Title contenders battle to the flag at Misano

2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship
Round 14 – Misano

Francesco Bagnaia took a very important victory overnight to keep his chances of claiming the 2021 MotoGP World Championship alive, and in-turn extend Ducati’s lead in the Constructor’s Championship to 13-points over Yamaha.

Fabio Quartararo though was again on fire to minimise the damage and rode a calculating but aggressive enough race to secure second place and to limit Bagnaia’s gain over him to only five-points. The difference now is still a huge 48-points, thus Quartararo will have to endure a bad run of form or luck to be beaten to the Title. But it’s never over until it’s over and 100 points are still up for grabs.

This year though Quartararo appears to be mentally significantly stronger than last season, has been the most impressive rider of the season thus far and shows no signs of falling apart. He is also single-handedly keeping Yamaha’s Constructor’s hopes alive as his fellow Yamaha riders again failed to score any points.

Enea Bastianini took a brilliant first MotoGP podium after riding strongly from the start. The 23-year-old started from 12th on the grid but steadily worked his way through the field before moving past Jack Miller to take third place with eight-laps remaining, he then pulled away from the Australian to take a clear third place.

Marc Marquez, Jack Miller and Joan Mir engaged in battle over fourth place during the final laps but ultimately it was Marquez that took the 13-points after what had been a frustrating weekend for the Spaniard. The demands of Misano had seen the Spaniard clutching at his shoulder numerous times during practice and also caused him to fall twice during the weekend and that result was better than he had expected.

Jack Miller’s 11-point score edge the Ducati Lenovo Team closer towards the Team’s Title as the Factory Ducati Team are now only three-points behind the Monster Energery Yamaha Team.

Defending champion Mir took sixth and is third in the championship chase. The only other riders with a mathematical chance of taking the title are Johann Zarco and Jack Miller, but those two are not in the game unless the three riders in front of them fail to score any more points this season. In reality only Bagnaia is in with a decent chance of winning the championship if Quartararo falters drastically, and Mir only a slim outsider.

Bagnaia has two wins in succession to buoy him with confidence as MotoGP now heads to Texas where MotoGP will regroup for the next points scoring opportunity on October 3. There is then a three-week break before MotoGP reconvenes at Misano once again.  The rollercoaster that is the magnificient Portimao will then host the penultimate round on November 7 before the finale unfolds the following weekend at Valencia.

Misano MotoGP Race Report

Bagnaia took the holeshot from pole and immediately put his head down as team-mate Jack Miller stayed second and the two gained some early breathing space.

Quartararo initally duelled Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) for third just behind, before the Spaniard then fell early at Turn 14.

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Bagnaia, Miller, Quartararo then remained in an evenly-spaced top three, with Marc Marquez fighting Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) just behind.

Enea Bastianini had something to say about that though, the Italian rookie blasting through to pass first the Aprilia and then home in on the Honda. And he made his first move stick, taking fourth but as the podium fight pulled away into the distance… for now.

As Bagnaia pushed on at the front, Quartararo was homing in on Miller, aided a little as the Aussie headed slightly wide at Turn 13. With 14 laps to go the Frenchman was on the scene and sliced past Miller, with the gap to Bagnaia up to 2.7 and Miller remaining on his rear wheel. However, it didn’t take long for the Yamaha to pull away and Bastianini to close down Miller, the rookie gaining over two and a half seconds on the #43 to take over in third.

Lap by lap, Quartararo was able to home in on Bagnaia as in turn Bastianini pulled away from Miller. Marc Marquez had Aleix Espargaro and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) for company in the fight for fifth too, but Miller held firm in fourth for the moment.

As the laps ticked down, the gap between Bagnaia and Quartararo did too and there was a frisson of tension for the race leader on the horizon: by four to go, El Diablo got within eight tenths and then half a second, making it game on.

The Yamaha kept pushing and pushing, gaining here and there and really tagging onto the back of the Ducati as the final few kilometres dawned. It was just over a tenth as the two crossed the line to start the last lap, with Quartararo setting his sights on victory. But he couldn’t make the move early and Pecco was impeccable through Curvone, stretching the gap back out and laying down the gauntlet with one final push. Could Quartararo go for a lunge? Not in the end, Bagnaia once again proving impervious under pressure, painting Misano red and taking his second win in a week.

Behind that duel, it was beauty from the ‘Beast’. Bastianini kept his stunning pace to the end, taking a comfortable third place. Comfortable is an understatement, however, as the rookie put together a truly stunning race on best lap record pace to take his first premier class podium, and on home turf to boot.

The fight for fourth became Miller vs Marquez vs Mir and it was a last gasp thriller. The reigning Champion attacked the number 93 first to move through onto the back of Miller, and the Suzuki then punched his way through on the Ducati at Turn 14. But both went wide and Marquez swept through into fourth. They stayed glued together but out the penultimate corner, Marquez just kept it in but Mir touched the green. So the eight-time World Champion keeps fourth, and Mir crossed the line fifth but is classified as sixth as Miller gains back that P5.

Behind that shuffle, Aleix Espargaro lost some ground and also lost out to brother Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) after a tougher last few laps for the former, with the 44 in seventh and the 41 in eighth. Ninth was another Sunday charge from Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) as the South African shot through from P17 on the grid, only four tenths off the Aprilia ahead by the flag.

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) completed the top ten ahead of Michele Pirro wildcarding for Ducati in P11, and he had Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) close behind after the Frenchman also did a Long Lap for having shortcutted Turns 1 and 2.

Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) scored some points in P13 and close behind the number 5, with HRC test rider Stefan Bradl and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) completing those points.

Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) had crashed out with 10 to go while Martin retired after trying to finish the race after his early fall while duelling with Quartararo. Iker Lecuona also failed to finish.

MotoGP Misano 2021 Race Results

2021 MotoGP Standings

Moto2

Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) put in another stunner at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, taking his sixth win of the season and securing Rookie of the Year. But it was a pretty close run affair, with teammate and Championship leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) taking second and four tenths off, hindered by a moment on a last lap charge for victory. Aron Canet (Inde Aspar Team) fought at the front throughout too, coming home well in sight of the win and taking third for another podium in 2021.

Any hopes Raul Fernandez had of an instant breakaway win after taking the holeshot were quickly dashed, going wide at Turn 9 as he tried to fight off a challenge from Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), but the Brit nudged ahead and led at the end of the first lap. There were also strong starts from Canet, Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46) as they occupied the top five spots, with Gardner and front row starter Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) dropping a little further down the field.

After four laps, the race lost Simone Corsi (MV Augusta Forward Racing) after an incident with Jorge Navarro, which earned the +Ego Speed Up rider a Long Lap penalty. But back at the front, Canet got the gloves off as he moved ahead of Raul Fernandez and set a race lap record in the process, while he soon had Lowes’ number to boot. A mistake from the Brit then let the number 44 through for the lead and Lowes dropped to third, with Gardner working his way back into the top four.

As the laps were chalked off, the front four formed a breakaway group and the Red Bull KTM Ajos began to find some pace, with Raul Fernandez eating away at Canet’s advantage until he eventually made what would prove the race winning overtake on Lap 15 at Turn 1. That prompted Championship leader Gardner to take action, the Aussie making his move on the outside of Lowes at the same corner.

Some small specks of rain threatened but it didn’t affect the on-track action, with Raul Fernandez soon responding to pressure from Canet with the first ever 1:36 lap around Misano. Despite his impressive speed, he couldn’t shake off the close attention of the men in P2 and P3 though.

In the closing laps, the number 25 looked like he’d finally pulled the pin and he extended his lead to nearly a second, but Gardner wasn’t done. Disposing of Canet on the penultimate lap, the Australian then began taking huge chunks out of his teammate’s time and we were set for a grandstand finish. The gap was down to less than half a second, and with a track limits warning not helping matters for Raul Fernandez it was game on.

Gardner was pushing to the absolute limit and setting up a move, but the decisive moment came at Turn 11. A wobble – at the scene of a crash last year – forced him from attack to defence, but he clung onto P2 and 20 crucial Championship points. Canet was forced to settle for third but took another podium, with Lowes fading slightly to fourth as Raul Fernandez took his incredible sixth win of the season.

Raul Fernandez – P1

“Another really difficult race. I didn’t sleep well Saturday night so I’m really happy with this. The track was different to yesterday and I didn’t have much grip. I want to thank the team for an incredible bike and also the Clinica Mobile because the hand was still not good. I don’t know how I could ride or brake but we did it today.”

Remy Gardner – P2

“I definitely had my heart in my mouth on the last lap! I had to come back from a long way. I was pushing hard and I honestly felt that I wouldn’t win it today but on the last lap a bit of hope came back and I pushed so hard to close the gap. I was lucky to save the bike through the fast kink. There have been worst days! I’m pretty happy and onto the next one.”

Home hero Bezzecchi, on his fabulous pink-liveried machine, headed what had been a hard-fought group, the Italian holding off front row starter Augusto Fernandez as the number 37 was forced to settle for sixth. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) got right in that mix fighting for fifth and ultimately took seventh.

Vierge was a little further back in P8, but had some seriously close company from Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) as the two crossed the line split by less than a tenth. Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) made some good progress up to tenth on Sunday.

Tom Lüthi (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team), Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP), Navarro, who served that Long Lap, Marcos Ramirez (American Racing) and Tony Arbolino (Liqui Moly Intact GP) completed the points.

Moto2 Misano 2021 Race Results

2021 Moto2 Standings

Moto3

Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) remains the man with the momentum in Moto3 as the Italian took another home win, this time in the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini as he made up yet more ground in the Championship fight. Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46) took another impressive second place, with Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) completing an all-Italian podium on the Riviera di Rimini. It was nearly an Italian 1-2-3-4 too as Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) had looked on for victory as the Italian disappeared in the lead, but a heartbreaker of a crash ended his chances of a near-certain win.

Fenati took the holeshot from pole, off like a shot with Antonelli in second and Migno duelling Foggia just behind, a reshuffled Italian armada at the front with Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) shadowing early on.

Fenati had the hammer down at the front though, setting a new best race lap with a few ticked off, and Antonelli was the rider on the chase as the two kept some clean air between themselves and the chasing group. But the number 55 was stretching his legs and his lead, with fellow Championship players Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) and Foggia all stuck in the second group.

Bit by bit though, Acosta was losing some ground and by 15 to go, the Spaniard was in the fringes of the top ten as Migno, Foggia, Masia, Garcia and Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) bolted on the chase behind Fenati and Antonelli. The latter then headed wide soon after though, slotting back into the group and leaving Fenati with a sizeable – by Moto3 standards – gap at the front.

With 10 to go though, heartbreak struck. Fenati suddenly went down out the lead, the Italian sliding off into the gravel and rider ok, but a near-certain win gone from his grasp. That left Foggia at the front of what was now a fight for victory, and the Leopard rider took over in the task of trying to break away.

Six riders were fighting for three places on the podium, and for two it was also chance to gain huge ground on Acosta as the Spaniard fought it out for seventh in the second group. By a handful to go, Foggia had got it done and pulled out a small gap back to Migno, Antonelli, Garcia and Masia, with Binder having dropped off the back into a lonelier ride for sixth.

Onto the final lap, Foggia was in free air and just needed to keep it clean to take another victory, and a very different one to Aragon. Antonelli had got past Migno and only had to keep the hammer down and the door closed there too, and that they all did. Foggia crossed the line half a second clear for his fourth win of the season, taking back more ground in the title fight and tasting the top step on home turf once again. The tricolore delight continued as Antonelli held off Migno but both were back on the podium, making it an Italian 1-2-3.

The fight for fourth had some elbows further out, with Garcia and Masia nearly side-by-side over the line to start the final lap and the number 11 heading through. As Masia tried to hang in there there was a touch of contact, leaving him back in fifth and with no time left to get back on terms with Garcia. So the GASGAS rider took P4, Masia completed the top five, and Binder took P6.

Acosta managed to take seventh and limit the damage, with Carlos Tatay (Avintia Esponsorama Moto3), Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) and Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3) completing the top ten in a big group fight, Riccardo Rossi (BOE Owlride) in touch with them in P11. Just behind, another group of Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team), John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing), Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) and Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) completed the points.

Moto3 Misano 2021 Race Results

2021 Moto3 Standings

MotoE

The final race of the 2021 FIM Enel MotoE World Cup had everything on the line. On the way in, Jordi Torres (HP Pons 40) had eight points in hand over Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP), and the two at the top in the standings would also prove the key protagonists in the drama. After an almighty duel between the duo, with the crown on the line, the contest ended in contact as Aegerter dived up the inside. Torres fell, although he remounted, and in parc ferme the verdict from the Stewards was in: Aegerter was given a Ride Through penalty, or the equivalent time, which was 38 seconds. That put him just ahead of Torres after the Spaniard made it to the line.. which wasn’t enough for the Swiss rider. So it’s #TwoTimeTorres at Misano.

That drama also decided the podium, with what had been a fight for third becoming the fight for victory. And it was King of Misano Matteo Ferrari (Indonesian E-Racing Gresini MotoE) who came out on top, winning the last race of the season to get back on the podium for the first time in 2021 – and extending his record at Misano to 5 wins from 7 races. Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse) took second after more impressive speed, the only rider on the rostrum in both races at the season finale, with Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) rounding out the year in third.

It was Casadei who got the holeshot going into the first corner, with Aegerter attacking Eric Granado (ONE Energy Racing) and Ferrari taking the long way around the outside to jump both and slot into third. He duelled Aegerter briefly, with Granado just behind, as Torres took the lead and then took off in the lead too.

On the second lap, the race leader had begun to open up a considerable gap, jolting Aegerter into action and the Swiss rider moving past Ferrari into P2. He then got the hammer down, and was able to close back up on his race-leading rival.

From there, a duel for the ages erupted as Aegerter threw the kitchen sink at trying to take over at the front, and it was spectacular as the two exchanged the lead. Torres wasn’t backing down and Aegerter was putting it all on the line. But with just a handful of corners to go, it hit boiling point. Aegerter lunged for it, the two made contact, and Torres found himself on the floor… leaving Aegerter free in the lead to cross the line first. The Spaniard managed to remount and finish in P13, but it seemed the Cup was decided.

The incident was immediately put under investigation, however. After a tense wait in parc ferme, a penalty was announced and 38 seconds were added to Aegerter’s race time for irresponsible riding. That’s the equivalent of a ride through penalty in MotoE as Misano as per the regulations, and it dropped him to 12th – just ahead of Torres. The Spaniard had, therefore, taken the crown after all.

Behind all that drama for the overall Cup, there was a race to be decided too. The trio who’d been locked in their own battle for much of the race; Ferrari, Casadei and Pons, were on the podium. The Gresini rider was back on top, just ahead of Casadei, with Pons a few more tenths back but the rookie fast once again.

Fourth went to the absolute wire, with Kevin Zannoni (LCR E-Team) putting in a stunner but only just, just, holding off the final electric samba of the season from Granado. Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE) was next up, with Fermín Aldeguer (Openbank Aspar Team), Xavi Cardelus (Avintia Esponsorama Racing), Andrea Mantovani (Indonesian E-Racing Gresini MotoE) and Corentin Perolari (Tech 3 E-Racing) completing the top ten.

Aegerter was P12 and Torres P13, and with a helping hand from his teammate. Jasper Iwema saw the Spaniard had crashed, waited for him, and followed him home. Every point can count.

In the end, it was a one-point swing as the dust settles, with Torres ending the season seven clear of Aegerter. Ferrari leapfrogged Granado by just two points to take third overall, with Alessandro Zaccone (Octo Pramac MotoE) ending the year in fifth overall after his Race 1 crash and sitting Sunday out. And that’s a wrap on a dramatic, thrilling and truly electric season. We hope you enjoyed it… now recharge for 2022!

Matteo Ferrari – P1

“l’m really happy. During the race I didn’t expect this result because I started very well and at the first corner I was third, but every rider today pushed a lot in the first laps so fortunately I maintained the position and continued ti improve ap by lap. With the used tyre I was comfortable so I did a very good lap mid-race and fortunately closed all the corners, compare to last year where Domi passed me. Happy to be here, and to finish third in the standings.”

Jordi Torres – MotoE Champion

“I never could imagine that I could win again this year. Maybe last year, our win had some luck, calculating very well how our points were, but this year we’re more concentrating on our way, in the sense of improving the bike and trying to be as calm-minded as possible in the races to avoid mistakes. But arriving in the last two races with many options to win the title is a lot of satisfaction for our team, but to arrive here with these options it means we continued to push and be aggressive, very fast, during all the season. But we know that doing many races we tried to save points, coming fifth or seventh, but if we were able to do a great race we tried do. And we tried all season to not make a mistake and in these last two races we tried to be aggressive, fast, at the beginning of the weekend, in any condition, and put all the cards on the table and show how the performance is in the last two races.

“Trying to do all races at this pace and as aggressive as today, in some races we would fall. All season we tried to be at 90 or 95%, but for sure this weekend, and not just me, four or five guys tried to do 100% to stay on top, it’s the one chance to win the title. And that’s what we did, to fight for victory.

“I knew Domi needed to overtake me and win the race to win the title, he’s also a great racer and did a great championship, able to win it. But I knew that if you try to overtake under these conditions – when I’m trying to brake late – and he saw two or three times that it was difficult to overtake me like that because he went wide. I knew on the last lap he’d try everything but in this condition he wasn’t able to do it well, we crossed lines and I couldn’t enter the corner, I tried to pick the bike up as fast as possible. But he hit me, I hit the ground and I went to my bike, tried to run and get to the end because you never know if you take one or two points it could be necessary in the title. And I saw Jasper Iwema waited for me to give me some help, if I took one point more it could have been needed. I want to say thanks to him.

“When I saw the result and the flag I started to cry, I felt down, I felt like I was a loser and lost the title. I tried to squeeze the maximum in this race and focus 100% to do my pace, and when Domi tried to overtake me I tried to be calm to not make a mistake and manage well the situation. But all this work I did, and the work my team did all this year to arrive here, it’s like well.. all this in the rubbish and start again! I cried and arrived to my people, when I entered the pits they all said ‘ok take a break, don’t worry, we’ll see what happens’. I was still crying, and then when I saw the result from Race Direction it became happy tears, a rollercoaster of emotion, and I’m tired now after that! But we’re happy for this happy ending, and we make a lot of notes for next season to continue in this direction; fast, aggressive, great results, but we know where we need to change to be safer in that performance.”

MotoE Misano 2021 Race Two Results

2021 MotoE Final Standings

2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar