The long summer break is over and racing will continue with the 10th round of the MotoGP World Championship in 2021.
As in 2020, two races will be held on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, following the revision of the 2021 calendar. At the Michelin Grand Prix of Styria, racing will resume after a five-week break in the middle of the season and the entire Repsol Honda Team is ready to go back to the track. The 4.3-kilometer layout of the Red Bull Ring has seen some gigantic battles since 2016, and both Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro are working to get back in the mix.
In 2021, Marquez will return to the Austrian track for the first time since 2019, after missing the one-two there in 2020. The Red Bull Ring is just one of two tracks on the current calendar on which Marquez has not yet won and was runner-up three times from 2017 to 2019. A five-week hiatus has allowed Marquez to continue focusing on his recovery as he works toward full fitness. Now that Marquez has integrated more motorcycle-based training into his regime, he is resolutely heading into the second half of the year.
Pol Espargaro has bittersweet memories of the 2020 Austrian circuit, where he fought for victory from pole position to the last corner after starting. Although he ultimately had to settle for third place, Espargaro clearly has pace at the Red Bull Ring. Like his team-mate from the Repsol Honda Team, Espargaro spent a large part of the break training with several days on the Honda CBR 1000RR-R Fireblade SP in preparation for the final half of the year.
The long-awaited return of MotoGP to the racetrack will take place on Friday, August 6th at 09:55 a.m. local time, when Free Practice 1 for the Michelin Grand Prix of Styria begins.