2021 MotoGP™ recap: Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix

The second race of the season at Misano was a historic weekend – Champion crowned, Italian farewell to a Legend

The Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli hosted two rounds in 2021, the second of those – the Emilia-Romagna GP – will be forever remembered for two reasons: the crowning of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) as France’s first premier class World Champion, and a heartfelt home Grand Prix farewell to Italian icon Valentino Rossi.

 

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was out to put Quartararo’s party on hold, and it looked like it was going to happen too. Pecco led the whole race and was just starting to pull away from second place Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), before the Italian crashed at Turn 15. That automatically handed Quartararo the title, as the Frenchman fought back from 15th on the grid to claim P4.

However, where El Diablo finished didn’t matter in the end. All that mattered was that he was the new MotoGP™ World Champion – and the celebrations commenced. Marc Marquez went on to win his third race of the season, this one the biggest yet, as Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) grabbed his best premier class result in P2. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP) picked up another Misano podium to continue his Rookie of the Year charge, as Rossi claimed a top 10 to say goodbye to his adoring home crowd.

Fabio Quartararo, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell'Emilia-Romagna
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