Weekend Recap: September 18 - 19

MOTOGP

The globetrotting MotoGP World Championship held the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini at the 2.626-mile, 16-turn Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on Sunday. Francesco Bagnaia of the Ducati Lenovo Team ascended to the top step of the San Marino victory podium. Runner-up to Bagnaia was Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider Fabio Quartararo. Team Suzuki ECSTAR pilot Joan Mir placed sixth on the afternoon. In the fight for the 2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship, Quartararo leads the way with 234 points. Francesco Bagnaia is now second in the title fight with 186 points. Joan Mir holds down the third position in the MotoGP championship battle with 167 points. In Moto2 racing from San Marino, Monster Energy’s Sam Lowes of the ELF Marc VDS Racing placed a spirited fourth in Sunday’s race. Monster Energy rider Marco Bezzecchi guided his SKY Racing Team VR46 race bike to a fifth-place finish. Niccolo Antonelli of the Reale Avintia Moto2 team placed second in the Moto3 race from San Marino, while Andrea Mingo of the Rivacold Snipers Team placed third overall. The MotoGP circus will now pack everything up and look to the very next race set for the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas on October 3, 2021.

NASCAR

NASCAR action kicked off at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Known as the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile,” racing an 800-horsepower stock car around the 30-degree banks, Bristol is said to be akin to flying an F-16 jet fighter inside a gymnasium. Racing fired off on Thursday night with Hailie Deegan placing 25th in the UNOH 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The Monster Energy driver caught up in an early race wreck in her No. 1 Monster Energy Ford F-150 for DGR Crosley. Racing continued during Friday night from Bristol in the shape of the Food City 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race. A fiercely fought race, Riley Herbst in the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing powered to an excellent third place. Finishing in 11th place on the night at Bristol went to Ty Gibbs in the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. On Thursday evening, Ty Gibbs won the Busch’s Beans 200 ARCA Menards Series race in the No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Camry. In the premier NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race it was Kurt Busch in the No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro 1LX placed 19th. The NASCAR community will now move westward to race next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada.

MMA

Back in the winner’s circle! Monster Energy’s Phil Davis defeats Yoel Romero in the headline fight at Bellator 266 inside SAP Center in San Jose, California, on Saturday night. In the Main Event fight, the 36-year-old Light Heavyweight fighter from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, went the distance to earn the victory via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-26), spoiling Romero’s high-profile debut in the Bellator promotion. Bellator 266 - Davis vs. Romero was contested in front of a high-energy crowd at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

WORLD SUPERBIKE

The Hyundai N Catalunya Round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship took place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. Over the weekend, Monster Energy’s Scott Redding won the opening race on a rain-lashed Saturday afternoon on his Aruba.it Racing Ducati. 24 hours later, it was Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK team rider Jonathan Rea winning the Sunday morning Tissot Superpole Race. In Sunday’s third and final Superbike race, Redding bounced back to place a strong third while Rea slotted in at sixth at the finish. In the fight for the 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, Jonathan Rea now stands second, a single point away from championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu. The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship will compete next weekend at the storied Circuito de Jerez in the deep south of Spain.

FORMULA DRIFT

It had been 897 days since the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship last ran on the mean streets of Long Beach, but that’s exactly where Vaughn Gittin Jr. and his Monster Energy Ford Mustang RTR placed third on Saturday night. Gittin’s teammate Chelsea DeNofa was knocked out of the Long Beach, California event during Top 8 eliminations.

MXGP

The MXGP of Sardegna round of the FIM Motocross World Championship took place over the weekend. Romain Febvre of the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team placing third overall. In doing so, the Frenchman now finds himself a mere four points out of the MXGP World Championship lead. Fifth and sixth, respectively, at the MXGP of Sardegna, were Jeremy Seewer and Ben Watson of the Monster Energy Yamaha MXGP Factory Team. In the MX2 battle at the MXGP of Sardegna, Monster Energy Yamaha MX2 Team riders Maxime Renaux and Jago Geerts placed runner-up and fourth overall, respectively. Monster Energy’s Renaux now holds a commanding 71-point lead in the MX2 World Championship classification. MXGP and MX2 will race next on October 3, 2021, at the MXGP of Germany and the high-speed Teutschenthal circuit.

NHRA

Concord, North Carolina was the site of Sunday’s DeWalt NHRA Carolina Nationals. Brittany Force and the 11,000-horsepower, nitromethane-burning Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster powered through elimination rounds but was defeated in the Top Fuel finals. Although a disappointing loss, Brittany holds steady in the NHRA Top Fuel World Championship title fight.

OFF-ROAD RACING

The 2021 SCORE Baja 400 was staged in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico on Saturday afternoon. Launched and fought out on the Bahia de Todos portion of the Pacific Ocean, Monster Energy was well represented with Phil Blurton in Monster Energy/Vision Wheels Can-Am places runner-up in SCORE Baja 400 Pro UTV classification. Justin Lambert in Cognito/Monster Energy Polaris placed third. Cameron Steel finished sixth in the SCORE Baja 400 Trophy Truck classification. Jorge Sampietro placed ninth in the Trophy Truck Spec classification.

FREESTYLE MOTOCROSS

Slay does it again! A major shout to Axell Hodges for taking first place in the Red Bull Imagination event on September 17, 2021, at Fort Scott, Kansas. The 25-year-old FMX icon represented the Claw in an epic battle of the energy drink brands – and soared above the competition to claim the win for team Monster Energy!

MOUNTAIN BIKE

What a season it’s been! Monster Energy congratulates Troy Brosnan on taking second place in Race Two at the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Finals in Snowshoe, West Virginia on Saturday. In the final race of the 2021 World Cup season, the 28-year-old from Adelaide, Australia, completed the challenging track in 3:13.800 to end his Elite Men division season in 4th place overall. Brosnan was joined on the podium by Monster Energy teammates Amaury Pierron from France in fourth place and American rider and South East local, Luca Shaw in fifth, much to the local crowd’s delight. In a major upset, overall season leader Thibaut Dapréla suffered a crash during qualifiers and ended his 2021 World Cup season in second place after pulling out of the competition before Saturday’s race.

In the Elite Women division, 24-year-old Marine Cabirou from Millau, France, claimed second place with a 3:39.935 finish, a mere 0.256 behind the winner. She was joined on the podium by her Monster Energy teammate, 31-year-old Camille Balanche from La Chaux-de-Fond, Switzerland, in third place after completing the track in 3:45.100. In overall season results, Balanche finished her 2021 UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup season in third place with 1065 points.

PBR

Another weekend, another win for world No. 1 and reigning World Champion Jose Vitor Leme in Newark. It was his seventh of the season, putting him just one win away from tying the record for most wins in a season. He also tied the record for round wins in a season and earned an unprecedented 21st 90-point ride this season, naturally. However, all was not well for Leme, as he’ll undergo an MRI this week to determine the severity of his groin injury.