Remy Gardner was victorious at the Moto2 Grande Prémio Brembo do Algarve in Portugal and the penultimate round of the current MotoGP™ season. Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Raul Fernandez was runner-up.
23-laps and almost 106km of intense Moto2 action in Portimao saw the Red Bull KTM Ajo duo go 1-2 for the seventh time in seventeen rounds this term. In bright and sunny but cool conditions Remy Gardner – who was nursing a sore torso after a crash during practice on Friday - hunted teammate Raul Fernandez, passed and stretched clear of the Spaniard in what was the second visit this year to the venue.
Competing at the track where he walked the top of the podium in 2020 and the inaugural GP visit to the undulating Algarve International Circuit, Fernandez set the early pace but his choice of a soft rear tire meant he could not threaten Gardner’s competitiveness.
The Australian has gathered 12 podiums through a consistent term that included wins in Italy, Catalunya, Germany, Great Britain and now Portugal. Fernandez has 11 rostrum appearances.
Gardner and Fernandez’s will end their gripping dispute at next week’s season-closing Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana on Sunday November 14th.
Remy Gardner: “One of the hardest races and one of my best. Especially with all that pressure. I was pretty clear that we’d go with the hard tire and it worked out. I had to really push in the first stage of race to stay with Raul. My ribs were hurting, and it was really tough. I don’t know how I did it to be honest.”
Results Moto2 Grande Prémio Brembo do Algarve in Portugal 2021
1. Remy Gardner (AUS) Red Bull KTM Ajo 39:36.275
2. Raul Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +3.014
3. Sam Lowes (GBR) +3.899