Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1416659
leaning towards Quartararo who leads with 252 to Bag- naia's 202. Mir drops further behind with 175. The next round of the cham- pionship will be the second race held at Misano this season on October 24. MOTO2 Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) became the first rookie to win seven Moto2 races since Marc Marquez in 2011 after claiming a third win in a row at Austin. The Spaniard was unstoppable at the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas as the intermediate class title race took a huge twist, with team- mate and championship leader Remy Gardner suffering a crucial first crash of the season for zero points. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) earned podiums in second and third, respectively, but the biggest cheer was re- served for home hero Cameron Beaubier (American Racing Team). Starting sixth on the grid, the Californian rocketed to the holeshot but ran wide at turn one and dropped to fifth, before fighting back against Gardner and Di Giannantonio. He would eventually settle for fifth place, a career-best result. Fellow American Joe Rob- erts didn't have the best of weekends, struggling to match the pace of the front runners and coming home in 18th. ROUND 15 / OCTOBER 1-3, 2021 CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS / AUSTIN, TEXAS P62 MOTOGP I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Quartararo (20) rode smart and beat the one guy he really needed to—Pecca Bagnaia—to help his title lead. VINALES OUT OF COTA Considering the tragedy at Jerez in which his cousin, Dean Berta Vinales, was killed, Maverick Vinales decided to sit the COTA weekend out. The Catalan flew to Texas but came to the decision he wasn't in the right mindset to com- pete when he landed on Wednesday. Vinales posted his explanation on Insta- gram: "I would have liked to race for my cousin but at the moment my emotions are too deep, and it makes it difficult for me to remain focused. Thank you all." A comment from the team said, "Less than a week has passed since the accident, which is not enough time to regain the serenity needed to race. Maverick, with the full and unconditional support of Aprilia Racing, has therefore decided to take a break on his journey of getting to know the bike and team from Noale. The entire Aprilia Racing family supports this decision and stands with Maverick and his loved ones." Briefly...