25/04/2022 News
Gardner first rookie
Portimao, Portugal, April 25th 2022 - Fourteenth and first rookie to take the chequered flag at Portimao, Remy Gardner ended a weather-hit weekend on a positive note.
MotoGP
Despite difficult conditions, with rain during practice and few dry laps to prepare for the race, Remy Gardner managed to finish the first European round of the season in fourteenth position. A result that allows the Elf rider, first rookie at the finish of the Portuguese Grand Prix, to score two more points towards the overall rankings. Commented the Australian, “Before the start we had hardly done any laps in the dry. Both in terms of tyre choice and set-up, we were a bit in the dark. To make matters worse I messed up my start and was last into the first corner. But by overtaking a few riders and taking advantage of the crashes of others, I finally manged to finish in the points.” After a heavy crash in practice, Raul Fernandez had to withdraw from the race. The Spaniard is expected to race at Jerez next weekend, despite suffering from an injury to his right hand.
Moto2
A few raindrops and a late red flag ruined the race for much of the Moto2 field, Sam Lowes and Tony Arbolino included. The latter crashed out on lap nine while in third place, with his British team-mate suffering the same fate as he closed in on the leaders. In total, twelve drivers crashed at the same corner. Unfortunately, both Lowes and Arbolino were unable to bring their machines back within five minutes and were unable to make the second start. The Italian remains third in the overall standings, while the Englishman drops down to ninth.
Moto3
On pole position at the Portuguese Grand Prix, Deniz Öncü was hoping to take his first Grand Prix win or at the very least his first podium of the season at the Portimao circuit. Unfortunately, while fighting in the lead group, the Elf rider failed to negotiate the last lap of the race as well as he hoped. “In fact, when we took the chequered flag, I thought that we still had one lap to go," admitted Öncü. “A mistake that cost me dearly because I was preparing to attack in the last few corners. Still, I finished fourth, which in itself is not a bad result.” For Adrian Fernandez, the Portuguese Grand Prix came to an untimely end on Friday morning. The Spanish rider broke two fingers on his left hand in the rain and had to sit out the rest of the weekend.
