Remy Gardner initiated the 2018 season with a great race after producing a mature ride to 12th at the Losail International Circuit today. The talented Australian launched forward from the fourth row on the grid and made up three places by the end of the first lap. Following a late brake on lap two he fell back, but was biting hard inside a very competitive group to eventually finish the 20 lap sprint well inside the points scoring ranges. Meanwhile, Bo Bendsneyder, who made his debut in the intermediate class, found himself in 25th position shortly after the red lights went out. The newcomer grit his teeth to make up one place after another and finally saw the chequered flag in 18th, plus missed out on what would have been well deserved first Moto2 points by just a whisker.
Bo Bendsneyder Position: 18th – Championship: 18th – Points: –
“The race itself was really difficult in the first stages, I was a bit too nervous and didn’t get a good feeling during the first laps, but after four, five laps I gained some time and step by step I was feeling better. I was catching the positions for the points, but I lost too much in the beginning. Finally, we learned where we need to improve during this race and that’s the start of the race. If we manage to make progress there, I think we can fight for some good positions.”
Herve PONCHARAL Team Manager
“It was a tough race, like all the Moto2 races, but I have to say that we were very excited to see Remy in the top group during the early part. Then he made a mistake, he missed his braking point in turn one, but he was back on track, has been fighting, kept up the pace and stayed with a really strong group. In the end, he managed to finish ahead of this strong group, he was in. Compared to last year, Remy has improved a lot, much more consistent and what makes me really happy is that he never gave up and has been fighting until the last lap. Good job, Remy, continue like this! I know, confidence is very important and I hope that this is something, that gave you this confidence. On the other side of the garage, we were expecting a lot from Bo and we were not disappointed. He was a bit tense, it was his first race in Moto2, so he didn’t know what to expect. The start was far from ideal, the first 8 to 10 laps were very slow and I think that he was just trying to understand. But from that moment, he was pushing like the top group. Every single lap, he was faster and faster and I think, when you see how he ended up the race, you can’t help thinking, that once he will have the rhythm from the beginning, for sure, Bo is a top 10 rider. We are not over the moon, but we’re happy. We finished the first race with a solid performance, both riders saw the chequered flag. Now, Bo needs more experience and clearly, he will feel more confident already in Argentina. Thanks to the Tech3 Moto2 Racing team, they did an amazing job. We are happy and sure, better things are coming.”
Race result:
| 1 | Francesco BAGNAIA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 40’19.802 |
| 2 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | Pons HP40 | +0.112 |
| 3 | Alex MARQUEZ | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 5.625 |
| 4 | Mattia PASINI | Italtrans Racing Team | 6.657 |
| 5 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 10,296 |
| 6 | Brad BINDER | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 10.344 |
| 7 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Dynavolt Intact GP | 11.419 |
| 8 | Xavi VIERGE | Dynavolt Intact GP | 11.516 |
| 9 | Luca MARINI | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 20.690 |
| 10 | Jorge NAVARRO | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 20.961 |
| 11 | Joan MIR | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 23.025 |
| 12 | Remy GARDNER | Tech 3 Racing | 30.292 |
| 13 | Hector BARBERA | Pons HP40 | 30.299 |
| 14 | Simone CORSI | Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 | 30.732 |
| 15 | Dominique AEGERTER | Kiefer Racing | 30.870 |
| 16 | Isaac VIÑALES | SAG Team | 31.052 |
| 17 | Danny KENT | Beta Tools – Speed Up Racing | 31.958 |
| 18 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | Tech 3 Racing | 32.382 |
| 19 | Andrea LOCATELLI | Italtrans Racing Team | 35.228 |
| 20 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Beta Tools – Speed Up Racing | 35.357 |
| 21 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 35.969 |
| 22 | Steven ODENDAAL | NTS RW Racing GP | 42.545 |
| 23 | Khairul Idham PAWI | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 42.776 |
| 24 | Romano FENATI | Marinelli Snipers Team | 44.562 |
| 25 | Joe ROBERTS | NTS RW Racing GP | 56.077 |
| 26 | Stefano MANZI | Forward Racing Team | +1’01.581 |
| 27 | Jules DANILO | Nashi Argan SAG Team | +1’01.853 |
| 28 | Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN | SIC Racing Team | +1’11.618 |
| 29 | Federico FULIGNI | Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 | +1’20.148 |
| 30 | Eric GRANADO | Forward Racing Team | +1’26.192 |
| Not classified: | |||
| Sam LOWES | Swiss Innovative Investors | 10 Laps | |
| Iker LECUONA | Swiss Innovative Investors | 13 Laps |
Source: motogp.com, tech3 racing
