#ARAGONGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE – Marquez wins
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Marc Marquez retaliates to hold off Alex Marquez for Aragon gold
Another twist in the title fight seemed likely at MotorLand Aragon and Saturday delivered another stunning shake up as Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) took his third Tissot Sprint win at the venue. He was followed home by Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), with polesitter Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) completing the Saturday rostrum after losing the lead early doors. That makes it 29 points between him and teammate Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) at the top of the table.
It was a good start for Bezzecchi from pole but the metres of advantage were eaten away in the braking zone at Turn 1 as Marc Marquez slammed it up the inside and took over in the lead, with Alex Marquez then able to take advantage round the outside and grab P2. The trio remained locked together as behind the battle for fourth lit up, with Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) vs Raul Fernandez (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) vs Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) seeing the standings shuffle.
Acosta emerged at the lead of the group and then pulled way from it, leaving the #89 some moves to do to get back on the tail of the KTM with Fernandez, Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team). Martin dug in, and by Lap 3 was back past Acosta.
At the front, Marc Marquez had the hammer down but the gap was hovering just under a second back to Alex Marquez, with Bezzecchi half a second off the rear wheel of the #73 – with no one seemingly able to find anything more to make an attack.
Just behind, Martin had had a moment on Lap 5 round the final corner and ceded the position to Acosta again, left stalking him in the fight for fourth. Moreira was holding P6 and Fernandez had dropped to P7, but a battle between Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) was giving the Trackhouse rider some respite. Once Aldeguer was past Zarco and locked in however, it became a three-way fight for sixth as Moreira, Aldeguer and Fernandez all converged in the final two laps.
Acosta was also converging on the podium fight late on, appearing ominously behind Bezzecchi as the #37 left Martin behind. But over 11 laps it wasn’t to be as Marc Marquez crossed the line for an ominous third Sprint win at the track, taking the 12-haul, with Alex Marquez second within around a second and Bezzecchi just holding on for third ahead of that late race push from Acosta.
The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider takes fourth ahead of Martin, with Aldeguer able to attack Moreira on the very final lap and relegate the Brazilian to P7. Fernandez finished eighth, with the returning Zarco straight back into the points as he finished the Sprint in P9 – just holding off Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP).
Diggia crashed out mid-Sprint, rider ok, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) had a tough one taking P11. They’ll be reloading for more on Sunday as MotoGP heads back out for the Grand Prix race, so join us for more from MotorLand.
MOTOGP – RACE: Marc Marquez fends off Acosta and Bezzecchi to underline title charge at Aragon
Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) completes a weekend of stunning retaliation at MotorLand Aragon, taking the 25-point haul on Sunday after outpacing Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) as the #37 emerged as his closest challenger at the front. Acosta made good on his promise to attack for the podium on Sunday with a stunning ride to second, with Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) completing the rostrum for double podium finishes at MotorLand.
After a near-disastrous British GP, 37 points of Aragon revenge for Marc Marquez boost him up to second in the standings, now 19 behind Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), as Bezzecchi also closes the gap on his teammate despite now sitting third overall.
LIGHTS OUT TAKE TWO
At lights out it seemed a replay of the Tissot Sprint as Marc Marquez once again attacked at Turn 1, but the #93 admitted in parc ferme he’d left the rear ride height device engaged and then found himself dropping back as Bezzechi sliced back through to lead around Turn 3. Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) had to sit up slightly in that shuffle and Martin then attacked Marc Marquez too, shouldering the Ducati out the way, making it an Aprilia 1-2 ahead of Marc Marquez and Acosta after the first few corners.
At the end of Lap 1 however, the elbows were out from the #93 as he sliced past Martin, with the #89 then also losing out to Acosta as he was forced off line in the move. Bezzecchi’s lead was up to around six tenths, but now it was Marc Marquez and Acosta on the chase as Martin found himself picked off by Alex Marquez too. By Lap 5, Marc Marquez was homing in on Bezzecchi – but Acosta remained close company for the #93.
ATTACK MODE ENGAGED: all change at the front
On Lap 6 at Turn 15, Marc Marquez attacked and made it through, setting in motion a stunning set of fireworks in the battle at the front. Bezzecchi remained side by side with the #93 down the back straight, millimeters apart at over 300km/h, but into the final corner complex the #72 was forced to cede. The #93 was free in the lead but out of nowhere, Acosta then swept round the outside of the Aprilia too.
The break wasn’t complete yet. The #37 was absolutely glued to the rear of the #93, and he stayed so as the laps ticked off. Lap 9 saw the wick turned up as Marc Marquez put in a fastest lap, but the KTM remained in touch. Lap 10 saw both set the exact same laptime – and Bezzecchi was even faster in third. At half distance, the race remained on a tightrope. Marc Marquez led Acosta who led Bezzecchi, with no gap over a second. Alex Marquez was holding fourth but had faded off the lead trio, with Martin also holding fifth in some clear air.
THE WICK TURNS UP: the lap records come in and title fight twists
As the laps ticked on, however, the lap records started coming in from the lead – and this time Acosta and Bezzecchi struggled to find an answer. The pin was pulled and Marc Marquez eked out the gap, those 25 points shaking up the standings once again. Pushing on to cross the line in a little breathing space to complete the stunning double, the #93 moves up to second overall – now just 19 points off Martin’s lead.
Acosta roasted himself on Saturday night after missing his grid slot and explaining he’d had a messy day, but the #37 was near perfect on Sunday to put up the best resistance possible and take a stunning second. Bezzecchi completes a commendable weekend of two podiums, both ahead of his points-leading teammate, with third place from pole.
Alex Marquez wasn’t able to make any inroads up from P4 and remained there for some solid points on Sunday, with Martin finding P5 to be his limit at MotorLand this weekend – taking the same on Sunday to see that lead drop to 19 points.
BATTLE IN THE PACK: duels to the finish
Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) took sixth on his return to action, ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) as the fluo yellow #49 took some solid points after crashing out of the Sprint. Behind, there was a huge battle. Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) was holding eight for much of the race ahead of a train of riders, but a late push from Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) saw the former Aragon winner catch the Honda-riding rookie with five to go as two duels lit up MotorLand on the final two laps.
Moreira vs Bastianini saw the Italian make an attack stick on the final lap to nab P8, just ahead of Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) vs Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) to complete the top ten. The South African just pipped the Australian, relegating Miller to 11th.
Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) and Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) were close company next up, ahead of Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) and Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) completing the points. Raul Fernandez (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) had been homing in on Martin for fifth in the first few laps but was forced to retire at about third distance, disappointment for the Silverstone winner, and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) crashed out early on, rider ok.
That was better than I expected! After what happened yesterday, I wasn’t so confident about today. I destroyed the tyre in the Sprint but today that didn’t happen. We tried a different set-up this morning. I didn’t understand it a lot because we didn’t have so much time to get a feeling in Warm-Up, but we kept the setting in for the race and lap-by-lap I was gaining feeling. I wasn’t fast like the top guys, but I could overtake many people. The fight with Diogo at the end was nice, and he’s difficult to overtake as he brakes very late. Our target was to get into the top ten and I saved it with eighth place. So, it wasn’t a bad day in the end!
Enea Bastianini – P8
At the beginning, it was difficult because we knew that the situation would be harder for us with the medium tyre. Then I was able to fight, and it was nice. I made a mistake on the last lap, in the last sector, and in the end, I crossed the line in 9th. We are doing a good job, and it was a consistent weekend. Let’s keep working like that!
Diogo Moreira – P9
We did a lot of steps today. We reduced the gap to the front. It was my first real race this year because in Jerez I didn’t race on Sunday. We struggled a bit with the front tire during the race but, in general, it was quite good. We also tried some new things that worked well, so it was positive. I want to say thank you to the team because it’s not easy to return after six months and ride this kind of bike, but it was positive. It was also nice to return on the 1000cc bike, so it was nice to come back and regain the feeling.
Lorenzo Savadori – P17
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Aragon.