends Kenny Roberts and Kenny Roberts Jr.
Aged 23 years and 263 days old, Gardner is the eighth youngest rider to clinch the title in Moto2™, behind Alex Marquez (23 years 194 days old).
With six wins in the intermediate category, Remy Gardner is the second most successful Australian rider in the intermediate class behind Kel Carruthers (7 wins).
Remy Gardner has won five races in 2021, three less than his teammate Raul Fernandez. However, he is tied with Fernandez as the riders most podiums in Moto2™ this season, with 12.
Remy Gardner: “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 my teammate 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.”
If you told your past self you’d be 2021 Moto2™ World Champion would you have believed it?
“Probably not, no. It’s taken a turn for sure!”
BIOGRAPHY
First Grand Prix: Misano 2014, Moto3™
First pole position: Assen 2019, Moto2™
First podium: Argentina 2019, Moto2™
First victory: Portugal 2020, Moto2™
Grands Prix: 113 (92 in Moto2™)
Victories: 5 (5 in Moto2™)
Podiums: 16 (16 in Moto2™)
Pole positions: 6 (6 in Moto2™)
Fastest laps: 5 (5 in Moto2™)
World Championships: Moto2™ (2021)
World Championship career:
2014: Moto3™ World Championship – 32nd, Kalex/Kalex KTM, 3 races, 1 point
More, from a press release issued by KTM Factory Racing:
REMY GARDNER BRINGS SECOND 2021 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TO THE KTM GP ACADEMY WITH MOTO2™ TITLE IN VALENCIA
2021 KTM GP Academy, Round 18 of 18, Circuit Ricardo Tormo (ESP) – Race
Remy Gardner has won the Moto2 World Championship for Red Bull KTM Ajo after taking 10th position at Valencia, Spain and round eighteen of eighteen in 2021 MotoGP. Teammate Raul Fernandez claimed the final round and classified runner-up in his rookie season.
– Gardner brings first Moto2 title to the KTM GP Academy thanks to five victories & 12 podiums
– The 23-year-old is the first Australian Moto2 champion and the first from his country to lift a title since Casey Stoner in 2011.
– Gardner’s teammate Raul Fernandez is an impressive runner-up in his first Moto2 year with eight race wins including Valencia success
– Jaume Masia 3rd on the Moto3 podium
– KTM toast Moto3 Constructors World Championship
Remy Gardner rode to 10th position at a sunny Ricardo Tormo Circuit for the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana and delivered his first world championship after six seasons learning his trade in the tight and competitive Moto2. The Australian completed a nervy race that had been red-flagged early-on and shortened due to an oil spillage on the track. Teammate Raul Fernandez sprinted to the checkered flag and the points difference between the two was just four by the end.
Gardner moved up from 15th to 6th and now to 1st in his last three Moto2 campaigns. He joined the Red Bull KTM Ajo team for 2021 for the final surge of performance to make a push for the title. He gathered 12 podiums through a consistent term that included five wins in Italy, Catalunya, Germany, Great Britain and Portugal. He captured three consecutive trophies in his first three races for the team in Qatar and Portugal.
Fernandez won eight Grands Prix and gathered 12 podiums. The rookie first triumphed at the Portuguese Grand Prix earlier this year, which was his first accolade in the class. He subsequently added another seven wins and three more rostrums to take the title dispute to the wire.
From 18 rounds Red Bull KTM Ajo finished 1-2 on the rostrum seven times. An Ajo bike was missing from a Moto2 celebration on only three occasions. Both Gardner and Fernandez’s next challenge will be 2022 MotoGP with the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing team.
Remy Gardner: “I’m lost for words. After so many years of suffering and so many points in my career where I thought ‘I’m not good enough, I’m not gonna make it’ we did it. This is a dream come true and I want to thank everyone who believed in me when others didn’t. I still cannot believe this has happened. I so grateful to be here.”
Raul Fernandez: “I’m really happy with my race and I did what I could to try and win the championship. It wasn’t lost here but in other races. Anyway, it has been a fantastic season thanks to an incredible team behind me. We won eight races and set a record for my first year in Moto2. I have a strange feeling now: I won today but not the championship but I’m still very happy.”
Aki Ajo: “In both categories this season has been incredible. On the other hand, I have to remind myself that this is part of the work: the result of that is the improvements we can see, and we can still make. It is always a pleasure to go through that process. It’s an emotional moment. Remy did it today and Raul had a great race; like for every rider, we just tried to help them take out the maximum of their potential. It’s important to draw out the best of everything around you in racing while also keeping it simple.”
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “It’s a great moment. Winning the title in Moto3 and then watching these boys in Moto2 – and knowing they are moving up to MotoGP – I feel like our foundation for the future is set. This year has been another milestone. It’s crazy what Red Bull KTM Ajo did this season and we’re looking forward to 2022 already.”
Moto3
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Pedro Acosta started the 23-lap Moto3 dash from Pole Position for the first time in his career. The 2021 world champion was part of a fantastic battle between 12 riders for victory until last lap contact with Dennis Foggia put him on the ground and out of the running. Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Deniz Öncü was a protagonist until he received a Long Lap penalty for exceeding track limits. The Turk valiantly fought back to 5th. It was left to Acosta’s Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate, Jaume Masia, to invade the final charge for the podium places and the Spaniard seized 3rd, less than three tenths of a second from the winner. It was Masia’s fourth visit to the rostrum this year. The KTM RC4 won 7 of the 18 rounds in 2021.
Dave Roper (center) and Gordon Pulis work on Roper’s Harley-Davidson/Aermacchi
CRTT 250 Sprint racebike, in the garages. Photo by John Owens.
Featured In the November 2021 issue of Roadracing World:
“This year marks the 45th anniversary of my first shooting photos at what is now called ‘The Loudon Classic.’ I had shot club races and a lot of motocross, but it was my first time with a photo credential for what was the annual big race at Loudon.
“The track was then called Bryar Motorsports Park after the owner, Keith Bryar. It was a 1.6- mile road course, bare bones and very different from what is now New Hampshire International Speedway (NHMS). The race was called ‘The Loudon National.’ It was the only time the big guns of AMA Pro road racing came to compete in New England.
“To celebrate this anniversary I decided to go retro and shoot the USCRA North American Vintage Championships on black and white film, using the same equipment that I had shot the National on in 1976…”
—John Owens Photo Retrospective, by John Owens
John Owens has kept up with modern photographic technology, but old school photography remains something special to him. A special Roadracing World feature showcases Owens’ skills with film and black-and-white photography. It’s in the latest issue of Roadracing World!
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Martin, Bagnaia, Miller: a Ducati armada heads Mir at Valencia
The rookie turns it up to 11 for Bologna as Ducati and Suzuki lock out the top six and Rossi bids farewell from tenth
Jorge Martin (89). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Saturday, 13 November 2021
Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) put in a stunner at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana to take his fourth pole position of the season and Ducati’s first at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo since 2010, his final push enough to depose Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) by just 0.064. It’s an all-Ducati front row with Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) in third, with the factory riders suffering a crash each but once again, Bologna bringing the noise on Saturday afternoon. That’s now 11 poles for the manufacturer this season, and there’s been a Ducati on the front row at every single Grand Prix. They’ve taken 30 front row placements out of 54, to be exact.
Reigning Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) couldn’t move up from P8, with the departing Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) in tenth for his final dance.
Q1
As ever it went to the wire, but it was 2020 front row starter Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) who topped the session, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) heading through alongside.
Andrea Dovizioso (Petronas Yamaha SRT) just missed the cut but showed more good progress taking P13 on the grid. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) suffered a small crash, and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) a run off.
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) ended the session last after a tough day at the office, but behind him even is Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team). After such a strong Friday, the Spaniard had a monster highside in FP3 and headed to hospital for check ups. No major injuries were found, but the team confirmed the number 44 would sit out the rest of Saturday.
Q2
The first true benchmark came from Miller. The Australian put in a 1:30.325 to top the timesheets, with Bagnaia slotting into second and Mir third. Incredibly, Martin then did exactly the same time as Miller, although the Spaniard took over in second as his second best was a little off the Australian’s.
As the second runs began though, Bagnaia came out swinging. Already on pole six times this season, the Italian was gunning for glory at a tougher venue. He went faster and then put in a 1:30.000 exactly, showing some serious speed at a venue he’s struggled at in the past.
Still, it wasn’t over. After a low drama tip off for Bagnaia at Turn 2 interrupted laps for some behind the Italian, red sectors appeared once again – this time from Martin. The rookie was flying and just under a hundredth up on Bagnaia into the final sector. Could he hold onto it? Over the line, he could… setting a 1:29.936 to just pip Pecco to pole. Miller was also on a fast one and even further up, but the Australian then crashed out – rider ok – and that was all she wrote. Martin faces down the fight for Rookie of the Year from the best place possible: pole.
The Grid
Martin’s pole is his fourth of the season after a stunning premier class debut, and he heads the grid at the venue where he took his first Grand Prix win in Moto3™. It’s an all-Ducati front row as Bagnaia and Miller line-up alongside for the battle of the Bologna bullets into Turn 1.
Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) may not have taken another front row, but he had another great qualifying. He said after the Algarve GP he wanted to start routinely qualifying on the front two rows, and in the pre-event Press Conference in Valencia the 2020 Champion said he wanted to se if they could replicate the quality qualifying… so that’s mission accomplished in fourth. Alongside the number 36 on Row 2 are Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing), to make it four Ducatis in the top five, with Rins in P6 going from Q1 to make it two Suzukis in the top six.
Binder likewise converted the chance from Q1 into a good grid position, the South African taking P7 to head the third row. He’s joined by reigning Champion Quartararo as the Frenchman had another muted Saturday, out of the top six for the third race in a row.
Ninth went to Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) ahead of one of the best recent qualifying sessions for Rossi in tenth, the ‘Doctor’ also having gone straight through to Q2. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who also went straight through, is P11, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) taking P12.
That’s an interesting grid to round out the season. A Ducati front-row lock out, Mir with a lot less work to do on Sunday and Rins too, and of course, a farewell for the ‘Doctor’… Valencia promises much and will likely deliver even more, s tune in for the final race of the season, and of an era, at 14:00 (GMT +1). History guaranteed!
Jorge Martin: “I knew I could do it, before qualifying I was really confident. But the target was the front row, here it’s so important to be on the front row because it’s difficult to overtake. The first lap was good but I knew with some mistakes, and I could improve. On the second tyre was perfect, I felt a lot of speed from the beginning, improved the weak points and was fully focused. For sure still with some margin but on the limit. Really happy about my performance, the base isn’t bad. It’s a pity that in FP4 we tried to hard tyre but I think it’s not the race tyre. I hope the medium works well at the end of the race but I think we can battle for the podium for sure.”
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