The wait is over for Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2
24/03/2021Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez will start the 2021 Moto2 World Championship with the first of two consecutive rounds at the Losail International Circuit.
The Losail International Circuit will raise the curtain on the 2021 Moto2 World Championship this weekend, when the Qatar Grand Prix takes place for the intermediate class. This year’s line-up for Red Bull KTM Ajo will feature Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez who, after an intense period of pre-season training, feel ready for the new challenge. Following three days of testing at the track last week, the duo now take on two consecutive rounds in as many weekends at the Qatari track.
Gardner showed during preseason that he will be one of the riders to beat in 2021. The Australian topped the timesheets at a private test held in Portimao and, last Sunday, undertook three days of work in Qatar that he concluded with the third best time, 4 thousandths off the fastest rider. He now faces his first season with Red Bull KTM Ajo in Moto2, in which they will seek to achieve great results. The first challenge for the team will be the Qatar Grand Prix at a track that he likes and where last year he finished inside the Top 5.
Fernandez begins his rookie campaign in the intermediate class, although it will be his second season with Red Bull KTM Ajo. The Spaniard takes the step up to Moto2 after showing great maturity and development last season, something that he carried over to the 2021 winter. Fernandez set the eighth best time in the Qatar test last week and is adapting to the category immediately. His goal this year will be to keep on learning and progressing, race after race.
On Sunday, March 28th at 6:20 PM local time, the 20-lap Moto2 Qatar Grand Prix – and the 2021 season – get underway. Red Bull KTM Ajo won at the track in 2020 with Tetsuta Nagashima.
Circuit information – Losail International Circuit
Length: 5.380 metres / 3.343 miles
Width: 12 metres / 39.37 ft
Left corners: 6
Right corners: 10
Longest straight: 1.068 metres / 0.664 miles
Constructed: 2004
#87 REMY GARDNER
“The targets that we have set for ourselves this first season together are to be consistent and achieve good results that allow us to reach the end of the campaign with the chance of fighting for the title. The season is very long and there is still a lot of work to be done, but if we work hard, we can do big things. For the first Grand Prix of the year in Qatar, our aim is to score as many points as possible. I think it is a nice circuit, with a fast layout and some long corners. Personally, I like it a lot.”
#25 RAUL FERNANDEZ
“We will start the season without setting any goals. We want to enjoy and learn from each race, and it will be in the middle of the year that we will look at how we are doing and what we can aspire to. For now, it’s time to take things calmly and make steady progress. I go into this first race of the year without any pressure, since my goal is to enjoy every moment and give one hundred percent. Qatar is a track that I like and where last year, in Moto3, we did a good job. In 2019, in my first experience at this circuit, we also did well. I know that we are going to have a positive time this weekend in my first race in the Moto2 class, one which I am looking forward to with great enthusiasm.”