BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE, MOTOGP
T
he 2021 Styrian MotoGP, the first
of two consecutive races sched-
uled at the dauntingly fast Red
Bull Ring in the oil painting surrounds
of the Austrian countryside, marked the
formal changing of the guard in MotoGP.
The weekend was dominated by the
predicted but no less impactful news of
Valentino Rossi's impeding retirement,
the 42-year-old, nine-time world cham-
pion swamped with tributes from every
corner of the sporting, celebrity and
political world.
But it was 23-year-old Spaniard Jorge
Martin, the 2018 Moto3 World Cham-
pion, who firmly put the spotlight back
on the youth of MotoGP with a stunning
pole position and first victory in just his
sixth MotoGP race start.
It was a race of two halves after the
returning Dani Pedrosa (Red Bull KTM)
fell at turn three on lap two, with the
hapless Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Rac-
ing) clattering into Pedrosa's stricken
Red Bull KTM, splitting the petrol tank of
both bikes and causing a massive fire.
The red flag was immediately flown, and
although Pedrosa was able to rejoin the
start, Savadori was not so lucky, the Italian
stretchered away to the waiting medics.
MOTOGP
FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 9 / AUGUST 6-8, 2021
RED BULL RING / SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA
P56
On the weekend in
which Valentino Rossi
announced his retirement,
a new star arrives on the
MotoGP horizon
ONE DOOR
CLOSES,
ANOTHER
OPENS
