Joe Roberts Fastest on Friday in Moto2, Portimao
Not that we want to put the mouth on him, but California boy Joe Roberts had a great Friday in Portugal, leading free practices 1 and 2 by 0.041 and then 0.317 seconds. Read all about it here. And pay no attention to our lead image, as that’s Sam Lowes leading Wayne’s kid, Remy Gardner.
In other developments, Marc Marquez was sixth-fastest on his first day back on a MotoGP bike.
But there are zero Americans in MotoGP, so we’ll feign disinterest and turn our attention to Triumph’s Moto2 Portimao pre-race briefing, in which we learn that even though California-kid Joe Roberts finished the first Doha round this year in 6th place, and the second round in 10th – his pole position lap record from last year still stands. That’s in spite of the fact that the Doha Grand Prix (round 2) was 7.5 seconds faster than the 2020 race, and that the fastest race lap was 0.3 seconds faster than last year. That’s gotta count for something!
Meanwhile, our other fellow American, multi-time MotoAmerica Superbike champ Cameron Beaubier, finished 11th in round one and crashed out of race two. In Portimao, he’s 22nd in FP2. It’s always good to leave room for improvement. He’s on Roberts’ last year’s American Racing Kalex.
Here’s a pic of Joe and his dad from an interview we did last year, from more than a couple years ago.
Triumph also informs us, via its Doha recap, that:
- Sam Lowes’ back-to-back dominant wins at Losail move him to five overall in the Triumph era, making him equal to most successful in the all-time Triumph Moto2 winners list, level with Alex Marquez, Brad Binder and Luca Marini
- Rookie Raul Fernandez took his first Moto2 podium in just his second race since graduating to the series, adapting incredibly well to the extra power and torque of the Triumph 765cc engine
Upcoming race:
- Portimao (Algarve International Circuit) appeared on the Moto2 calendar in November 2020 and it was a Remy Gardner clean sweep as the Australian took pole, set the fastest lap, won the race and set new Outright and Race lap records
- Championship leader Sam Lowes also finished third so has good form at the circuit, but Raul Fernandez could be one to watch as he won the 2020 Moto3 race by a commanding 5.8sec margin
- Triumph left out that Robert qualified 18th last year, and finished 7th.
Triumph Triple Trophy #PoweredbyTriumph
- With two pole positions and fastest lap in Doha, Sam Lowes leads the Triumph Triple Trophy standings as well as the World Championship – the first time this has happened
About the Triumph Triple Trophy #PoweredbyTriumph
- The Triumph Triple Trophy #PoweredbyTriumph runs alongside the Moto2 World Championship in 2020, recognising that there are more stories of success from a GP than simply the race win, and will award one rider with a Street Triple RS at the end of the season • Points will be awarded to the rider (or multiple riders in the case of a tie):
- Fastest top speed: 7 points for the fastest rider / riders in case of a tie
- Pole position: 6 points for the rider starting from pole
- Fastest race lap: 5 points for the fastest rider / riders in case of a tie
The Triumph Moto2 765cc race engine is a development of the class-leading Street Triple RS 765cc road motorcycle and produces more than 140PS and the same visceral soundtrack.
2021 Qatar race information: 2021 Moto2 Grand Prix winners:
Winner: Sam Lowes
Pole position: Sam Lowes
Fastest lap: 1m 58.954s (S. Lowes) Top speed: 295.8km/h (M. Ramirez) Race lap record: 1m 58.711s (T. Luthi, 2019) Circuit best: 1m 58.136 (J. Roberts, 2020)
2021 Moto2 World Championship top ten:
| Pos | Race # | Rider | Chassis | Engine | Nation | Points |
| 1 | 22 | S. Lowes | Kalex | Triumph 765cc | GBR | 50 |
| 2 | 87 | R. Gardner | Kalex | Triumph 765cc | AUS | 40 |
| 3 | 25 | R. Fernandez | Kalex | Triumph 765cc | SPA | 27 |
| 4 | 72 | M. Bezzecchi | Kalex | Triumph 765cc | ITA | 26 |
| 5 | 21 | F. Di Giannantonio | Kalex | Triumph 765cc | ITA | 22 |
| 6 | 13 | C. Vietti | Kalex | Triumph 765cc | ITA | 13 |
| 7 | 37 | A. Fernandez | Kalex | Triumph 765cc | SPA | 12 |
| 8 | 79 | A. Ogura | Kalex | Triumph 765cc | JPN | 11 |
| 9 | 64 | B. Bendsneyder | Kalex | Triumph 765cc | NED | 11 |
| 10 | 16 | J. Roberts | Kalex | Triumph 765cc | USA | 10 |
2021 standings – Triumph Triple Trophy #PoweredbyTriumph:
| Pos | Race # | Rider | Nation | Points | Team |
| 1 | 22 | S. Lowes | GBR | 17 | Elf Marc VDS Racing Team |
| 2 | 42 | M. Ramirez | SPA | 7 | American Racing |
| 3 | 19 | L. Dalla Porta | ITA | 7 | Italtrans Racing Team |
| 4 | 6 | C. Beaubier | USA | 7 | American Racing |
| 5 | 87 | R. Gardner | AUS | 5 | Red Bull KTM Ajo |
2021 Moto2 calendar:
| Date | Race | Date | Race | ||
| 1 | 28 Mar | GP of Qatar, Losail | 11 | 15 Aug | GP of Austria, Red Bull Ring |
| 2 | 4 Apr | GP of Doha, Losail | 12 | 29 Aug | GP of Britain, Silverstone |
| 3 | 18 Apr | GP of Portugal, Algarve | 13 | 12 Sept | GP of Aragon, Aragon |
| 4 | 2 May | GP of Spain, Jerez | 14 | 19 Sept | GP of San Marino, Misano |
| 5 | 16 May | GP of France, Le Mans | 15 | 3 Oct | GP of Japan, Motegi |
| 6 | 30 May | GP of Italy, Mugello | 16 | 10 Oct | GP of Thailand, Chang |
| 7 | 6 Jun | GP of Catalunya, Barcelona | 17 | 24 Oct | GP of Australia, Phillip Island |
| 8 | 20 Jun | GP of Germany, Sachsenring | 18 | 31 Oct | GP of Malaysia, Sepang |
| 9 | 27 Jun | TT Assen, Assen | 19 | 14 Nov | GP of Valencia, Valencia |
| 10 | 11 Jul | GP of Finland, Kymirng |
Go Joe.
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