Gutierrez edges out Garzo in Race 1 thriller
A scintillating scrap plays out in Austria as late drama sees Casadei earn a podium.
For the first time since Barcelona, Oscar Gutierrez (Axxis-MSI) is a MotoE™ race winner as the #99 emerges victorious from a breathtaking Race 1 battle at the Red Bull Ring. Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) picked up crucial Championship points with a P2 finish while Mattia Casadei (LCR E-Team) was promoted to the podium after Kevin Zannoni (Openbank Aspar Team) was demoted one position from P3 after exceeding track limits on the final lap.
Gutierrez started from his first pole position but it was second place Garzo who pocketed the holeshot into Turn 1, as Zannoni from the front row did well to not collect the front two after his Ducati V21L was out of shape into Turn 1.
On Lap 2, contact was made between Garzo and Gutierrez on the exit of Turn 1. This coming together saw Garzo lose his left knee slider, with Gutierrez just about holding on as a fierce fight for the win unfolded. Miquel Pons (Axxis-MSI) benefited from the aforementioned contact and was up to P2 before he crashed out at the final corner – rider ok.
From P9 on the grid, Casadei climbed to P2 with four laps left before Gutierrez began his charge back to the summit. The Spaniard was back into second place with three and a half laps to go and the eventual race winner move came at Turn 1 with two to go. This time, Gutierrez made it stick.
No fightback came from Garzo who held onto P2 for a healthy 20 points, as late podium-deciding drama played out. Zannoni, on the run down to Turn 2A – on the final lap – narrowly exceeded track limits, so despite claiming P3 at the chequered flag, the Italian was demoted to P4 after the race had ended. That handed Casadei three more Championship points.
Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) was in the thick of the rostrum fight and came home in P5, just 1.5s away from the win. Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-Racing) was a lonely P6 with Andrea Mantovani (KLINT Forward Factory Team), Lukas Tulovic (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™), Massimo Roccoli (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Maria Herrera (KLINT Forward Factory Team) rounding out the top 10.
With Gutierrez winning, the gap heading into Race 2 between the top two in the Championship was down to 24 points, meaning Garzo couldn’t claim the 2024 title in Race 2.
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