The Red Bull KTM Ajo team celebrates success again in 2021 as Remy Gardner clinched the Moto2™ World Championship at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana season finale in Spain. The 23-year-old Australian took an impressive 12 podiums including five victories from 18 rounds on his way to his title victory, with teammate Raul Fernandez making it a Red Bull KTM Ajo 1-2 with runner-up in the series.
With the Red Bull KTM Ajo duo heading into the final races of the season battling for the championship lead, it was a tense closure to 2021 for the team. Gardner, who also enjoyed three pole positions this year, did what he needed to at the final round in Valencia with a 10th place finish to secure a four-point advantage over his teammate to be crowned the 2021 Moto2 World Champion. 21-year-old Spanish racer Fernandez, who enjoyed 12 podiums this season including eight victories, won the season finale for second in the series, taking Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Moto2 win tally to 13 from 18 races this season and with it the Teams title in the Moto2 category.
The 1-2 finish in the Moto2 championship, in addition to Pedro Acosta’s Moto3™ World Championship title that the Red Bull KTM Ajo team celebrated just over one week ago, is testament to the success of the KTM GP Academy, which identifies and develops young talent through the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, Moto3, and Moto2 on the pathway to MotoGP™.
Gardner, who is the first Australian Moto2 champion and the first from his country to lift a title since 2011, is looking forward to the next step in his career with his move to the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing MotoGP team in 2022. Fernandez, who was a Moto2 rookie this season, having progressed from the Moto3 ranks with the Red Bull KTM Ajo team, will join Gardner in an exciting line-up for the Tech3 KTM squad next season.
Remy Gardner: “I’m lost for words. After so many years of suffering and so many points in my career where I thought ‘I’m not good enough, I’m not gonna make it’ we did it. This is a dream come true and I want to thank everyone who believed in me when others didn’t. I still cannot believe this has happened. I’m so grateful to be here.”
Raul Fernandez: “I’m really happy with my race and I did what I could to try and win the championship. It wasn’t lost here but in other races. Anyway, it has been a fantastic season thanks to an incredible team behind me. We won eight races and set a record for my first year in Moto2. I have a strange feeling now: I won today, but not the championship, but I’m still very happy.”
Aki Ajo: “In both categories this season it has been incredible. On the other hand, I have to remind myself that this is part of the work: the result of that is the improvements we can see, and we can still make. It is always a pleasure to go through that process. It’s an emotional moment. Remy did it today and Raul had a great race; like for every rider, we just tried to help them take out the maximum of their potential. It’s important to draw out the best of everything around you in racing while also keeping it simple.”
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “It’s a great moment. Winning the title in Moto3 and then watching these boys in Moto2 - and knowing they are moving up to MotoGP - I feel like our foundation for the future is set. This year has been another milestone. It’s crazy what they did this season and we’re looking forward to 2022 already.”
