Garcia shines with speed and points at the 2021 San Marino Grand Prix

Throwing himself back in the championship title hunt with a vengeance, Sergio Garcia nailed a gutsy performance at Misano to score 13 points with a 4th place finish, while GAVIOTA GASGAS Aspar team-mate Izan Guevara raced to 12th.

 

  • Sergio Garcia closes down the championship title gap, scoring 13 points, rocketing from 12th to 4th during a fast and furious San Marino Moto3 Grand Prix 
  • Izan Guevara builds his confidence with a well-earned 12th place finish, netting four points in the process
  • Delighting a 25,000 crowd the GAVIOTA GASGAS Aspar Team continue to defend their rankings of 2nd in the Teams’ and 3rd in the Constructors’ World Championship classifications

 

Redemption was the only thing Sergio Garcia was interested in when he arrived at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for the 2021 San Marino Grand Prix. After missing out on a podium finish at the Aragón Grand Prix in dramatic fashion due to a crash on the last lap, Garcia was determined to make amends while racing in the heartland of Italian motorcycling.

Arriving at the fast and twisty 4.22km circuit feeling strong, Garcia calmly built his on-track pace through the Friday and Saturday sessions, ultimately posting 5th fastest in free practice. While the frequently changing grip levels on the sizzling 38°C blacktop resulted in a 12th place qualifying result; Garcia saw this as an opportunity and not a problem heading into Sunday’s 23 lap race.

Starting from the inside line on row four, Garcia attacked hard making up five positions on the first lap. A white hot pace, which saw the leading eight riders - including Garcia - battling hard, and posting consistent times equivalent to the best race lap in last year’s race at Misano (1'41.3s).

Taking things down to the wire, Garcia traded positions and paint while banging bars with rivals Niccolò Antonelli and Jaume Masia. With just three laps to go the three jostling racers were a mere 0.413 seconds from second position. Garcia continued to push himself and his GASGAS RC250 GP machine to the limit, eventually crossing the line in 4th.

While it wasn't the podium finish the 18-year-old Spaniard had hoped for, the hugely gutsy performance netted him 13 points towards his hunt for the ultimate prize in the 2021 Moto3 World Championship.

For fellow GAVIOTA GASGAS Aspar team rider Izan Guevara, a tricky weekend denied the former Junior Moto3 Champion the chance to repeat his career best Aragón performance. Setting top 10 pace during the free practice sessions, Guevara ultimately had to settle for a 17th place grid slot after being caught out by the changing grip levels - in a similar fashion to his teammate.

After being 3rd fastest during warm up, Guevara set himself up for a strong race performance. Making three positions in the first lap, the 17-year-old ran consistently in the third group of riders, eventually pushing up to 12th by lap 16. Unfortunately the breakaway group ahead proved just slightly too far down the road, with a four second gap between Guevara and 11th placed rival Riccardo Rossi. Nevertheless the 12th place finish brings four points to Guevara’s championship campaign - where he is currently 10th.

Next up the GAVIOTA GASGAS Aspar Team and the Moto3 grid travels stateside for the super technical and exciting Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas at COTA in Texas on the 3rd October.

#11 - Sergio Garcia: “It was a race with a really fast pace and meant that you really had to limit every small mistake otherwise the gap gets too big. I’m happy though, and to be able to push that long, and at that speed was difficult, especially after the DNF at Aragon. There were a few close moments with other riders but that’s Moto3! We were close to the podium so we’ll keep working from here. We were missing a bit out there today but we’ll work to understand why and be better next time.”

#28 - Izan Guevara: “It was a tricky race, especially starting from 17th. I could make up some positions in the beginning but was still quite far from the front. I found myself in the third group and saw that it was impossible to get any higher. Anyway, we took some championship points and will hope for more in Austin. COTA is a long and technical track but I hope we’ll be fast there.”

 

Results - 2021 Moto3 World Championship, Round 14:
Dennis Foggia (Honda) 23 Laps; 2. Niccolò Antonelli (KTM) +0.565, Andrea Migno (Honda) +0.817, 4. Sergio Garcia (GASGAS), +2.140, 12. Izan Guevara (GASGAS), +14.626

Championship Standings - After Round 14:
Pedro Acosta (KTM) 210pts; 2. Dennis Foggia (Honda) 168pts; 3. Sergio Garcia (GASGAS) 168pts; 10. Izan Guevara (GASGAS) 76pts