9 feb. 2022

Spirited fightback by Fenati at Aragon Moto3™ Grand Prix as Fernandez reaches 12th

Decent speed for the FR 250 GP mounted pair as Husqvarna Motorcycles tackle MotorLand Aragon for round thirteen of MotoGP.

After their successful efforts around one of the longest and fastest circuits on the MotoGP calendar two weeks ago at Silverstone, the Sterilgarda Max Racing Team travelled to another tricky and technical test for round thirteen of eighteen in 2021 MotoGP. The undulations of the MotorLand Aragon layout was a challenge to conquer for Husqvarna Motorcycles on what was the third visit to the Spanish mainland this season.

MotorLand involved seventeen corners (ten to the left, seven to the right) and a 5.1km distance with a near two-minute lap-time. The Gran Premio Tissot de Aragon represented a return to the venue that hosted a double header in 2020 and saw Romano Fenati capture a strong 4th position in one of the outings.

Sunshine and warm temperatures graced the Grand Prix. Fenati and Adrian Fernandez concentrated on set-up and refamiliarization of the course during practice and qualification with the Spanish asphalt offering slightly less grip compared to the previous autumn. By the end of the sessions on Saturday Fenati took 17th on the grid and Fernandez was slightly further back in 22nd.

The race began strongly with Moto3 forming into a large gaggle at the front. Fenati moved up from the lower reaches of the top twenty to nestle into the top ten and less than two seconds from the race leader. With eleven laps to go Fenati had to pick up and run off the track avoiding the falling Gabriel Rodrigo on Turn 16 and the delay cast him to the back of the field. The Italian tried to regain time and pushed all the way to 14th to salvage two points from the circumstances. Moto3 rookie Fernandez kept busy and was eying the top ten. He eventually crossed the finish line in 12th for his best ranking since the Grand Prix of Styria and his third allotment of points in 2021.

Fenati has dropped to 4th in the Moto3 World Championship standings and stares at a 21-point margin to Sergio Garcia in 2nd spot. Fernandez has 16 points. MotoGP rapidly decamps from Spain to Italy this week for the first of two separate appointments at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli; a place where Fenati was able to triumph in 2020.

Romano Fenati: “Not the best race for us but the end was really good. I ran off the track on the last corner: I had to do that when Rodrigo crashed so I wouldn’t hit him. I restarted last and found my way back to 14^th. We didn’t have the best grip on the front today but the bike was really impressive. We’re looking forward to the next race at Misano.”

Results – 2021 Moto3 World Championship, Round 13

1. Dennis Foggia (Honda) 37:53.710, 2. Deniz Öncü (KTM) +0.041, 3. Ayumu Sasaki (KTM) +0.644,

12. Adrian Fernandez (Husqvarna) +9.499, 14. Romano Fenati (Husqvarna) +14.797

World Championship standings

1. Pedro Acosta (KTM) 201pts; 2. Sergio Garcia (GASGAS) 155pts; 3. Dennis Foggia (Honda) 143pts; 4. Romano Fenati (Husqvarna) 134 pts; 24. Adrian Fernandez (Husqvarna) 16 pts.