After a brief hiatus, MotoGP is back in Austria at the Red Bull Ring. The track was in much better condition than it was during the rain-disrupted last round in Assen. The tarmac was extremely greasy to start with.
Marquez was in total control of the warm-up session for the Styrian GP. With Ducati’s Miller and Yamaha’s Vinales following him.
The track had been dry all weekend, but the first raindrops began to fall just before the free practice session.
The weather improved steadily throughout the warm-up session, with the conditions eventually being good enough for slicks.
During the swap practice, we saw Quartararo pulling over Maverick Vinales in the pit.
We also see Dani Pedrosa in action as a wild-card entry for KTM. With Honda, Pedrosa won 31 races.
Cal Crutchlow is also back in action as he fills the injured Franco Morbidelli at Petronas Yamaha. Within few days, Crutchlow signed as an official test rider for Yamaha.
Valentino Rossi announced his retirement from the MotoGP and will stop at the end of the 2021 season.
If it’s true, the back-to-back Austrian rounds in 2021 will be the first since the pandemic starts with no special restrictions in place for spectator numbers.
Then it will certainly be interesting to find out how far up the Red Bull Ring hill spectators will be allowed to get.
We hear rumours that they may block off all spectator access inside the circuit after Sunday service.
Warmup results, Austria Styrian 2021 GP
| Position | Rider Name | Manufacturer | Country | Time | Lap |
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | SPA | 1’31.403s | Dec-13 |
| 2 | Jack Miller | Ducati Team (GP21) | AUS | +0.048s | Nov-13 |
| 3 | Maverick Viñales | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | SPA | +0.259s | Dec-13 |
| 4 | Iker Lecuona | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | SPA | +0.292s | Oct-13 |
| 5 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Team (GP21) | ITA | +0.489s | Nov-13 |
| 6 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Ducati (GP21) | FRA | +1.111s | 12-Dec |
| 7 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Ducati (GP21)* | SPA | +1.115s | 11-Dec |
| 8 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda (RC213V) | SPA | +1.225s | 10-Dec |
| 9 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) | SPA | +1.244s | Dec-13 |
| 10 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | POR | +1.274s | 10-Dec |
| 11 | Danilo Petrucci | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | ITA | +1.441s | 12-Dec |
| 12 | Pol Espargaro | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | SPA | +1.467s | 08-Dec |
| 13 | Valentino Rossi | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | ITA | +1.579s | 11-Dec |
| 14 | Dani Pedrosa | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | SPA | +1.644s | Dec-13 |
| 15 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | RSA | +1.688s | 10-Nov |
| 16 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | FRA | +1.710s | 10-Dec |
| 17 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* | ITA | +1.928s | 12-Dec |
| 18 | Enea Bastianini | Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | ITA | +2.083s | 12-Dec |
| 19 | Joan Mir | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | SPA | +2.084s | 09-Sep |
| 20 | Alex Rins | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | SPA | +2.138s | 12-Dec |
| 21 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda (RC213V) | JPN | +2.379s | 11-Dec |
| 22 | Luca Marini | Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | ITA | +2.427s | 10-Dec |
| 23 | Cal Crutchlow | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | GBR | +2.469s | 12-Dec |
