#AragonGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE – Bagnaia returned to the podium
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Marc Marquez takes Aragon Sprint as sparks fly in podium scrap
Marquez territory? Not without a fight; it may have been lap record in qualifying but it wasn’t as straightforward as Championship leader Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) would have hoped. A blistering start from his rivals meant he may have had to work hard but eventually, the #93 took a seventh Sprint victory ahead of his brother Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) whilst a fighting third went to Alex’s teammate Fermin Aldeguer.
LIGHTS OUT: Marc and Acosta contact, Alex Marquez holeshots
The opening lap was a corker as Marc bogged down before he collided in the braking area with a fast-starting Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), pushing him back to fourth briefly. Marquez recovered and got back ahead of Acosta and was in third, but it was Alex Marquez who snatched the holeshot and broke free ahead of Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team).
Further back, there was plenty of battling was rivals Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Acosta then battled over P4, initially going the #37’s way. Behind, big drama for Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol), with the latter ran off track and then falling; Miller was issued a Long Lap Penalty, the latest in a long story of the rivalry. Further up the road and Marc had now got Franky for P2 and set off after his brother. This left Morbidelli in the clutches of Acosta, who had now got within striking distance by Lap 4. He tried up the inside at Turn 1 but was Franky retaliated, with the Italian holding firm.
ALDEGUER VS ACOSTA: rivals not giving an inch
A lap later and Acosta was back to try again but this time ran deep into Turn 1, putting him in a battle with Aldeguer once more. The #54 struck at Turn 12, holding firm until Turn 16 when Acosta went ahead again but once more wide, paving the way for Fermin to bag P4 and charge after the podium places.
RACE WINNING MOVE: Marc pounces on Alex at the halfway point
Meanwhile, another battle was brewing as Marc had closed down brother Alex for the lead and by the start of Lap 6, got the job done at Turn 1. The younger Marquez brother was still with him for half a lap but by Turn 7, Marc had got into his stride and was now the pacesetter at the front. Whilst one factory Ducati was enjoying their time at the front, another was having a nightmare as Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) dropped down early on and then made a mistake at Turn 7, dropping him to 13th.
With just four laps to go, it was Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) vs Maverick Viñales at Turn 1, with the Spaniard passing the Frenchman but using all the track to do so; Quartararo had to sit up, allowing Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) to zip by.
PODIUM CHARGE: Aldeguer surges through, Marc uncatchable
In the final three laps, Aldeguer was ruffling more feathers; this time, it was Morbidelli who was forced to yield with a bold move at Turn 4 giving the Murcian rider P3. This left Morbidelli to fend off fourth place from Acosta on the final lap but up at the front, Marc Marquez was in dreamland in his true stomping ground, easing to Sprint success, extending his lead in the standings to 27 points and thus guaranteeing that regardless of what happens tomorrow, he’ll lead the standings to Ducati’s backyard at Mugello. Alex Marquez was a hard-fought second ahead of Aldeguer, doubling up Gresini’s Aragon success and making it a second Sprint rostrum for himself in his rookie year.
IN THE POINTS: KTM strong, Bezzecchi’s majestic recovery
Morbidelli held on ahead of Acosta despite the KTM star’s pressure in the closing stages but the #37 ended up being lucky himself, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) closing hand over fist in the final laps but running out of time, still bagging sixth from P10 on the grid. Viñales was seventh but it really was a fine comeback ride for Marco Bezzecchi, from P20 on the grid and a qualifying to forget, to two points in the Sprint, showing that the Aprilia’s pace is right there after Silverstone. The final point went to Brad Binder, his first Sprint point since Thailand. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) narrowly missed out and rounded out the top ten, whilst Pecco’s mistake left him down in 12th, behind Quartararo.
MOTOGP – RACE: Perfection unlocked: Marc Marquez delivers MotorLand masterclass
Sometimes, sport isn’t about watching a phenomenal fight for victory honours. On occasions, sport is about witnessing greatness and enjoying an athlete performing at the very top of their game – and that’s exactly what we’ve done this weekend at the GoPro Grand Prix of Aragon. Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), for the first time since 2015, topped every session in a Grand Prix weekend to clinch a dominant seventh victory at MotorLand. Simply put: chapeaux. On home turf, brother and title rival Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) took P2 ahead of an improving Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – the Italian looking somewhat back to the Champion we know and love on Sunday. As the saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent.
LIGHTS OUT: Marc grabs the holeshot
Unlike the Sprint, Marc Marquez got a great launch and the holeshot belonged to the polesitter, with Alex Marquez and Bagnaia slotting into P2 and P3. Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) lost out at the start, the Italian was shuffled down to P7 on Lap 1 from the front row.
The two Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machines of Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder got away well though, they were shadowing Bagnaia in P3 as Acosta showed a wheel at Turn 1 on Lap 2 – but the Italian regained P3 at Turn 2. However, at Turn 12, the #37 did make a move stick on the #63 – but not for long! Bagnaia bit back at the penultimate corner to reclaim P3. This was great viewing for us, but it was costing the duelling duo, plus Binder and Morbidelli time to Marc and Alex Marquez.
A mistake from Sprint podium finisher Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) meant the Spanish rookie was 1.2s behind the fight for P3, as his teammate Alex Marquez shadowed Marc Marquez. The gap was hovering around the half-second mark in the opening exchanges.
PODIUM FIGHT: Factory KTMs chase the Ducatis
Heading onto Lap 7 of 23, the top five were split by 1.4s as both factory KTMs – Acosta and then Binder – set fastest laps of the Grand Prix. But on the next lap, was it time for Marc Marquez to put the hammer down? A 1:47.275 was set as the title race and Grand Prix leader stretched his lead to 0.8s. That lap was a good two tenths – plus a bit more – quicker than Alex Marquez, Bagnaia, Acosta and Binder.
Another fastest lap of the GP, a 1:47.180, saw Marquez’s advantage climb to 1.3s. His chief title rival, Alex Marquez, was the slowest of the top five and the #73 had trouble brewing. And speaking of trouble, back-to-back podium finisher Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) crashed out at Turn 12. An unfortunate end to a great run of form for the Frenchman.
THE RACE TO THE FINISH
On Lap 12 of 23, a podium fight of four became three as Binder’s promising Grand Prix came to a premature end at Turn 2, and then Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) crashed out too. El Diablo slipped out of contention at Turn 1, as his Aragon woes continue. With nine laps to go, Marc Marquez’s lead was now just under two seconds as Alex Marquez continued to keep Bagnaia at bay by 0.5s. Acosta had dropped to 1.6s off the podium, but the KTM rider had three seconds of fresh air behind him to the Morbidelli-Aldeguer fight for P5. And what a battle it was between the yellow and blue Ducatis.
While chasing Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) for P7, Maverick Viñales’ (Red Bull KTM Tech3) Aragon pursuit ended at Turn 12 in the closing stages, as Marc Marquez demonstrated his dominance by setting the fastest lap of the Grand Prix. Fair play.
Alex Marquez and Bagnaia’s late pace also saw them get into the 1:46s, but neither of them was a match for Marc Marquez at MotorLand as the home hero becomes the first rider to lead every session of a Grand Prix weekend since… Marc Marquez at the 2015 German GP. Supremacy.
Alex Marquez limited the damage and Bagnaia returned to the podium in what must be a massive injection of confidence for the double MotoGP World Champion.
ARAGON’S TOP 15
Acosta couldn’t quite keep tabs on the podium chase but a P4 was a job well done for the double World Champion, as Morbidelli eventually beat Aldeguer in a feisty fight for P5. P7 went the way of Mir as the 2020 World Champion picks up his best result since the 2023 Indian GP, as Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) produced another great comeback to collect a P8 from P20 on the grid.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was ninth ahead of Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), the Spaniard rounded out the top 10. Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Yamaha Factory Racing wildcard Augusto Fernandez, Jack Miller and the Australian’s Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP teammate Miguel Oliveira were the final point scorers in Aragon.
Well, we expected it, but delivering it is different. The master of MotorLand enjoys a perfect weekend on home soil, as Marc Marquez now heads to Mugello with a 32-point Championship lead over Alex Marquez.
Somehow in the morning warm up, we were faster and we seemed to understand that I can push more when the track conditions are a bit colder, and it is something we can look into with the team. However, in the race, the feeling was bad, I still felt the vibrations at the front, the same locking, and I was at the limit all the time. When you want to fight with the others, you need to be aggressive on the entry, and at the moment the bike is not allowing me to do that, so it was once again a very tough race for us. The lap times were pretty constant all race, from start to end, but I could not push more, so it is frustrating. I will probably be the first rider on track tomorrow, because we have a very important test waiting for us on Monday which I am counting on. We have a very busy schedule and many different things to try, it is going to be key for us.
Enea Bastianini – P12
It was not an easy Race, but I’m happy with it, though I didn’t feel as good as I did during the Sprint, especially in the first part of the race. With 7 laps to go, I was starting to feel the bike better, and I set my fastest time on the last lap. In general, this was my weak point: getting the benefit from a new tyre. But overall I’m happy with my weekend. We did a great job. It’s not easy testing so many things, but I’m super happy.
Augusto Fernandez – P13
We struggled a bit with the front and, unfortunately, I made a couple of mistakes in the early laps: I went straight on, got sucked into the slipstream and lost time. After that, my pace was good, even on the penultimate lap I lapped in 1:47.9, so I was in line with the times around tenth position. We need to try and sort out the braking a bit in these conditions, but there were some positive aspects to the elements we are trying in the race. Monday will be an important test and we have a busy programme of things to try.
Lorenzo Savadori – P17
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Spain.