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Remy Gardner became a Grand Prix winner when Enea Bastianini won the Moto2 championship and finished fifth in Portugal.
Gardner dropped to fourth where he was still sitting when lap 12 of 23 started at Portimao but made the crucial pass to get back to first place on the penultimate lap.
The Australian had qualified on pole for his last race with the Stop and Go Racing Team, but it was Luca Marini from Sky Racing Team VR46 who led # 87 into the first corner, Bastianini third.
Marini’s initial lead only lasted until Turn 3 on the first lap when the # 10 Kalex went neutral and dropped to third place.
This put the # 87 Onexox TKKR Kalex back on top and Gardner was a second advantage over Bastianini at the beginning of the second round, before Marini recaptured second place in round 4 in round 4.
Sam Lowes, who sustained a right wrist injury in Valencia a week earlier, pushed Bastianini back to fourth place just four corners later.
Augusto Fernandez, the team mate of the British title contender EG 0,0 Marc VDS, did him a favor when he passed Bastianini on lap 6 in lap 14.
Fernandez and the championship leaders then got into a battle when both Marini and Lowes got past Gardner at the start of the eighth round.
In the position changes, the gap between Bastianini and Marini decreased to four points live, and it was only two points when the # 33 Italtrans Kalex was relegated to seventh place on lap 10.
In the meantime, Gardner had also been mixed back and had taken third place on lap 9 due to a brave Fernandez move after an unsuccessful attempt a few corners earlier.
On lap 12 the tide began to turn for the Australian when he was back in front of Fernandez and approached Lowes because the Briton ran far.
Gardner won at the beginning of the 13th. Round 22nd, at this point the deficit for Marini was 1. 3s, but that was essentially gone within two more rounds.
Lowes stayed with them until he nearly fell on Turn 13 on lap 18 while Bastianini was back in a stoush with Fernandez above fifth.
Gardner had pestered Marini for some time as he went inside on lap 22 on lap 22 and then tossed his green and white Kalex at turn 5 to make sure he was ahead of the Italian.
After surviving that moment, the son of the 1987 500cc world champion, Wayne, jumped seven tenths of a second at the start of the final lap and eventually won with 1. 6s.
Marini was runner-up that day and in the championship, and a brave Lowes rounded out the podium.
That meant the Brit finished third in the championship and Marco Bezzecchi continued the pattern with fourth in the race and overall standings on the other VR46 Kalex.
Gardner finished sixth for the entire season, but fifth in the final was enough to crown Bastianini champion by nine points.
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Moto2, Enea Bastianini, Grand Prix motorcycle races, Remy Gardner, Luca Marini, Portimão, Sam Lowes, Formula 1, Kalex
World news – AU – Gardner receives first GP victory , Bastianini wins the Moto2 title – Speedcafe
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