par La victoire sur ce tracé de Misano revient quant à elle à un certain Marc Márquez.
Un jour historique pour la France
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) jouait ce dimanche sa première balle de match, mais la partie s’annonçait extrêmement compliquée en s’élançant de la 15e place, surtout que son adversaire pour le titre figurait en pole. Et on se dirigeait d’ailleurs vers un récital de Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). Oui mais voilà, à quatre tours du but, l’Italien perdait le contrôle de sa Ducati, sous les yeux de Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda Team), qu’il tentait justement de semer.
Il ne restait plus dès lors qu’à Fabio Quartararo de franchir la ligne d’arrivée. Qu’importe si le Niçois se faisait déposséder du podium par Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) à quelques hectomètres du but : avec 65 longueurs d’avance, il ne pourra plus être rejoint. La couronne mondiale lui revient donc, la toute première de la France à ce niveau depuis la création du Championnat… en 1949 !
Les choses avaient pourtant bien débuté pour Francesco Bagnaia, puisque ce dernier conservait l’avantage au premier virage devant un Miguel Oliveira, qui était rapidement contraint de s’incliner face au trio Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) – Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda Team) – Pol Espargaró (Repsol Honda Team).
En réalité, seuls deux d’entre eux allaient parvenir à suivre le rythme imposé par le Turinois : Jack Miller et Marc Márquez. C’était néanmoins sans compter sur une petite erreur de l’Australien, qui l’envoyait directement dans le bac à gravier et ils n’étaient alors plus que deux à pouvoir prétendre à la victoire.
L’erreur qui coûte le titre à Bagnaia
Pendant ce temps-là derrière, Fabio Quartararo se lançait dans une folle remontée. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing), Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing), Luca Marini (Sky VR46 Avintia), Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) ou encore Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) : aucun ne lui résistera.
Flying the French flag with pride! 🇫🇷
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 24, 2021
Their first ever #MotoGP World Champion! 🥇#ELD1ABLO 👿 | #EmiliaRomagnaGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/L7qjnVUMAA
Miguel Oliveira, toujours installé en quatrième position, semblait en revanche hors de portée. Loin d’imaginer la tournure que prendrait cette course, notre Français était donc parti pour se satisfaire de ces 11 points… Lorsque soudain coup de théâtre, Miguel Oliveira se faisait piéger : un événement presque passé inaperçu, compte tenu de cette chute commise aux avant-postes par Francesco Bagnaia à seulement quelques secondes d’écart.
Fabio Quartararo se retrouvait de fait propulsé au troisième rang, qui lui échappera finalement dans l’ultime boucle.
Repsol Honda s’offre un doublé
Marc Márquez triomphait donc devant Pol Espargaró : sa première victoire sur un circuit tournant dans le sens des aiguilles d’une montre depuis celle empochée à Motegi en 2019, autrement dit depuis 735 jours ! Le dernier doublé du team Repsol Honda remontait par ailleurs au GP d’Aragón 2017 ! Bis repetita pour Enea Bastianini, qualifié 16e, qui terminait de nouveau troisième sur cette piste.
Quartararo succède à Lorenzo
Fabio Quartararo, classé quant à lui cinquième, devenait le sixième plus jeune Champion du Monde en catégorie reine à 22 ans et 187 jours, le plus jeune de chez Yamaha parmi l’élite. La marque aux diapasons n’avait au passage plus décroché le moindre titre depuis Jorge Lorenzo en 2015 !
#ELD1ABLO 😈 @FabioQ20 IS YOUR 2021 #MotoGP WORLD CHAMPION! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/NcH0kHpEiE
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 24, 2021
Notre second tricolore Johann Zarco, lui aussi revenu en flèche, finissait de son côté cinquième. Alex Rins, Aleix Espargaró et Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) complétaient le Top 10, accompagné de Luca Marini et de Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT), qui disputait sa toute dernière épreuve sur ses terres.
La prochaine course aura lieu dans deux semaines en Algarve.
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English Information
Quartararo crowned Champion, Marc Marquez wins
Race leader Bagnaia crashed out in the closing stages to hand Quartararo the 2021 title; Repsol Honda 1-2, Rossi 10th in final home GP
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) is the 2021 MotoGP™ World Champion. After Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) crashed out of the race lead in the closing stages of the Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna, the title was decided as Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) emerges victorious, with Pol Espargaro securing his maiden podium with Honda. Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) passed Quartararo on the last lap to bag his second podium of the season, but the day – and year – belongs to the Frenchman.
Bagnaia crashes, Marc Marquez wins, Quartararo crowned Champion
From pole position, Bagnaia got a decent getaway but it was teammate Jack Miller who got the best launch from the front row. Pecco grabbed the holeshot though as Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) carved his way into P2 from the second row. Miller grabbed P2 from Oliveira at Turn 4 though, with Marc Marquez then getting the better of Oliveira down into Turn 8. Quartararo didn’t make a rapid start, but more importantly, he stayed trouble-free.
The top three of Pecco, Miller and Marc Marquez soon found themselves 1.3s clear of Pol Espargaro, who had also dispatched Oliveira, before drama unfolded for one of the Ducatis. Miller, at Turn 15, was down and out of the race from P2 on Lap 4, Bagnaia’s wingman was no longer able to help the Italian. Now, Pecco had Marc Marquez swarming all over his rear wheel. Meanwhile, Quartararo was up into P10, scrapping with Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing).
By Lap 9, Quartararo was up to ninth. Martin, on Lap 13, crashed at Turn 1 as Quartararo become embroiled in a five-rider battle – fifth to ninth split by less than a second. Quartararo, keeping calm, picked his way past teammate Franco Morbidelli and Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Avintia) to climb to P7 on Lap 15 of 27, with Pecco continuing to hold the relentless Marc Marquez at bay.
With 10 to go, Quartararo sliced his way past Rins for P6, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) next on El Diablo’s radar. And sure enough, with nine to go, Quartararo was ahead of the Aprilia RS-GP and now in P5. Baring a disaster from Oliveira, that was as good as it was going to get for Quartararo, with the KTM star eight seconds up the road. Or so we thought.
17 seconds ahead of Quartararo, Bagnaia was holding up his end of the bargain. All Pecco could do on home soil was win, but he had an eight-time World Champion hanging onto his coattails. Pecco was looking incredibly strong, starting to pull clear of Marc Marquez, before Lap 23 of the Emilia-Romagna GP became the title-deciding lap of 2021. Turn 15, where Miller crashed earlier in the race, saw Bagnaia crash unhurt. Straight back up on his feet, Pecco knew. Ducati knew. Yamaha knew. Quartararo knew. A new MotoGP™ World Champion was about to be crowned.
Pecco’s crash, closely followed by an Oliveira crash, left Marc Marquez P1, Pol Espargaro P2 and Quartararo, the new World Champion a sensational P3 from P15 on the grid. Enea Bastianini wasn’t going to allow Quartararo to have an easy cruise home to the podium though, the Italian was hungry for a second P3 of the season.
The chequered flag came out and Marc Marquez won his second race in a row, his third of the season, with Pol Espargaro coming home second to hand Repsol Honda a fantastic 1-2. Bastianini, with a move at Turn 14, got the better of Quartararo on the last lap to cement another wonderful rostrum to take the lead in the Rookie of the Year fight, but just behind, introducing the 2021 MotoGP™ World Champion: Fabio Quartararo! Jubilation ensued for the Frenchman and Yamaha – what a phenomenal season for all involved.
A historic day as Rossi earns top 10 in final Italian race
Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) crossed the line in fifth to beat sixth place Rins by 1.2s, with Aleix Espargaro taking P7. P8 went the way of Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who claims his best result in Aprilia colours, Marini secured a second top 10 of the season in P9 sporting a special Grazie Vale colour scheme, and speaking of, Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) crossed the line in 10th in his final MotoGP™ race on Italian soil. A fitting send-off to the nine-time World Champion in front of his adoring fans. Two races remain in Portugal and Valencia to enjoy The Doctor doing what he loves best – racing motorcycles.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had an eventful day. The South African crashed on the sighting lap, started from pitlane and ended up finishing P11. Michele Pirro (Ducati Lenovo Team), Andrea Dovizioso (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Morbidelli and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) – despite a crash – were the final points scorers at Misano.
There we have it. The 2021 MotoGP™ World Champion is crowned, congratulations to Fabio Quartararo and Yamaha on an incredible season, as we now look forward to the final two races of the season.
