Raul Fernandez eased ah🐼ead for his first Moto2 win after🐠 taking the lead and then pulling away as the remaining frontrunners tangled with each other in the closing stages of the Moto2 Portimao Grand Prix.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider echoed the perf🐓ormance of his Moto3 team-mate Pedro Acosta earlier in the day. A constant in the lead group, the fight for victory initially looked to be between early season favourite Marco Bezzecchi and Aron Canet.

Joe Roberts and Remy Gardner also featured in the battle at the front. Fernandez realisation that he was being dropped off saw him put in a string of personal best laps, which lead to the Spaniard being able to take advantage wheꦫn Roberts ran wide at turn one moving into second.

At the start oဣf the next lap Fernandez hit the fro🌄nt and never looked back, pulling out a 1.600s gap at the line on his Kalex.

The number 25 claimed his maiden Moto2 win a𝓡t a track where he had shown good form in the past - Ferna♋ndez won the Moto3 race after qualifying on pole in Portimao at the end of last season.

With the front group brought back together after contact, running wide and fighting amongst themselves it was Aron Canet who kep🤡t his head andꦍ position to take second.

The Solunion Aspar rider pushed himself ( he had a track limit warning late i𓆉n the race) and his Boscoscuro, ex-Speed Up to the limit to break up the Kalex dominance.

The r🐲esult is Canet’s first podium appearance in Moto2.

Remy Gardner fought back to take the final rostruඣm spot, his late aggressive move up the inside of Roberts was enough to prevent a fightback and secure third.

Sam Lowes, who started on ܫpole, was swamped at the first corner. The number 22 found himself on the dirty par𝔍t of the track on a new tyre and was thrown from his bike, which clipped him, then landed on the Elf Marc VDS rider in the gravel. The early exit means Gardner now takes the lead in the championship standings.

Third place sees the Red Bull KTM Ajꦑo rider lead the way for the first time in his career with a total of 56 points, while Fernandez climbs to 52 and Lowes stays on 50 with his two wins before this DNF.

A disappointed Roberts had to settl🐷e for fourth for Italtrans𝕴.

The American was clear of fifth placed Augusto Fernand🥃ez (Elf Marc VDS), his 🎃best result of the season so far.

Bezzecchi had a great start as the lights changed and lead the early stages of the race. The Sky Racing Team VR46 rider was given plenty of warnings f♓rom his bike and was continually out of his seat, leaving him to drop down the order and finish his race in sixth to ensure he finished at all.

Xavi Vierge w🦋as the last of the frontrunners to see the c🅷hequered flag in seventh for Petronas Sprinta Racing.

It was five seconds until the chasing group arrived at the chequered flag, with Hector Garzo leading them over🧜 the line in eighth for Flexbox HP 40.

Cameron Beaubier, a rookie with no experience at Portimao, got to run with the lead group early on before drifting back t༒o ninth for American Racing.

Marcel Schrotter (Liqui M꧃oly Intact GP) fought back to complete the top ten.

𒐪Fabio Di Giannantonio had a weekend plagued by bike issues, harming both his qualifying and warm-up. The Gresini rider gave everything he had in the race to climb to eleventh. Fellow Italian L🙈orenzo Dalla Porta was in pursuit all the way to the line, an eventual twelfth on the second Italtrans entry, his best ride this season.

Albert Arenas also put in a seasons best𓆏 in 13th for Aspar. Lorenzo Baldassarri brought the MV Agusta home in 14th. ♔;

Marcos Ramirez collected the final point on offer on his re🐓tu🔴rn from injury on the second American Racing entry.

Miquel Pons was the best of the stand-in rider🅷s in 1🌃9th. He replaces Tommaso Marcon, who was replacing the injured Simone Corsi before a positive Covid test.

Fraser Rogers is in for Ba𝐆rry Baltus  on t🍨he NTS and was 20th - he was the only British rider to finish with Jake Dixon also crashing out of contention.

There were two big incidents in quick succession at the start of the fifth lap - Turn one saw Yari Montella flung into the air, his bike collected an unsuspecting Stefano Manzi, with both machines catching fire in the gravel. The duo were repoꦉrted to be okay following the accident. Moments later Ai Ogura collected his Idemitsu team-mate Somkiat Ch🌃antra at turn five.

Bo Bendsneyder also fa🐬iled to see the finish, along with Celestino Vietti, who was clipped by Nicolo Bulega at the half way mark, with the pair arguing over who was tꦆhe guilty party in the gravel.