25 RAUL FERNANDEZ
1ST MOTO2
"Unbelievable!" said Raul Fernan-
dez. "Thanks to the team for giving
me best bike of the weekend. I had
bad luck with the yellow flags in
qualifying, but I knew I had great
bike for the whole race. In Qatar I
didn't have too much re le but
we managed it be er today. Over-
all this victory is incredible, and at
one of my favorite tracks! We will
see now for Jerez."
MYOWNRACE
to racing for Marc Marquez
(Repsol Honda). The eight-time
world champion had not seen a
MotoGP checkered flag in over
500 days after breaking his right
arm at the 2020 Jerez MotoGP
and came home a solid seventh
behind Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro.
Alex Marquez (LCR Honda
Idemitsu), Enea Bastianini
(Avintia Esponsarama Ducati)
and Maverick Vinales (Monster
Energy Yamaha), who finished
lap one way down in 20th, com-
pleted the top 10.
In the championship, Quar-
tarao leads with 61 points from
Bagnaia's 46 and Vinales' 41.
Previous leader Zarco drops to
fourth at 40 points.
MOTO2
Red Bull KTM Ajo's Raul Fernan-
dez is a Moto2 winner in just his
third attempt after producing an
excellent ride in Portugal, the
Spaniard beating second-placed
Aron Canet (Solunion Aspar
Team) by 1.6 seconds to become
the first rookie since Maverick
Vinales to win in the intermediate
class.
Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM
Ajo) made it three consecutive
podiums in 2021 in third after a
last-lap lunge against race-long
protagonist Joe Roberts (Italtrans
Kalex), as former championship
leader Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS
Racing Team) crashed at the
opening corner.
MOTOGP
FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 3 / APRIL 16-18, 2021
ALGARVE INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT / PORTIMAO, PORTUGAL
P86
Johann Zarco (5)
led the early stages
using the power of
the Ducati to keep the
Suzukis at bay.
