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British Moto2: Gardner fends off Bezzecchi for victory as Fernandez crashes

Remy Gardner emerged on top in a race-long duel with Marco Bezzecchi to claim victory in the British Moto2 round at Silverstone, as his team-mate and chief title rival Raul Fernandez suffered a costly retirement.

Remy Gardner, Red Bull KTM Ajo

Remy Gardner, Red Bull KTM Ajo

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Gardner and Bezzecchi traded positions several times over the course of the 18-lap race, even coming to blows at one point, before the Ajo KTM rider made the decisive move with seven laps to run to seal victory.

At the start of the race, Bezzecchi got the holeshot from pole position but was pressurised by both Jorge Navarro and Gardner as he exited Copse. This brought Sam Lowes into play, the home favourite immediately passing Navarro before clearing Bezzecchi at Becketts to hit the front for the first time.

Lowes’ lead, however, would turn out to be short lived, with Bezzecchi getting a great drive out from Aintree to pass the Marc VDS rider under braking for Brooklands.

All this while, Gardner was mounting a comeback after dropping to sixth behind his team-mate Fernandez, returning to third position by the second lap to chase the leading duo for victory.

On lap 5, the championship leader finally made a move on Lowes into the Loop and then set about chasing Bezzecchi for the lead.

Gardner passed Bezzecchi into Village on the following tour but the VR46 rider immediately fought back, retaking the lead into Stowe.

Marco Bezzecchi, Sky Racing Team VR46

Marco Bezzecchi, Sky Racing Team VR46

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

There was contact between the two on lap 7 as Bezzecchi braked into Turn 15, with Gardner doing enough to stay on the bike as he swooped past his rival to retake the lead.

Bezzecchi and Gardner would swap positions multiple times before the Australian made a move at Village on lap 12 that would secure him a fourth win of the 2021 Moto2 season - while further back title rival Fernandez crashed out at Farm with four laps to go.

Bezzecchi kept the pressure up on Gardner until the final tour, setting his personal best on the penultimate tour, but ultimately couldn’t close the gap enough to attempt a last-gasp lunge on his rival.

He ultimately crossed the line 0.481s down on Gardner, securing his sixth podium finish of the season.

Behind the leading duo, SpeedUp’s Navarro denied Lowes a podium on his home turf after passing the Marc VDS rider into Village in the closing stages of the race.

Gresini’s Fabio Di Giannantonio fended off the second Marc VDS bike of Augusto Fernandez to finish fifth, as Aspar’s Aron Canet, Petronas Sprinta’s Xavi Vierge, Honda Team Asia rider Ai Ogura and Italtrans’ Joe Roberts rounded out the top 10.

With Fernandez crashing out of the race, Gardner has built a 44-point lead in the standings over his Ajo team-mate. Bezzecchi sits third after scoring three podiums in the last five races, 52 points behind MotoGP-bound Gardner.

Moto2 British Grand Prix results - 18 laps

Cla Rider Bike Time
1 Australia Remy Gardner Kalex -
2 Italy Marco Bezzecchi Kalex 0.481
3 Spain Jorge Navarro Boscoscuro B-21 1.930
4 United Kingdom Sam Lowes Kalex 2.284
5 Italy Fabio Di Giannantonio Kalex 6.952
6 Spain Augusto Fernandez Kalex 7.059
7 Spain Arón Canet Boscoscuro B-21 10.706
8 Spain Xavi Vierge Kalex 12.842
9 Japan Ai Ogura Kalex 12.877
10 United States Joe Roberts Kalex 14.344
11 Switzerland Thomas Luthi Kalex 20.112
12 Italy Celestino Vietti Ramus Kalex 22.371
13 Germany Marcel Schrotter Kalex 22.525
14 Italy Nicolo Bulega Kalex 23.672
15 Netherlands Bo Bendsneyder Kalex 24.116
16 Fermín Aldeguer Boscoscuro B-21 26.847
17 Thailand Somkiat Chantra Kalex 26.996
18 Italy Tony Arbolino Kalex 27.206
19 Spain Albert Arenas Boscoscuro B-21 27.414
20 Spain Marcos Ramirez Kalex 32.368
21 Malaysia Hafizh Syahrin NTS 38.614
22 Italy Simone Corsi MV Agusta 39.074
23 Belgium Barry Baltus NTS 39.117
  Spain Raúl Fernández Kalex  
  United States Cameron Beaubier Kalex  
  Malaysia Adam Norrodin Kalex  
  Italy Stefano Manzi Kalex  
  Spain Hector Garzo Kalex  
  Italy Lorenzo Baldassarri MV Agusta  

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