Rennie Scaysbrook | August 8, 2021
2021 Styrian MotoGP News—Sunday
Track safety
The safety of the Red Bull Ring was once again called into question on Sunday after an ugly crash including Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo Savadori. It began when the wildcard crashed on the exit of turn three. Unsighted, the Aprilia man ploughed into the stricken KTM, igniting both bikes and necessitating a red flag and lengthy clean up operation. Savadori was diagnosed with a fractured bone in his ankle, which requires surgery. He’ll miss next week’s Austrian GP as a result.
The massive fire on lap two has once again called into question track safety at the Red Bull Ring.
This was the third MotoGP race in succession at this track that has been red-flagged in succession. While Jack Miller insisted today’s incident “can happen at any track,” Aleix Espargaro was more damning. “I’m very upset with the situation of this track,” he said. “It’s not designed for motorbike races. We’ve been Very lucky 3 times, but what about number 4? What if today Lorenzo hit Dani instead of the fuel tank of KTM? This time, on this problem, every single rider of the grid agrees with the safety of this track. As you can see, we didn’t modify anything (for 2021), we didn’t change anything.”
Suzuki gains ride height device
Joan Mir claimed his best result of 2021 – second place – was a consequence of Suzuki bringing a rear ride-height device to the Red Bull Ring. Prior to the summer break, the GSX-RR was the only MotoGP machine that didn’t feature the device that riders engage to squat the rear of the bike, to limit wheelies.
Joan Mir was instantly competitive with the new rear squatting device.
Mir had pushed Suzuki engineers hard to prepare it over the summer break. “I had on my mind before coming that if the device is ready, I wanted to give information and to use it,” he said. “Without the device, we are always in a disadvantage. Finally, it works. So, it’s true that we need to work a bit more on it. It’s not easy at the end without testing in Japan. It’s not the same in a grand prix. But, happy because they made a great job.”
On how he altered his riding with the device, he said, “I changed a little bit the braking. You must have a little bit more careful in the first part of the braking area. Maybe this is one of the disadvantages we can have at the moment, but we gain on acceleration.”
Marquez v Espargaro
Sunday’s controversy centered around two turn one moves, both of which included Marc Marquez and Aleix Espargaro. The Aprilia man was incensed after his fellow Catalan pushed him wide at turn one, pushing him from seventh to eleventh. Then from the restart a near repeat occurred, at the same place with the same riders, on lap one. This time, Espargaro dropped from sixth to 17th.
Marquez (93) and Espargaro (41) bashed into each other twice in the same corner.
Marquez held his ground, stating. “I mean, this is racing. In the first one. I went in, I didn’t expect to have such a big contact but it was there. And in the second one, it was his mistake. In the brake point I was parallel with him. But he released the brakes and went in, but Quartararo was inside and we had contact. But first race my mistake, second race his mistake.”
Meanwhile, Espargaro insisted he was more upset at the lack of punishment that came Marquez’s way than the rider himself. “I won’t blame him. Marc is Marc. Every race he do overtakes like this for the last ten years. What I want to blame is the stewards panel. I don’t know, maybe they were watching the last day of the Olympics.”
Sunday
MotoGP
The 2021 Styrian MotoGP, the first of two consecutive races to be held at the dauntingly fast Red Bull Ring in the oil painting surrounds of the Austrian countryside, marked the formal changing of the guard in MotoGP.
The weekend was dominated by the predicted but no less impactful news of Valentino Rossi’s impeding retirement (see In The Wind), the nine-time World Champion swamped with tributes from every corner of the sporting, celebrity and political world. But it was young Spaniard Jorge Martin, the 2018 Moto3 World Champion, who firmly put the spotlight back on the youth of MotoGP with a stunning pole position and first victory in just his sixth MotoGP race start.
Martin rode with the style of a MotoGP veteran in only his sixth MotoGP race start.
It was a race of two halves after the returning Dani Pedrosa (Red Bull KTM) fell at turn three on lap two, with the hapless Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing) clattering into Pedrosa’s stricken Red Bull KTM, splitting the petrol tank and erupting into flames.
The red flag was immediately flown, and although Pedrosa was able to rejoin the start, Savadori was not so lucky, the Italian stretchered away to the waiting medics.
On the restart, it was Martin who grabbed the advantage, with the race distilling into a two-rider tussle between Martin and current World Champion Joan Mir, the latter now with a rear squatting device fitted to his factory Suzuki.
Mir (36) tried all he knew but couldn’t stay with the rookie Martin (89).
Martin would not lose his cool despite the relentless pressure of Mir, who never got close enough to have a crack for the victory. He would finish second by 1.5 seconds, which helped him cement third in the championship table.
Third at Styria went to Monster Energy Yamaha of Fabio Quartararo, who also withstood constant pressure from the factory Ducati of Jack Miller before the Aussie dumped it in the gravel at turn six with nine laps remaining for his second DNF in a row.
Along with Martin, the star of the race was once again the Sunday man, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM). The South African was electric at the restart, gridding from 16th and nabbing both Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) and Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu LCR Honda) on the last lap to finish fourth. Nakagami and Zarco would cross the line fifth and sixth.
Miller’s crash was costly and could spell the end of his championship challenge.
Seventh was the second factory Suzuki of Alex Rins, just ahead of the typically ruthless Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), who had two major start collisions with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, with neither resulting in a crash. Espargaro would later retire with engine trouble.
Marquez headed home brother Alex (LCR Castrol Honda) and the remarkable Dani Pedrosa, who took a top 10 after being away from MotoGP competition for nearly three years.
Yet again, it was a disastrous day for the second Monster Energy Yamaha rider of Maverick Vinales, who stalled on the restart grid and would have to start from pitlane. He would come home 19th and last, the second time in two races the former title contender has brought up the rear of the field.
Binder charged through from 16th on the grid, stealing fifth and then fourth at the finish.
It was a similarly poor result for Pecco Bagnaia, who took 11th after leading the first race before the red flag with a baffling loss of speed at the restart. Bagnaia headed home the Avintia Esponsarama Ducati of Enea Bastianini, Valentino Rossi, Sky VR46 Avintia rider Luca Marini, Tech3 KTM’s Iker Lecuona, the second Repsol Honda of Pol Espargaro, Franco Morbidelli’s stand-in rider Cal Crutchlow of the Petronas Yamaha, Lecuona’s teammate Danilo Petrucci and Vinales.
In the championship, Quartararo extends his title lead on 172, 40 points up on Zarco’s 132. Third is Mir on 121, Bagnaia is fourth on 114 and Miller fifth on 100.
2021 Styrian MotoGP Results
| 1 |
Jorge Martin |
(Duc) |
|
| 2 |
Joan Mir |
(Suz) |
+ 1.548 |
| 3 |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Yam) |
+ 9.632 |
| 4 |
Brad Binder |
(KTM) |
+ 12.771 |
| 5 |
Takaaki Nakagami |
(Hon) |
+ 12.923 |
| 6 |
Johann Zarco |
(Duc) |
+ 13.031 |
| 7 |
Alex Rins |
(Suz) |
+ 14.839 |
| 8 |
Marc Marquez |
(Hon) |
+ 17.953 |
| 9 |
Alex Marquez |
(Hon) |
+ 19.059 |
| 10 |
Dani Pedrosa |
(KTM) |
+ 19.389 |
Moto2
For the first time since the Spanish GP, pole sitter Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) failed to finish on a Moto2 podium as Marco Bezzecchi took victory his first race victory since Valencia, 2020. The SKY Racing Team VR46 rider hunted down Gardner, the Aussie making a crucial error as he outbraked himself into turn four, almost hitting Bezzecchi and running off track. He would rejoin to finish fourth.
Bezzecchi had 1.171 seconds to spare over Aron Canet (Aspar Team Moto2) in second at the flag with Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) third taking his second-straight podium in third.
Bezzecchi took his first win of the year in Styria. Gardner (87) finished off the podium but still increased his championship lead.
It was another disastrous day for the American contingent of Cameron Beaubier (American Racing Team) and Joe Roberts (Italtrans Kalex). Roberts crashed early at the penultimate corner. Beaubier crashed out while in a points-scoring position with six laps remaining.
In the championship, Gardner still extends his points lead on 197 thanks to Raul Fernandez fading to seventh at the finish. Fernandez holds second in the series on 162 with Bezzecchi third on 153.
2021 Styrian Moto2 Results
| 1 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Kal) |
|
| 2 |
Aron Canet |
(Bos) |
+ 1.171 |
| 3 |
Augusto Fernandez |
(Kal) |
+ 3.260 |
| 4 |
Remy Gardner |
(Kal) |
+ 3.856 |
| 5 |
Ai Ogura |
(Hon) |
+ 6.922 |
Moto3
Pedro Acosta’s stock continues to rise after the Red Bull KTM Ajo starlet took victory in a Moto3 last lap thriller at the Red Bull Ring. Sergio Garcia (Santander Consumer GasGas Aspar) went toe to toe with the championship leader for the duration of the wet race, crashed with two corners to go but still remounted for second place, while Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) finished third.
Acosta (37) broke Garcia’s (11) heart by snatching the victory on the last lap.
In the championship, it’s becoming a one-horse race with Acosta clear on 183 to Garcia’s 130 with Romano Fenati third on 96.
2021 Styrian Moto3 Results
| 1 |
Pedro Acosta |
(KTM) |
|
| 2 |
Sergio Garcia |
(GasGas) |
+ 14.431 |
| 3 |
Romano Fenati |
(Hus) |
+ 15.410 |
| 4 |
Jaume Masia |
(KTM) |
+ 15.510 |
| 5 |
Ayumu Sasaki |
(KTM) |
+ 18.847 |
2021 Styrian MotoGP News—Saturday
Fernandez confirmed at Tech3 KTM for 2022
KTM bosses chose Saturday to confirm Raul Fernandez will complete its MotoGP line-up in 2022 with the current Moto2 contender stepping up to the Tech3 team alongside current teammate Remy Gardner. The 20-year old Spaniard sits second overall after a sterling rookie claiming six podiums and three wins from his first nine starts in the class.
The timing of the announcement – made mid-way through Saturday’s FP4 session – caught the Tech3 team off-guard, however. Tech3 boss Hervé Poncharal didn’t inform riders Iker Lecuona and Danilo Petrucci before.
Moto2 sensation Raul Fernandez will complete the Tech3 KTM line-up in 2022 alongside current teammate, Remy Gardner.
“This is a weird moment to announce such big, great and positive news through FP4,” he said. “The plan was to finally sit down on Sunday and decide and of course inform our riders what is going to be the situation for 2022.”
Current Tec3 KTM rider Danilo Petrucci said, “I was the first one in Assen to say if I was in trousers of KTM’s management, I would sign with Raul. But then in all the interviews they made, it was quite funny to see they still act like nothing was decided! But instead, everything was decided. When someone doesn’t answer the phone, I mean you are for sure not renewing the contract.”
It’s believed the order to release the news today came from CEO Stefan Pierer, who was sick of seeing Fernandez’s name linked with a Yamaha seat.
Vinales and Aprilia, together for 2022?
Reports from Italian media on Saturday confirmed Maverick Vinales has a deal in place which will see him compete for Aprilia in 2022. At Assen, the Catalan sensationally decided to quit the factory Yamaha team at the close of this year, mid-way through a two-year contract, with Aprilia being his most likely destination.
According to Italian media, the deal is done between Vinales and Aprilia for 2022.
Even still, no confirmation came over the five-week summer break. But it is believed Vinales has signed a one-year deal to race the much-improved RS-GP next year. Aprilia’s lead rider Aleix Espargaro is excited by the prospect. “The Aprilia project, you can’t imagine how it improved the last two or three years. Now this factory is unbelievable. It’s a top bike but it’s still growing. The thing is not how good we are now, but how shiny the future is for us. This project suits him very good. I know him well. He will be very happy if he can come here.”
Morbidelli gets upgraded
Yamaha has confirmed that Franco Morbidelli will take over the seat vacated by Vinales in the Monster Energy Yamaha team for 2022. In an interview with Motomatters.com, Yamaha Managing Director Lin Jarvis signaled this was the factory’s intention.
Morbidelli’s departure, couple with Valentino Rossi’s retirement means Petronas SRT Yamaha is now seeking two new riders, and not just one. Moto2 contender Marco Bezzecchi has been one name linked. On who Petronas Yamaha should hire, Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow, deputizing for the injured Morbidelli in Austria, rued Toprak Razgatioglu’s decision to stay in World Superbike.
Franco Morbidelli will get his long-awaited factory ride in 2022.
“I think the obvious choice was Toprak. It would be great to see him in MotoGP. He’s a fantastic talent. He would’ve been a breath of fresh air for the championship,” he said.
Saturday
A dramatic qualifying for 2021 Styrian MotoGP ended with Jorge Martin carving out his own little piece of history as his 1:22.994 not only sealed his second pole of the year, but set a new lap record around the Red Bull Ring. Despite the Pramac Racing rider’s extraordinary time, he had less than a tenth to spare over Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).
Martin’s lap was a stunner with a new course record and pole his reward.
2021 Styrian MotoGP Results—Qualifying
| 1 |
Jorge Martin |
(Duc) |
1:22.994 |
| 2 |
Francesco Bagnaia |
(Duc) |
+ 0.044 |
| 3 |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Yam) |
+ 0.081 |
| 4 |
Jack Miller |
(Duc) |
+ 0.306 |
| 5 |
Joan Mir |
(Suz) |
+ 0.328 |
| 6 |
Johann Zarco |
(Duc) |
+ 0.382 |
| 7 |
Aleix Espargaro |
(Apr) |
+ 0.454 |
| 8 |
Marc Marquez |
(Hon) |
+ 0.495 |
| 9 |
Maverick Viñales |
(Yam) |
+ 0.514 |
| 10 |
Takaaki Nakagami |
(Hon) |
+ 0.542 |
| 11 |
Alex Marquez |
(Hon) |
+ 0.847 |
| 12 |
Miguel Oliveira |
(KTM) |
+ 0.950 |
Moto2
A 1:28.668 handed Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) his third pole position of the season after putting in a ruthless performance at the Red Bull Ring. The championship leader had more than a tenth to spare over rivals Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team), who will complete the front row in Sunday’s race.
Gardner did at again for pole in Moto2.
2021 Styrian Moto2 Results—Qualifying
| 1 |
Remy Gardner |
(Kal) |
1:26.668 |
| 2 |
Ai Ogura |
(Kal) |
+ 0.121 |
| 3 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Kal) |
+ 0.143 |
| 4 |
Raul Fernandez |
(Kal) |
+ 0.310 |
| 5 |
Aron Canet |
(Bos) |
+ 0.336 |
| 20 |
Joe Roberts |
Kal |
+ 0.863 |
| 24 |
Cameron Beaubier |
Kal |
+ 1.079 |
Moto3
For the first time in his Grand Prix career, Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) will start from pole after recording a 1:36.453 in qualifying for the Moto3 class in Austria. Joining the Turk on the front row of the grid will be Sergio Garcia (Santander Consumer GasGas Aspar) and Q1 graduate Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team).
It was a first-time pole for Deniz Oncu in Moto3.
2021 Styrian Moto3 Results—Qualifying
| 1 |
Deniz Öncü |
(KTM) |
1:36.453 |
| 2 |
Sergio Garcia |
(GASGAS) |
+ 0.024 |
| 3 |
Romano Fenati |
(Hus) |
+ 0.053 |
| 4 |
Pedro Acosta |
(KTM) |
+ 0.122 |
| 5 |
Izan Guevara |
(GASGAS) |
+ 0.182 |
2021 Styrian MotoGP News—Friday
Rossi retires – the paddock reacts
The news of Valentino Rossi’s plan to retire at the close of the year was greeted with an outpouring of emotion from nearly everyone in the MotoGP paddock. Of the reaction, the 42-year old said, “I received a lot a lot, a lot of messages from all around the world.
Valentino Rossi’s retirement has triggered a tidal wave of social media tributes from all over the world.
“From my close friends for sure, but also from other sports, Formula One, soccer. And especially I received a lot of messages from my old rivals, that are the best because Stoner sent me a message, and Biaggi, Lorenzo, Dovi also.”
Even chief rival Marc Marquez offered up praise for Rossi’s achievements. “Everybody knows that our personal relationship is not the best one, and everybody has his way, but I don’t have any problem and I can recognise that we are losing something big in MotoGP. Lucky for MotoGP that he will still be involved in the world, but if we evaluate his career, his 25 years career or even more, it’s something special, unique, and a legend. So congrats to him for his career, and I wish the best for the future.
The big decision – a secret until the end
Until the beginning of Rossi’s Thursday press conference, no one knew of his intentions. Would he announce his retirement? Or opt instead to continue racing with his own VR46 team on Ducati machinery? Only those within his closest circle knew, thanks to some highly secretive planning.
Rossi kept his cards very close to his chest regarding his future.
“About the press conference, sincerely I don’t say nothing to our riders of the (VR46) Academy,” he explained. “I speak with them a lot about the decision, especially with Pecco, with Migno, with my brother. But they push very much for continue, they say that I have to continue, I don’t have to stop and everything. So when I decide I don’t say anything, also to Luca, because after it’s difficult to manage. So when the decision was taken I called and we organized this press conference.
“Also to my mother, Wednesday evening I always eat with my mother, with Francesca my girlfriend. I don’t say anything to my mother and just before we go I said, ‘tomorrow I have a press conference at 4:15, I’ll say that I’ll stop!’ She was ‘Oh, yes?’ She didn’t have the power to say anything, you know! And I go. It was quite funny.”
Pedrosa returns
The Styrian Grand Prix was remarkable not only for the Rossi news; it also marked three-time World Champion Dani Pedrosa’s first racing appearance in more than two and a half seasons as he made a first wildcard appearance for KTM.
The Spaniard joined the Austrian factory as a test rider soon after retiring from full-time competition at the close of 2018. Since then he has been a key figure in guiding engineers and the KTM test team, which has culminated in the factory scoring four wins since the start of 2020.
Pedrosa was back in race action for the first time in nearly three years.
Thursday was the first time Pedrosa had spoken publicly to assembled journalists since his retirement. “We are here with the main target of learning about the current MotoGP race,” he said of this weekend. “For example, they complain that it’s hard to overtake in the race, which means that you have to qualify very good. We are trying to understand that, so that when I am testing alone again, I can more or less face their problems, manage that gap, and think a little bit how they do things on a race weekend. Just getting a little bit of an update on that, of course we have a few parts on the bike to test as well.”
Friday
MotoGP
Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) will take huge confidence from his performance in a wet FP2, which saw him top the session’s timesheets with a 1:31.304 at the 2021 Styrian MotoGP.
Takaaki Nakagami took the fastest overall time on Friday at the 2021 Styrian MotoGP.
The Italian had 0.154 seconds to spare over Pramac Racing’s Johann Zarco while Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) joined them in the top three. However, none of them could improve morning times as the rain made for difficult conditions at the Red Bull Ring.
As a result, LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami finishes Friday fastest ahead of Mir and Aleix Espargaro.
2021 Styrian MotoGP—Friday
| 1 |
Takaaki Nakagami |
(Hon) |
1:23.805 |
| 2 |
Joan Mir |
(Suz) |
+ 0.076 |
| 3 |
Aleix Espargaro |
(Apr) |
+ 0.378 |
| 4 |
Alex Rins |
(Suz) |
+ 0.416 |
| 5 |
Pol Espargaro |
(Hon) |
+ 0.449 |
| 6 |
Marc Marquez |
(Hon) |
+ 0.670 |
| 7 |
Maverick Vinales |
(Yam) |
+ 0.687 |
| 8 |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Yam) |
+ 0.775 |
| 9 |
Johann Zarco |
(Duc) |
+ 0.775 |
| 10 |
Jack Miller |
(Duc) |
+1.022 |
Moto2
Championship leader Remy Gardner took advantage of the drying conditions at the Red Bull Ring to finish Moto2 FP2 fastest. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider’s 1:29.244 wasn’t enough to take top spot on the combined timesheets, with that honor belonging to Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46), but it does push the Aussie into third with Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS) sandwiched between them.
Bezzecchi topped Moto2.
2021 Styrian Moto2—Friday
| 1 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Kal) |
1:29.115 |
| 2 |
Augusto Fernandez |
(Kal) |
+ 0.080 |
| 3 |
Remy Gardner |
(Kal) |
+ 0.129 |
| 4 |
Sam Lowes |
(Kal) |
+ 0.236 |
| 5 |
Aron Canet |
(Kal) |
+ 0.248 |
| 24 |
Joe Roberts |
(Kal) |
+1.028 |
| 29 |
Cameron Beaubier |
(Kal) |
+1.357 |
Moto3
It’s a Petronas Sprinta Racing one-two at the close of Free Practice Friday in Moto3 at the 2021 Styrian MotoGP. Darryn Binder leads teammate John McPhee on the timesheets by 0.040 of a second thanks to a 1:36.809, while Sergio Garcia (Santander Consumer Bank GasGas Aspar) completes the top three.
Darryn Binder led a Petronas 1-2.
2021 Styrian Moto3—Friday
| 1 |
Darryn Binder |
(Hon) |
1:36.809 |
| 2 |
John McPhee |
(Hon) |
+ 0.040 |
| 3 |
Sergio Garcia |
(GasGas) |
+ 0.057 |
| 4 |
Romano Fenati |
(Hus) |
+ 0.125 |
| 5 |
Dennis Foggia |
(Hon) |
+ 0.131 |
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