Jorge Martin from Pramac Ducati took his first MotoGP victory at the action-packed Styrian GP. The rookie spent most of this season in rehab after injuring himself in a major fall earlier this year, which makes his win all the more incredible.
- Red flag race due to an incident involving Pedrosa and Savadori
- Rookie sensation Martin amazes the competition
- Joan Mir has a strong second place
Chaotic start
Martin stunned the crowd by taking pole at the high-speed Red Bull Ring. He went on a brilliant outing on Sunday when the lights went out. A few corners later, however, he was caught up and overtaken by Fransesco Bagnaia on the factory Ducati. The rookie kept his nerve as the race progressed under increasing pressure from Joan Mir on the Suzuki and Fabio Quartararo on the Factory Yamaha.
The race took a dramatic turn with 26 laps to go when Dani Pedrosa, the Red Bull KTM wildcard participant, crashed in the middle of the track and Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori rammed into the KTM. There was a carnage with spilled gasoline, oil and the motorcycles on fire, resulting in the race being abandoned with a red flag.
Dream restart
Just before the red flags were out, Martin had managed to drive into P1 and that meant he would restart the race from the front. He made a brilliant start with Jack Miller and Joan Mir of the Ducati Lenovo team in the pursuit. I soon moved up to second position while Jack Miller tried to keep in touch. Unfortunately, the Aussie crashed trying to keep up with the Suzuki’s excellent cornering speed. The Suzuki factory motorcycle has actually benefited from the introduction of a new lowering device, as on the Ducati and Yamahas. It allows for better traction out of corners, which allowed me to stay in touch with Martin’s Ducati for most of the race.
But as much as he tried, Mir couldn’t overtake Martin’s Pramac Ducati, who crossed the finish line 1.5 seconds before the Suzuki. I stayed cool and settled for second place to keep an eye on the overall picture of the 2021 championship. After all, it was constant podiums that helped me win the 2020 MotoGP World Championship. Speaking of the championship: Fabio Quartararo is still in the lead with 172 points after finishing third in the race.
Particularly noteworthy is Brand Binder on the Red Bull KTM works machine, which improved from 16th to 4th place by the end of the race. There was something to save KTM at their home Grand Prix after the disastrous race of Miguel Oilivera. Dani Pedrosa took 10th place, which gave the KTM camp additional pleasure.
The next race will take place on August 15th at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.
Results of the GP of Styria 2021
| Item | driver | team |
| 1 | Jorge Martin | Pramac races |
| 2 | Joan Mir | Suzuki |
| 3 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha |
| 4th | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM |
| 5 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda |
| 6th | Johann Zarco | Pramac races |
| 7th | Alex kidneys | Suzuki |
| 8th | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda |
| 9 | Alex Marquex | LCR Honda |
| 10 | Dani Pedrosa | Red Bull KTM |
| 11 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati |
| 12th | Enea Bastianini | Avintia Esponsorama |
| 13th | Valentino Rossi | Petronas Yamaha SRT |
| 14th | Luca Marini | Sky VR46 Avintia |
| fifteen | Iker Lecuona | Tech 3 KTM |
| 16 | Pol Espargaro | Repsol Honda |
| 17th | Cal Crutchlow | Petronas Yamaha SRT |
| 18th | Danilo Petrucci | Tech 3 KTM |
| 19th | Maverick Vinales | Yamaha |
See also:
John Abraham on his love for MotoGP, as a Rossi fan and more