#AragonGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Marc Marquez serves up Saturday masterclass as Martin reclaims title lead
Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) has completed a dream Saturday at the Gran Premio GoPro de Aragon, storming to claim his first Tissot Sprint victory – remaining unstoppable throughout the 11 laps. The #93 was the rider to beat at MotorLand Aragon, setting the fastest lap of the Sprint and crossing the line almost three seconds ahead of his rivals. It was another turning point in the Championship, with Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) now claiming the momentum and the title lead heading into Sunday.
Martin crossed the line in second, taking a further nine points towards his Championship charge – finishing three seconds behind Marc Marquez at the line. Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) claimed third place on Saturday, continuing to impress. Meanwhile, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) claimed just one point, finishing down in ninth after a tough Sprint.
As the lights went out it was a magical start from Marc Marquez, while Bagnaia plummeted down the order on the run to Turn 1 after a poor start. Further back there was drama at Turn 1, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) crashing out before CASTROL Honda LCR’s Johann Zarco also failed to complete the opening lap after a fall.
Marc Marquez put down the hammer early, attempting to stretch a gap to Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing). It was a blistering pace at the front, with the fastest lap going the way of the #93. Martin soon became the sole Pramac rider in the Sprint as Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) crashed on Lap 2.
Meanwhile, rookie sensation Acosta was in the podium places, aiming to convert a front row start into a top three finish in the Sprint. Meanwhile, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was sitting in P7, on the tailpipe of Bagnaia on Lap 4. The Italian began to duel with the #33 with Binder’s making the move stick on Lap 6.
It was another shift in the Championship with Martin reclaiming the title lead as Bagnaia now came under pressure from Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team) and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) in the final point-scoring position. It was an exhilarating battle with Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) soon getting involved, overtaking Fernandez before leapfrogging into P7 after Bagnaia and Quartararo ran wide.
Meanwhile, Marc Marquez extended his lead to over three seconds, edging closer to a Sprint victory. The top three remained unchanged, as they continued to run a relentless pace as they entered the final lap. The #93 would remain unstoppable, charging to the line to claim victory on Saturday in Aragon. Martin secured a crucial result in second, finishing ahead of Acosta.
Crossing the line in fourth was Alex Marquez, who completed a dream day for Gresini Racing MotoGP™ after the #73 crossed the line ahead of Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing). The Portuguese star rounded out the top five and finished as the top Aprilia, finishing almost two seconds ahead of Binder at the line. The #33 continued to battle with Bastianini until the flag, with Binder finishing just 0.147s ahead of Bastianini in seventh.
Meanwhile, Quartararo took P8 as the final point scoring position in the Sprint went the way of Bagnaia, who crossed the line in ninth after a last lap battle with Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team).
MOTOGP – RACE: 1043 days later: Marc Marquez roars back to glory, drama hits for Bagnaia
1043 days, multiple surgeries, a change of team and factory later, and Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) is back on the top step of the Grand Prix podium. The #93 dominated the majority of the Gran Premio GoPro de Aragon including a stunning first Tissot Sprint win, but being the fastest isn’t a guarantee of glory. Come Sunday, however, Marquez shot off the line for the holeshot and never looked back, underlining one of the greatest comebacks in MotoGP™ history.
There was plenty to talk about in his wake too, with Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) taking second and extending his title lead – gained back from Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) on Saturday – after Bagnaia’s podium charge came to a halt in a clash with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™). The verdict from the FIM MotoGP™ Stewards: racing incident and no further action. The verdict from each rider wildly opposes that and each other.
Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) took the final spot on the podium, back on the GP box for the first time since the Americas GP in April and adding to an impressive point tally for the rookie, who currently sits fifth in the World Championship standings.
As the lights went out, Marc Marquez took the holeshot once again, and there was drama for Bagnaia once again as the #1 struggled off the line and got close to Alex Marquez in a near-repeat of the Sprint start. Acosta moved up into second and Martin took over in third, with Bagnaia left with work to do down in P7.
The #89 attempted a move at Turn 8 on Lap 2, running wide and allowing Acosta back through before making an overtake stick at Turn 13. Acosta then began to drop back, with Alex Marquez now entering the podium positions.
Bagnaia began to recover positions, overtaking Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) for sixth position. The Italian set his sights on Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing), aiming to re-enter the top five, and not long after Morbidelli then ran wide, dropping to eighth and allowing the #1 through.
After an early crash for Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing), Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team) then joined him as a DNF, unable to secure a double top 10 finish in Aragon after a crash at Turn 5. Further back, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) was battling for the final places inside the top 10 with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).
Back at the front, Marc Marquez extended his lead to over three seconds, with the #89 remaining as his closest rival. Martin, however, still held that crucial ground on Bagnaia as the #1 was up into P4 after a spectacular overtake on Acosta at the end of Lap 11. Next target: Alex Marquez.
By Lap 19, Bagnaia was tagged right onto the back of the #73, and as the Gresini ran wide on the entry to Turn 12, the door seemed open. Bagnaia went for it, meanwhile Alex Marquez tried to keep it. The result was contact between the two as they slid off in a tangle to forfeit the podium, riders ok and Martin’s points advantage suddenly bolstered to 23 points by the flag.
Up ahead though, Marc Marquez suffered no such dramas. Extending his margin to five seconds, the #93 kept it calm at the head of the field to take that coveted first victory since 2021, his first with Ducati and Gresini, 1043 days – and so much more – later.
Behind Martin and Acosta, who swept past the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez drama to complete the podium, was a strong P4 for Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Bastianini, after a somewhat disastrous grid position as he lost out on Q2, put in a classic comeback to round out the top five. Morbidelli claimed sixth after a solid weekend, ahead of Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team’s Di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi, who crossed the line in that order but then got switched after a Tyre Pressure Penalty for Diggia. Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) took P9, ahead of the final place in the top ten for Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) after a tyre pressure penalty for Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) dropped the Aussie out the top ten.
After the investigation concluded, the FIM MotoGP™ Stewards confirmed that Di Giannantonio, Miller and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) had all each received a 16 second penalty for running tyre pressures lower than the parameters advised. This dropped Di Giannantonio to eighth, Miller to P15 and Fernandez to P16.
I’m not happy because it was a very difficult race, maybe the toughest of the season and surely the opening day had a significant impact on my chances to do well. I had the speed, but it was hard to put all the pieces together: I tried to overtake on many occasions, but often enough things didn’t go according to plan, as I ended up going wide and making mistakes. The track was really dirty outside the racing line and that made everything a lot more difficult. It’s really a shame, because I think we could have got more out of this weekend, but we must be content with this fifth place.
Enea Bastianini – P5
In the end I’m happy. Not with the position because this seems to be my average so far this season, but with the pace at the end of the race. My start wasn’t great like Saturday so I had to recover position and lost some positions doing that. We need to be fast on Friday. This was my first weekend with a new Crew Chief so there is a lot of change but I’m happy about it and my riding is coming back again. It’s good to have Misano in a couple of days to keep building.
Augusto Fernández – P13
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Aragon.