Marquez wins as Gardner crashes in Austin

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) celebrated a dominant win at his much-loved Circuit of the Americas, just his second win for the season and the 84th of his career, when he crossed the line 4.679s clear of championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha) in Austin, Texas.

It came after his first front-row qualifying of 2021, the Spaniard starting from the outside of the front row alongside Quartararo and Pecco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati), after the on-form Ducati rider became the first Italian since Valentino Rossi to score three consecutive pole positions.

Bagnaia, however, was unable to find the same form in America which has had him celebrating the previous two grand prix victories, with a third place the best he could muster as Quartararo strides further ahead in the championship standings.

“It tastes even better than a victory. Honestly, I feel so good,” Quartararo said in parc ferme for what was his 10th podium of the season. “I’m so happy to gain an advantage on the championship.”

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Marquez’s pre-race plan, he revealed afterwards, played out perfectly. Get the holeshot, control the pace for the first half a dozen laps and then check out, leaving the rest of the field to scramble for the remaining positions. And while Quartararo’s eventual second place reflected where he spent every one of the gruelling 20 laps in 33ºC heat, Bagnaia was helped by two fellow Ducati riders for his collection of 16 points.

The first came from teammate Jack Miller, who was the only rider in the field to opt for a hard rear tyre, and looked to have superior pace in the first half of the race. Starting from 10th on the grid, the Aussie was up to fourth with 10 laps to go, chasing down rookie Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) for the last podium spot. Though, after realising he didn’t have the pace to catch the young Spaniard and with Pecco on his tail, the Aussie let the title contender through on lap 13 to see if he could chase down Martin.

A mistake with five laps to go saw Martin cut the track between turns four and five and with Pecco now on Martin’s tail, the latter was hit with a long-lap penalty which he took on the final lap of the race to hand Bagnaia the last spot on the podium. Suzuki rider Alex Rins was also a beneficiary of Martin’s long lap, he grabbed fourth as a result, crossing the line just over 11 seconds behind Marquez.

Miller had his hands full fending off a late race charge by reigning world champ Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar), though an aggressive move by Mir meant there was contact between the two. Miller was pushed wide off the track while rookie sensation Enea Bastianini (Avintia Ducati) dived up the inside and took them both for sixth place. Mir beat Miller to the line but the Suzuki man was docked one place to eighth with Miller promoted to seventh as a result of the contact.

Red Bull KTM rider Brad Binder was ninth, while Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) rounded out the top 10. With three rounds left to run, Quartararo now has a 52-point advantage over Bagnaia, 254 points versus 202. Mir remains in third on 175 points ahead of Miller (149) and Zarco (141).

The 2021 Moto2 world championship has been blown wide open after title leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) crashed out of second place while chasing his teammate and title rival Raul Fernandez, who went on to win.

It was Gardner’s first mistake of the season, but it was Fernandez’s third successive victory and despite being a relatively slow speed crash at Turn 15 on just the sixth lap of the race, the Australian wasn’t able to get his Kalex machine restarted. He relinquished a full 25 points to his rookie teammate and reduce his lead in the standings to just nine points with three races remaining.

Fernandez was joined on the podium by Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oils Gresini Moto2) and Marco Bezzechi (Sky Racing VR46 Team) while fourth place went to Augusto Fernandez (Marc VDS Team) ahead of local rider Cameron Beaubier (American Racing Team) in fifth who picked up his best result of the season in his rookie Moto2 year.

Gardner still leads with 271 points to Fernandez’s 262, Bezzecchi stays in third on 206, ahead of Marc VDS duo Sam Lowes (140) and Fernandez (131).

After a chaotic Moto3 Grand Prix which was red-flagged twice, it was Spanish rookie Izan Guevara (Sulunion GasGas Aspar) who was declared the winner, despite an issue with his rear shock during the restarted five-lap dash which saw him retire from the race.

The first red flag was bought out by Filip Salec (CarXpert PruestelGP), who high-sided on the seventh lap and lay hurt on the edge of the circuit, before a five-lap dash was called to decide the outcome. But when Denis Oncu (Red Bull KTM Tech3) unintentionally triggered a nasty high-speed crash involving title leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Jeremy Alcoba (Gresini Moto3) and Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers), confusion erupted around how the stewards would deal with the unprecedented scenario.

All three riders were quickly to their feet, but with Acosta on the floor, title rival Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) fighting for the top positions when the flag was thrown and just three rounds left to run, the decision was in important one.

A meeting between the team managers and race direction decided the race would be called based on the positions when the first red flag was thrown, which meant Guevara went from throwing himself on the ground in disappointment after his mechanical DNF, to celebrating his maiden Moto3 victory.

Foggio ended up second overall ahead of Scottish rider John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) with Pedro Acosta in eighth. Oncu finished fifth but has been ruled out of the following two races as a result of being the cause of the crash.

Just 30 points now seperate Acosta (2018) and Foggia (188) in the standings, Sergio Garcia stays in third despite being sidelined at COTA due to injury, with Sterilgarda Max Racing Team’s Romano Fenati (138) and Red Bull KTM’s Jaume Masia (135) rounding out the top five.

The series now heads to Misano on 24 October Misano for Round 16 of the 18-round world championship.