Gardner takes hard-fought win in British Moto2 GP

Remy Gardner has taken a hard-fought win in the British Moto2 Grand Prix on a day when his nearest championship rival, Red Bull KTM Ajo team-mate Raul Fernandez, crashed out.

The Australian spent most of the 18 laps around the Silverstone Circuit in a duel for the lead with Sky Racing Team VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi, who ultimately took second, with Jorge Navarro (Lightech Speed Up) rounding out the podium.

Gardner already looked like adding 16 points to his championship lead before Raul Fernandez crashed out of seventh position inside four laps from home, meaning #87’s advantage in the title race is now 44 points.

Bezzecchi had qualified on pole and led the field into the first corner from Navarro, but Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS) was able to scythe his way to the front before they had even exited Becketts.

Gardner had been forced to check up in the opening corners and was fifth at the end of Lap 1, before passing Raul Fernandez into Copse as they commenced Lap 2.

The second-generation rider then got a run on Navarro down the Hangar Straight and made a textbook pass for third through Stowe, as Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini) did likewise on Raul Fernandez for fifth.

Bezzecchi reclaimed the race lead when he passed Lowes at Brooklands later on Lap 2, and looked like a he might creep away.

Gardner was able to keep touch by taking second position from Lowes at the Loop on Lap 4, as Raul Fernandez began to lose sight of the top five in front of him.

Gardner led for the first time when he overtook Bezzecchi at Village on Lap 5, but the Italian was back in front through Stowe on Lap 6.

Disaster almost struck both later that lap when Bezzecchi nearly lost the front through the Loop, and #87 reacted well to not only avoid contact, but make a pass in the process.

They both tried to put the hammer down but their ongoing battle, which saw #72 move back ahead with an under-brakes move at Stowe on Lap 9, meant third-placed Lowes could keep close enough.

Navarro had dropped as far back as fifth but moved back into the top four when he passed Di Giannantonio at Abbey on Lap 9, and he too would close up to those ahead of him.

Gardner could not pull off a pass on Bezzecchi at Village on Lap 11 but succeeded at that corner on Lap 12, and they finally had a clear break on Lowes just a few laps later.

The Briton came under pressure from Navarro and lost third position to the Spaniard at Village on Lap 15, at which time Bezzecchi was almost 0.9s up the road in second.

Moments later, Raul Fernandez went down through Farm, a crash which looked to have caused the rookie considerable physical pain, but the race went on.

Gardner, Bezzecchi, and Navarro all continued to push hard but there would be no further changes at the head of the field.

At the chequered flag, it was #87 victorious by 0.481s over Bezzecchi, with Navarro almost two seconds away from the win.

Lowes finished fourth, and Di Giannantonio was fifth after a late battle with Augusto Fernandez, who took sixth.

The rest of the top 10 was Aron Canet (Kipin Energy Aspar), Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta), Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), and Joe Roberts (Italtrans).

Round 13 is the Aragon Grand Prix, at MotorLand Aragon, on September 10-12.

Race results: British Moto2 Grand Prix

Pos	Num	Rider	Nat	Team	Bike	Time/Gap
1	87	Remy GARDNER	AUS	Red Bull KTM Ajo	Kalex	37:31.642
2	72	Marco BEZZECCHI	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	Kalex	+0.481
3	9	Jorge NAVARRO	ESP	Lightech Speed Up	Boscoscuro	+1.930
4	22	Sam LOWES	GBR	Elf Marc VDS Racing Team	Kalex	+2.284
5	21	Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO	ITA	Federal Oil Gresini Moto2	Kalex	+6.952
6	37	Augusto FERNANDEZ	ESP	Elf Marc VDS Racing Team	Kalex	+7.059
7	44	Aron CANET	ESP	Kipin Energy Aspar Team	Boscoscuro	+10.706
8	97	Xavi VIERGE	ESP	Petronas Sprinta Racing	Kalex	+12.842
9	79	Ai OGURA	JPN	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	Kalex	+12.877
10	16	Joe ROBERTS	USA	Italtrans Racing Team	Kalex	+14.344
11	12	Thomas LUTHI	SUI	Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team	Kalex	+20.112
12	13	Celestino VIETTI	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	Kalex	+22.371
13	23	Marcel SCHROTTER	GER	Liqui Moly Intact GP	Kalex	+22.525
14	11	Nicolò BULEGA	ITA	Federal Oil Gresini Moto2	Kalex	+23.672
15	64	Bo BENDSNEYDER	NED	Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team	Kalex	+24.116
16	54	Fermín ALDEGUER	ESP	Lightech Speed Up	Boscoscuro	+26.847
17	35	Somkiat CHANTRA	THA	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	Kalex	+26.996
18	14	Tony ARBOLINO	ITA	Liqui Moly Intact GP	Kalex	+27.206
19	75	Albert ARENAS	ESP	Kipin Energy Aspar Team	Boscoscuro	+27.414
20	42	Marcos RAMIREZ	ESP	American Racing	Kalex	+32.368
21	55	Hafizh SYAHRIN	MAS	NTS RW Racing GP	NTS	+38.614
22	24	Simone CORSI	ITA	MV Agusta Forward Racing	MV Agusta	+39.074
23	70	Barry BALTUS	BEL	NTS RW Racing GP	NTS	+39.117
DNF	25	Raul FERNANDEZ	ESP	Red Bull KTM Ajo	Kalex	4 Laps
DNF	6	Cameron BEAUBIER	USA	American Racing	Kalex	5 Laps
DNF	77	Adam NORRODIN	MAS	Petronas Sprinta Racing	Kalex	6 Laps
DNF	62	Stefano MANZI	ITA	Flexbox HP40	Kalex	9 Laps
DNF	40	Hector GARZO	ESP	Flexbox HP40	Kalex	13 Laps
DNF	7	Lorenzo BALDASSARRI	ITA	MV Agusta Forward Racing	MV Agusta	15 Laps

Race winner: 18 laps

Championship points

Pos	Rider	Nat	Pts
1	Remy GARDNER	AUS	231
2	Raul FERNANDEZ	ESP	187
3	Marco BEZZECCHI	ITA	179
4	Sam LOWES	GBR	127
5	Aron CANET	ESP	92
6	Augusto FERNANDEZ	ESP	92
7	Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO	ITA	91
8	Ai OGURA	JPN	87
9	Marcel SCHROTTER	GER	75
10	Xavi VIERGE	ESP	67
11	Jorge NAVARRO	ESP	58
12	Joe ROBERTS	USA	56
13	Celestino VIETTI	ITA	46
14	Bo BENDSNEYDER	NED	40
15	Somkiat CHANTRA	THA	35
16	Tony ARBOLINO	ITA	33
17	Cameron BEAUBIER	USA	26
18	Albert ARENAS	ESP	23
19	Jake DIXON	GBR	21
20	Stefano MANZI	ITA	20
21	Marcos RAMIREZ	ESP	16
22	Thomas LUTHI	SUI	16
23	Hector GARZO	ESP	12
24	Nicolò BULEGA	ITA	12
25	Lorenzo DALLA PORTA	ITA	10
26	Hafizh SYAHRIN	MAS	8
27	Simone CORSI	ITA	7
28	Fermín ALDEGUER	ESP	4
29	Alonso LOPEZ	ESP	4
30	Lorenzo BALDASSARRI	ITA	3
31	Barry BALTUS	BEL	2
32	Yari MONTELLA	ITA
33	Tommaso MARCON	ITA
34	Miquel PONS	ESP
35	Fraser ROGERS	GBR
36	Taiga HADA	JPN
37	Manuel GONZALEZ	ESP
38	Piotr BIESIEKIRSKI	POL
39	Adam NORRODIN	MAS
40	Keminth KUBO	THA