Gardner prevails at the Algarve Grand Prix and achieves his fifth victory of the year. Fernandez completes an excellent Sunday for the team in second place.

Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rounded off the Algarve Grand Prix with the team’s seventh one-two of the season, as Remy Gardner won the race with Raul Fernandez second. The Australian earned his fifth victory of 2021 with an excellent showing, overcoming discomfort caused by a crash on Friday in Free Practice. Fernandez battled for the win with his teammate in Portugal and finally he was in the podium for the fourth time this season.

The Algarve Grand Prix started well for Remy Gardner who, after the first lap, held his second position. The Australian rider pushed to the maximum to prevent his teammate’s breakaway at the front, but he was overtaken by another rider, increasing the gap to the leader. Far from throwing in the towel on lap 9, Gardner got the place back and started reducing a gap of more than one second from first place. At the end of the contest, the Moto2 Red Bull KTM Ajo talent caught and overtook his teammate for the lead and got his fifth victory of the season.

Fernandez took off from the pole position and claimed the holeshot, subsequently establishing a gap that was over a second by Lap 8. The Spaniard kept his concentration and composure riding alone at the front, until his tyres went off. Fernandez was overtaken by his teammate on the final laps and was unable to prevent Gardner from breaking away. Finally, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rookie achieved the second place and a fourth podium of the year.

After the Algarve Grand Prix, Gardner remains leader of the Moto2 World Championship with 305 points. Fernandez is second with 282. The season finale, where it will be decided which of the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders wins the title, will take place in Valencia from November 12-14th.

Results (Moto2 Race)
1. Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 39:36.275
2. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +3.014
3. Sam Lowes (Kalex) +3.899
4. Aron Canet (Boscoscuro) +7.616
5. Cameron Beaubier (Kalex) +7.621

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2021
1. Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 305 points
2. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 282 points
3. Marco Bezzecchi (Kalex) 214 points
4. Sam Lowes (Kalex) 181 points
5. Augusto Fernandez (Kalex) 158 points

Moto2 World Championship Team Standing 2021
1. Red Bull KTM Ajo 587 points
2. Elf Marc VDS Racing Team 339 points
3. Sky Racing Team VR46 290 points
4. Quierocorredor Aspar Team 181 points
5. Idemitsu Honda Team Asia 157 points

AKI AJO – TEAM MANAGER 

“Once again we saw a great contest in Moto2. Remy [Gardner] managed to handle his nerves and worked to handle tyre wear very well, despite the fact that at the start of the race he was not as fast as other riders who ran the soft. Despite his crash on Friday and the pain he felt in his ribs, he was able to finish the contest and increase his lead in the overall standings. Raul [Fernandez] had a great Sunday, but it seems that his choice of the soft compound did not work as well at the end of the round. Above all, we have to remember that Raul’s season has been wonderful and we have to enjoy the fact that, once again, he is on the podium.”

87 REMY GARDNER

“It was a great day for me. We took 25 much-needed points, and it was a very tough race for me. The weekend started off quite chaotic, but I was finally able to overcome the discomfort to my rib well to get this important victory. Mentally, it has been one of the most intense rounds for me, as well as one of the most difficult Sundays of the season. I am happy with how everything turned out, and I hope that in Valencia we can achieve what we have been wanting for so long.”

25 RAUL FERNANDEZ

“On the last 10 laps my tyre performance dropped a lot. It is something that we have to analyse, understand and learn from. Once again, I want to thank the whole team, because they did an excellent job on Wednesday and Thursday – because after the crash at Misano, the bike was wrecked. Despite everything, I am happy with the position today. We must not forget that I am a rookie and I still have a lot to learn. We have one last chance next week, in Valencia, where we will do our best to say end the year with a good result.”