The ninth closest finish in Moto2 history, last minute drama and a championship shakeup. Mugello brings more than expected to the Intermediate class.
The Moto2 race starts with the tragic news of Jason Dupasquier’s passing today. While the news came in too late for Moto2 to have a moment of silence, it will come before the MotoGP race.
But they all ride for him.
Our pole man Raul Fernandez gets away well from the start/finish line, with teammate Remy Gardner and Tony Arbolino just behind. The KTM’s have been dominating Moto2 for some time now, but these results coming from the rookie is impressive.
Dalla Porta was out on the first lap after a career best qualifying, a sad ending to what could have been a great race for him.
Augusto Fernandez also crashes out as he throws away another race. There is hardly an opportunity for him to learn with all the crashes, but the Mugello circuit is notorious for the pressure it puts on the body.
Sam Lowes put’s the pressure on Arbolino and works to close the gap between himself and the leading two riders. The KTM Ajo riders are up to a 0.665 lead ahead of him, but there is plenty of time to make up the space.
Just behind Lowes, Arbolino and Di Giannantonio switch places for 4th, allowing the Marc VDS Rider to lengthen his own gap.
Jorge Navarro suffers from his first DNF of the season, the front tire twitching underneath him.
Xavi Vierge also crashed out at turn 12, which has seen many crashes this weekend.
One of the riders we are missing from the grid today is Thomas Luthi, who has opted out of the race to stay with the family of Jason Dupasquier, who sadly passed away today.
15 Laps To Go
Fernandez continues to lead the race, his gap built up to 1.021 seconds. Gardner is behind him, currently being hunted down by Lowes. The battle for second is isolated as they have a 1.515 gap ahead of Di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi.
Lowes needs to get past Gardner if he wants to salvage his championship run. After two DNF’s in the season, he can’t afford to make anymore mistakes and wants this win.
Gardner and Lowes battle through the circuit, giving Fernandez the opportunity to get away and also giving Di Giannantonio the ability to catch up with them.
10 Laps To Go
The biggest difference in the track is Lowes position- he has successfully overtaken Gardner and is closing the gap between himself and Fernandez. Gardner is doing the best he can to hold onto Lowes, but there is little he can do. He just doesn’t have the speed his teammate and the Marc VDS rider has.
In the meantime, Di Giannantonio crashes out after losing the front end at turn 15. His championship run seems to be closing with every small mistake and he might have to say goodbye to that hope.
Just behind them, Joe Roberts overtakes Bezzecchi with ease after crashing out two weeks ago in Le Mans. It’s an impressive progression from 10th to 4th, a finish he will gladly take. Robert’s hasn’t had the best fortune in the 2021 season, so far.
On the cusp of catching up with Fernandez, Lowes crashes out of the race. It is his third DNF that will surely make all the difference in the championship.
5 Laps To Go
Fernandez and Gardner are still leading the pack, but Roberts is in 3rd after Lowes’ crash. Bezzecchi can smell a podium as he pushes even harder to take the podium out from under the American, which he does just a lap later.
Marcos Ramirez crashes out of a good top 10 finish.
Gardner is closing the gap little by little, the hopes for a last lap battle eminent. While he is too far behind to get into the slipstream of Fernandez, he wants the win. He wants the lead in the championship and will do whatever he can to get it.
Roberts is able to take 3rd back from Bezzecchi as they approach the final lap. He is ready to put everything into the race, even if it means he will crash out.
Final Lap
Fernandez and Gardner continue to lead the race, the latter only having 2 kilometers to take the win from Fernandez. Will he bide his time and strike late, or will he overtake as soon as possible? With every turn the newly formed Gardner seems to be lining him up brilliantly. But Fernandez refuses to give in.
At turn 10 Gardner overtakes him, but Fernandez won’t give up. He tucks himself down low, battling with the lack of grip on his tire to try and take the win.
But there isn’t enough time for him to take the win.
Remy Gardner wins after a stellar fight for the win. Fernandez takes 2nd while Roberts holds onto 3rd by nearly nothing.
But, in result of exceeding track limits on the last lap, Roberts is demoted one position. It gives 3rd to Bezzecchi, who will celebrate his podium at his home track.
It was an amazing race with so many overtakes and shakeups for the championship. While it seems that KTM is going to be superior in 2021, which Red Bull KTM Ajo bike will take it? I think we’ll spend the rest of 2021 on the line between Fernandez and Gardner.
Next week is surely to bring action as we make our way to Barcelona-Catalunya.
See you all in a week.
