Qualifying:
Quali saw Maverick Vinales seemingly putting his Sachsenring woes behind him to take pole ahead of his Yamaha Factory teammate Fabio Quartararo and in P3 Francesco Bagnaia, on his Ducati. The paddock was full of rumours and speculation that Maverick was unhappy with Yamaha and the bike/team, and considering leaving the Factory team to join Aprilia, incredulous though that seems. After a fantastic win for Marc Marquez at the Sachsenring, he found himself 20th on the grid after a couple of nasty pre-race crashes.
The Race:
Fabio Quartararo made an incredible start to the race, literally blasting off the line ahead of Francesco Bagnaia and Takaaki Nakagami. Soon though Bagnaia made a strong move on Fabio to hit the front with Nakagami P3. Maverick Vinales was slightly off the front three and in a pack with Zarco, Miller and Joan Mir. Bagnaia and Fabio then stretched a bit of lead and having done so with 20 laps to go Fabio Quartararo slipped past Bagnaia to take the lead, with Nakagami holding a strong P3.
Nineteen laps to go and Quartararo setting the fastest lap had over a 0.7 second lead over Bagnaia, the Frenchman setting his own pace and rhythm, just the way the Yamaha likes to play. It was on this lap that Valentino Rossi crashed out, his Petronas Yamaha looking like scrap when it came to rest. The question right now, will Rossi continue into 2022, looking at his body language as he knelt in the kitty litter, it looks doubtful.
Eleven laps to go and Fabio Quartararo had a four second lead of his teammate Maverick Vinales, who had at last pulled himself up to P2 with Johann Zarco P3 and Joan Mir P4.
Ther Result:
Fabio Quartararo was back to his sublime self and rode a brilliant race to win with a 2.7 second gap over Maverick Vinales. So it was P1 Fabio Quartararo, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, P2 Maverick Vinales, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP. P3 Joan Mir, Team Suzuki Ecstar. Marc Marquez rode a solid race coming from 20th on the grid to P7, after having been beaten up in the pre-race crashes.
Post-race it was announced that indeed Maverick Vinales is to leave Factory Yamaha at the end of the 2021 season, and yes, will ride for Aprilia in 2022! We guess it’s just a case of watch this space! See you in Austria at the Red Bull Ring in August!
・・・
Every ride should be an adventure… Tell us where you’re riding@bikedirectoryand we will feature your pics and add your location to our directory. Also, don’t forget to follow and/or like us!
・・・
#bikedirectory #MotoGP #BTsport #AssenGP #FabioQuartararo #MaverickVinales #JoanMir #Motorcycle #Racing #Motorsport #ThisIsMotoGP
Author: Martin Northern
Founder of Bike Directory
