IIIMY OWN RACE:
more grip than they did, but I am unable
to overtake them. It's a pity, but from
what I could see in these two races,
when we get to the European circuits,
I'm sure we'll be able to have some fun."
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 14 APRIL 6, 2021 P59
37 PEDRO ACOSTA
1ST MOTO3
"I don't know how I did it!" Moto3 winner
Acosta said. "When you work with the
best guys then it counts. Yesterday I saw
everything a bit dark with the penalty
but this morning I said to my assistant 'I
think we can do it'. With the lap- mes I
thought I could be in the group and finally
we made it. I can only say thanks to my
family, assistant and the team."
22 SAM LOWES
1ST MOTO2
"I feel I've improved in myself and can
be more relaxed in the race," said Lowes,
who celebrated back-to-back Moto2 wins
in Qatar. "I know it's only the start of the
year, but it's been a really good start. To
have somebody behind me all race and
not make any mistakes is really important
and that will give me a lot of confidence.
When I won last year and last week, I had
a bigger gap so this was a bit different and
I managed fine and felt really comfort-
able. I'm looking forward to ge ng to
Portugal."
(Left) Luca Marini (10) leads
Taka Nakagami (30) and his
half-brother Valentino Rossi
(46). Rossi would eventually
get the pair of them for 16th,
with Nakagami 17th and Marini
in 18th. (Bottom) Quartararo
pounced late in the race and
ran over debris from Danilo
Petrucci's KTM that could have
given the Frenchman a puncture.
Luckily for him, everything held
together for the win. "I was so
scared when I hit the debris on
track," he said. "I thought, 'Not
a puncture, please,' because it
made a bad sound."
Rins ended up fourth from
race-one winner Maverick
Vinales (Monster Energy Ya-
maha), Bagnaia, Mir, Red Bull
KTM's Brad Binder and Miller,
who had a tense battle with
Mir that saw the pair collide
onto the start/finish straight
with both riders gesticulat-
ing to each other during and
after the race. Rounding out
the top 10 was Aprilia's Aleix
Espargaro.
It was another shocking
race for Petronas Yamaha,
with Franco Morbidelli in 12th
and Valentino Rossi out of the
points in 16th.
Johann Zarco now leads
the championship with 40
points from his pair of second
places in the opening two
rounds from tied teammates
Quartararo and Vinales at
36 points. The next round of
MotoGP 2021 will be held at
Portimao for the Portuguese
Grand Prix in two weeks' time.
