Gardner aiming 'for the title', Fernandez wants to 'enjoy and learn'

The new Moto2 season begins in just two days time with FP1, as Remy Gardner and rookie Raul Fernandez will lead the Red Bull KTM Ajo team. 

It's an all new line-up for the team in 2021, after Jorge Martin moved to MotoGP with Pramac Ducati and Tetsuta Nagashima decided not to race this year. 

Gardner was a standout during the recent three-day test at the Losail International Circuit and begins the season as a prime contender for the title. 

Looking to build on his maiden Moto2 win to close out the 2020 season, the Australian said: "The targets that we have set for ourselves this first season together are to be consistent and achieve good results that allow us to reach the end of the campaign with the chance of fighting for the title.

"The season is very long and there is still a lot of work to be done, but if we work hard, we can do big things.

"For the first Grand Prix of the year in Qatar, our aim is to score as many points as possible. I think it is a nice circuit, with a fast layout and some long corners. Personally, I like it a lot."

Gardner will ride alongside new team-mate Fernandez, who was the top rookie during the test.  

Fernandez enjoyed a brilliant Moto3 season in 2020 as he finished fourth, but was the highest points scorer in the final three rounds which included two wins. 

"We will start the season without setting any goals. We want to enjoy and learn from each race, and it will be in the middle of the year that we will look at how we are doing and what we can aspire to," said the 20 year-old.

"For now, it's time to take things calmly and make steady progress. I go into this first race of the year without any pressure, since my goal is to enjoy every moment and give one hundred percent.

"Qatar is a track that I like and where last year, in Moto3, we did a good job. In 2019, in my first experience at this circuit, we also did well.

"I know that we are going to have a positive time this weekend in my first race in the Moto2 class, one which I am looking forward to with great enthusiasm."