Ogura Battles For Sixth Before Fall, Chantra Finishes Ninth
Circuit de Barcelona-CatalunyaMoto2 rookie Ai Ogura (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia Kalex) was riding another superb race today, battling with rivals for a sixth-place finish until he slid off with just three laps remaining.
The tumble – which did no harm to the 20-year-old from Tokyo – ended an excellent run of consistently good results, with a fifth place, a sixth place and two sevenths from the previous five races.
With Ogura out it was left to his team-mate Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia Kalex) to take the chequered flag in ninth, his best result since last year’s rain-affected French Grand Prix. The 22-year-old Thai rider was in superb form, running a pace less than a second slower than the race winner.
The result is a huge boost for Chantra who believes he can carry forward the improvements made this weekend to upcoming races.
The race was won by Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo Kalex) who for the second consecutive Sunday won a tense duel with his team-mate Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo Kalex) to increase his points advantage in the World Championship. Last week Gardner – the elder son of Wayne Gardner, who in 1987 became the second rider to win the premier-class World Championship for Honda – signed a deal to take him into the 2022 MotoGP series.
Last man on today’s Moto2 podium was Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing Kalex), who scored his first top-three result of 2021. The Spaniard finished the race just in front of a four-way battle for fourth between Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46 Kalex), Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex), Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team Kalex) and Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex).
The Moto2 grid gets to enjoy a one-weekend break before the German GP at Sachsenring on 20th June and the Dutch TT at Assen on 27th June. Those races are followed by a five-weekend summer break. The second part of the season starts at Red Bull Ring in Austria.
-thumb.png)
I'm happy about this ninth position. Finally, I feel satisfied with the overall result – coming close to the first group and feeling good with the bike. I think we've found the way to continue growing.
At the beginning of the race I lost a little bit of time. From the middle of the race to the end the gap was always the same. That means I need to improve the first part of the races. The gap with the top riders this time was less. About the crash, I just tried to overtake the rider in front of me, fighting for sixth position. I couldn't stop the bike, so I went to the gravel and crashed. I’m disappointed with my mistake, but if I have the option to take a position I try it. This time didn't work, but I needed to do it.
