Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner will start the Valencia Grand Prix from the second and third row, respectively, as they battle for the Moto2 title.

The starting grid for the last round of the year was set in qualifying for the Valencia Grand Prix, held at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit on Saturday. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Raul Fernandez earned a spot on the second row, with fifth place, despite suffering a crash in the Q2. His teammate, Remy Gardner, placed eighth and will take off from Row 3.

FP3 was held in dry conditions, in which both riders improved their times from Friday. Raul Fernandez was very competitive, leading the session thanks to a time of 1:35.212 that he set on his 10th and final attempt. Remy Gardner finished the practice in the 10th place, stopping the clock at 1:35.608 on his antepenultimate of 18 laps.

Both Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders went straight into Q2 as a result. In that session, Fernandez challenged for the pole position, but a crash at Turn 2 with three minutes remaining ended his charge. The Spaniard eventually placed fifth – 1:35.036 -, for a spot on Row 2. Behind him will be Gardner, whose 8th place – 1:35.117 – puts him on Row 3.

The last race of the Moto2 season, scheduled for 25 laps, begins at 12:20 PM local time. The two Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders will compete to see which of them takes the 2021 title.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Simone Corsi (MV Agusta) 1:34.956
2. Celestino Vietti (Kalex) 1:35.005 +0.049
3. Augusto Fernandez (Kalex) 1:35.026 +0.070
4. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Kalex) 1:35.034 +0.078
5. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:35.036 +0.080
8. Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:35.117 +0.161

87 REMY GARDNER

“Today was a tough day for us. FP3 did not go the way we wanted and the changes we made to the bike yesterday were not perfect. However, we went into qualifying with a slightly different setup, we had a better feeling and we were closer in terms of our pace. Tomorrow we hope to have fun, have a good time and finish the race. Thanks again to the team for the work that they did.”

25 RAUL FERNANDEZ

“I’m happy with how the day went, especially with the rhythm we had this morning. In the afternoon, in qualifying, I suffered a crash after feeling a vibration from the bike. Despite this, the day was positive. For tomorrow we have a strong pace and we will fight for a positive result to end the season, as it will also be my last contest in Moto2.”