A never give up attitude during two tough races saw Adrian_26 fight until the end to try and retain his crown.
The 2021 MotoGP eSport Championship came to a glorious close as the 11 finalists battled it out for the title in Valencia across two races. Adriaan_26 entered the weekend as the defending champion aboard the virtual Repsol Honda Team machine.
Taking third place on the grid for race one in Austin, just 0.082s off pole position, Adrián was caught up in a Turn One accident involving title rival AndrewZH and others. Remounting in tenth, the Repsol Honda Team rider put his head down and set about catching the leaders. A steady run of laps and incidents ahead saw the defending champion make up ground and by mid-race distance he moved into fourth with the best pace on track. A superb ride would see Adrian finish on the podium with it all on the line in the final race.
With double points on the line for the final race of the championship and the year, Adrián lined up in sixth place with one goal: victory. Gaining a place off the line, Adriaan_26 moved up to fifth in the opening corners with the leaders just ahead. As the middle of the race approached, the Repsol Honda Team rider began to launch more and more attacks on Riccardo ahead to try and find a way past. The two traded blows constantly throughout the final laps but a late fall ended Adrian’s title challenge.
Scoring 164 points across the eight races in 2021, Adrian walks away with 4th place overall in the championship.
Adrián Montenegro:
“We tried our best and they were hard races for us here in Valencia. In the first race we got really unlucky to be hit at the first corner and even though we made an incredible recovery for the podium, it wasn’t the win we had hoped for. In Valencia our Qualifying hurt us, it’s very hard to overtake there and Riccardo was riding very defensively and it was almost impossible to get past. Finally I fell trying my maximum. It’s unfortunate, congratulations to Trast on his championship – he has been a great rival all year.”
