Remy Gardner secures crucial victory at the Algarve GP
Monday, 8 November 2021
The Australian was under pressure from his teammate.
In what may have been his most significant win for the season, Remy Gardner crossed the line in first place at the Algarve Grand Prix.
The victory sees the Australian's lead in the Championship extend to 23-points ahead of his teammate, Raul Fernandez, who has been strong in the second half of the season.
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Both Fernandez and Gardner both made good starts, as they launched into Turn 1 and remained P1 and P2.
Marco Bezzecchi made a lightning start from seventh to push his way up into P3 in the opening exchanges, and he was soon ahead of Gardner.
After following Bezzecchi for a few laps, Gardner was able to take back P2 on Lap 9, with Fernandez lead holding at just over a second.
It was into Turn 1 on Lap 13 that Gardner was able to get by his teammate and take the lead of the race. In the final stages of the race, Fernandez was still on the back wheel of Gardner; however, he couldn't quite get close enough to make a move.
Gardner's victory and Fernandez's second place means that there is still a chance that either of the two Red Bull KTM Ajo riders could win the Championship, with the battle going down to the season's final week.
"That was one of the hardest races ever, and I think one of the best I've ever done, especially with all that pressure," Gardner said.
"I was pretty clear we'd run the hard tyre, and that worked out pretty well in the end, but I had to stick in there the first three-quarters of the races just to stay with Raul.
"And between Warm-Up and the race, I feel like something moved in my ribs, and it really was quite sore before I went on the grid, so it was a tough race pain-wise. I don't know how I did it, to be honest."
Gardner remains in the championship lead with 305 points, Fernandez in second with 282 points and Bezzecchi in third with 214 points.
The final race for the 2021 MotoGP™ season is next weekend at the Valencia Grand Prix, where Gardner will be hoping to take at the Championship.
Go, @GardnerRemy! 🇦🇺
— Australian MotoGP™ (@ausmotogp) November 7, 2021
The Aussie now holds a 23-point lead in the #Moto2 standings after winning the #AlgarveGP. pic.twitter.com/sjfMJQyAC6
