Remy Gardner tops off dream week with back-to-back victories
Monday, 7 June 2021
The Aussie has extended his title lead.
Australia’s Remy Gardner has topped off a dream week with back-to-back victories Moto2™ at the Catalan GP on Sunday.
After news came through during the week that Gardner had signed to join the premier class next season with Tech3 KTM Factory Racing, he couldn’t have hoped for a better weekend than what he had.
Gardner and teammate Raul Fernandez had a solid start to the GP, with Gardner securing pole and Fernandez taking P2 in qualifying.
It was a battle between both Red Bull KTM Ajo riders, with both sharing the lead. With 11 laps remaining, Fernandez closely followed Gardner down the straight and was able to pass him through the corner. Bendsneyder was in third, with Vierge and Bezzecchi closely behind.
Lap 20 saw Gardner retake the lead of the race and build a gap of over a second.
🏁 #Moto2 RACE 🏁@GardnerRemy BRILLIANT in Barcelona! 🏆#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/RWGVUvrd1R
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 6, 2021
“I thought I could fight for the victory, but I wasn’t sure I could bring it home. I got through the first corner in the lead, although I couldn’t pull away,” Gardner said after the race.
“The track conditions were not great. Raul passed me at half race distance, and I decided to follow him for a few laps to study him. I saw him struggling a bit, so I decided to attack with three laps to go and pushed real hard from there on and managed to stay up!”
Gardner extended his race for the title, which he now leads by 11 points over second-place finisher Fernandez.
It is the first time since Casey Stoner in 2005 that an Australian has won two intermediate class races in a row.
