After a Saturday to forget it was a Sunday to remember for the reigning Champion as he hits back to outpace Martin – with #MM93 charging up the order to make it a familiar top three
After missing an open goal win on Saturday, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) came out swinging on Sunday at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. The reigning Champion needed to make a statement and take some serious points, and that he did on both counts. Quick out the blocks from the start before ceding the lead early doors to Championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), Bagnaia put in a relentless push to catch the #89, pounce once on the scene, and then edge away to pocket those 25 points on Sunday.
Behind Martin, the fight to complete the podium boiled down to the duel between Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), and it was almost a photo finish but the #93 took the spoils – making it three Grand Prix podiums in a row for Marquez for the first time since 2019. It was also another stunning comeback ride, this time from P14 on the grid.
As the lights went out, it was a showdown on the brakes into T1 but Bagnaia just held on for the holeshot ahead of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) also moving up but the #33 into third. Martin got a good start this time round, taking over in fourth, with polesitter Espargaro the main party losing out.
Into Turn 10 on Lap 1, we had the first big move as Martin made an absolute lunge on Binder, but he got the job done and cleanly enough. It also left a small gap up the road to the leading duo of Bagnaia and Acosta, but it didn’t take long for that gap to close because it didn’t take long for the leading duo to start making moves amongst themselves.
Acosta’s first attack came at Turn 10 after a couple of laps staring at the rear of the Ducati, but Bagnaia kept it tight to immediately take it back. Acosta’s foot was even off the peg. That closed everything up again, with Martin then right on their heels and Binder not too far behind either. Turn 10 staged another one next time round, this time for Championship leader Martin on the rookie – and Acosta was forced to cede it. And again next time around, this time as Martin left it oh-so-late to attack for the lead, taking over before they crossed the line for 19 to go.
The party at Turn 10 didn’t stop there. Next time round there was another decisive move as Acosta attacked Bagnaia and took back over in second, and in a matter of apexes the rookie was back on the exhaust of race leader Martin, looking impatient.
Meanwhile, the squabble behind was heating up. Bagnaia had some breathing space in third but Binder, Espargaro and Raul Fernandez were locked together. After stalking his prey for a while, Espargaro then was able to just nudge ahead into Turn 1, before Raul Fernandez attacked the KTM into Turn 3. Brutal but clean, Binder was pushed back to sixth.
However, that soon become fifth as big drama hit for Acosta. After lighting it up there earlier, it all then came apart for the rookie at Turn 10 as he slid off, leaving Martin just over a second clear in the lead and Bagnaia now the rider on the chase. From there, the chess match began.
Lap after lap, the gap was coming down as the #1 chipped away. A few hundredths here and there, each sector just enough to gain a few extra metres, a mere tenth per lap. But an absolutely relentless tenth per lap. And once he was there, Bagnaia wasted absolutely no time in making his attack.
With six laps to go, the reigning Champion made his move – and at exactly the place he let big spoils go begging in the Tissot Sprint: Turn 5. No drama, no contact, and nothing Martin could do, the roles were now reversed.
The relentless pace from the #1 continued, however, and the battle of the laptimes was slipping from Martin’s grasp. The gap eked out, came back down slightly and then suddenly went up again. The jig was up as Martin started to fade, leaving Bagnaia with the same task as Saturday: keep it on the same rails to the flag. This time, it was a faultless performance as the Ducati Lenovo rider cuts the gap back to 39 points and Martin, this time round, has to settle for second.
Meanwhile, Marc Marquez was now on the tailpipes of Espargaro. The #93 pulled a carbon copy of the move the Aprilia rider put on Binder a few laps before and was into third – now he just had to hold onto it. After announcing his retirement at the end of 2024 just ahead of the event and taking pole and the Sprint win, the incentive was even bigger than normal for the #41 to make an attack, and he clawed his way onto the back of the Gresini by the final lap. But there was no way through that would have allowed both to finish, so it came down to the final drag to the line – with Marquez just staying ahead for that podium from P14 on the grid.
Espargaro takes fourth to complete an incredible weekend on home turf, with a late charge from Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) seeing the Italian just pip Raul Fernandez to fifth. Still, after a maiden front row and having led the Sprint, P6 concludes a great weekend for the #25 and Trackhouse Racing – it’s the team’s best result yet.
Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) charged through to seventh as Binder lost out later in the race to finish P8. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) kept ahead of Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) as they completed the top ten. Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), Acosta after remounting, Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) and Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) completed the points.
There’s one name missing from that last who did cross the line ahead of a few of them, but the FIM MotoGP™ Stewards v Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) intervened. The ‘Beast’ had a dramatic race after he went wide following an attack from Alex Marquez, was deemed to have not lost enough time cutting Turn 2, and then given a Long Lap. He didn’t agree with that, countering he'd lost time from the #AM73 move, so he rode on. He then got a double Long Lap and served one, unsure if it might have been for another incident, and didn’t serve the second – so it became a ride through. The protest vote rolled on from the #23 and he didn’t take that in time either, so it ended up as a 32s time penalty, the equivalent of a trip through pitlane. Acrimony low but commitment to opinion high, he’ll be looking to prove a point at Mugello.
That’s just next week, as luck would have it, with the spectacular Tuscan venue ready to welcome the world’s most exciting sport for the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo. Join us then for more as the statement wins just keep on coming – and the history just keeps getting made.
Ogura puts in a masterclass for first win since 2022 as Aldeguer falters
There was a twist in the tale for Moto2™ at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, and after showing some searing pace once at the front, Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) leaves Barcelona victorious for the first time since the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix. Ogura charged through the field from 10th managing to get the better of teammate Sergio Garcia in the closing laps, making it another MT Helmets – MSI one-two. Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) was overcome with joy after picking up his first podium of the year in what has so far been a difficult season. And the twist? Initial leader Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) got a Long Lap for track limits and then crashed out as he entered the LLP loop.
Once the lights went out it was a flying start from Garcia as he converted his pole position into the race lead at Turn 1. Teammate Ogura rocketed from 10th on the grid and somehow snuck up into the top three as they reached the end of the straight.
Back at the front, it didn’t take Aldeguer long to steal away the race lead. He dived to the inside of his fellow Boscoscuro rider Garcia at Turn 10 on Lap 3, and then set about putting the hammer down as he asked questions of the Moto2™ sophomore. Pushing hard, Aldeguer did manage to make a gap before Garcia started to close him back in, and then the LLP for track limits added the first twist for the #54.
As they crossed the line to start lap 15, Garcia was nearly in a position to pounce. But he didn't need to. Entering the long lap penalty loop at Turn 1, Aldeguer tucked the front on the brakes as he desperately tried to lose as little time as possible but in the end he lost all chance of victory.
Garcia was promoted to the lead but then just as he could breathe a sigh of relief, a second threat quickly became very visible. Ogura had sneakily taken two seconds out of his teammate in three laps.
The pivotal moment came at Turn 1 on Lap 18 as Ogura slipstreamed past Garcia and then from there rode home to a clear victory in the end by almost four seconds. Amazingly, that’s Ogura’s first win since he won in his homeland of Japan back in 2022. The final laps of held breath turned to elation at the chequered flag as the MT Helmets – MSI squad secured a brilliant Barcelona one-two. Dixon in third was delighted to be back on the podium after a torrid start to 2024.
Jeremy Alcoba (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) took a fine fourth as he just edged out a brilliant performance from Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) who took fifth – serving a long lap penalty on the way too, for track limits.
Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) dropped to eighth after struggling to hold onto the pace in the closing laps. Championship hopeful Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) took 9th in a disappointing day for his championship challenge, but it was better than it was at the line as he was promoted to ninth from after both Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) and Zonta Van den Goorbergh (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP) had to drop positions post-race.
The Grand Prix paddock heads to Mugello in one week’s time for the iconic Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, so join us there for more!
Catch me if you can: Alonso pulls the pin for fourth win of the year
David Alonso (CFMoto Gaviota Aspar Team) played his cards to perfection in the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, pouncing when it counted and then upping the pace to hold off the chasing pack to the flag. The victory, his fourth of the season, also makes him the new Moto3™ World Championship leader. Just behind, Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) converted his maiden pole into a podium in P2, with Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) back on the box in third.
After a scrappy start with many almost on the grass, Ortola emerged with a few bike lengths lead in the first half of the first lap – but Dani Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), up from P9 on the grid, was soon reeling him in. David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) did the Rossi-Razgatlioglu move on Holgado at end of the lap to take over in second, but by the time they got into Turn 1 it was all change on the chase. Ortola led Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) led Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), but the Japanese rider then got the notification to serve his double Long Lap given on Saturday, and Muñoz his single LLP. The race was on to move back through.
The freight train rolled on at the front with Ortola, Veijer and Holgado leading the way, but by six or seven to go Alonso was starting to get busy. Over the line as the final five laps began, the Colombian was trying to stretch the group out from the front – with Ortola, Veijer and Holgado just about hanging in there as a gap started to grow behind the top four.
As the laps ticked on though, the picture changed again. Holgado was fading slightly into the clutches of Rueda and Muñoz, and once Rueda was past the Championship leader he was able to claw back onto the leading trio. As the last lap began, it was once again a quartet, this time with Rueda in the ranks. The first move came from the number 99, getting past Veijer at Turn 4. But that would prove the last, with the pace so hot and the limit so close for each that no door was left open and no sensible chance possible.
Alonso crossed the line a quarter of a second clear to take the Championship lead, with Ortola denied a home win but taking another podium as he builds some momentum after some bad luck and trouble earlier in the season. Rueda, after an even tougher start to 2024 with appendicitis and a couple of on track dramas, takes a second podium of the season and his third in Grand Prix racing after an impressive late attack.
Veijer was just too far back to slipstream it and takes fourth, with Muñoz completing the top five despite that LLP. Holgado, meanwhile, faded to sixth and loses that points lead, now 14 points off Alonso.
It was a standout ride from Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) in seventh, with the Italian rookie hanging on to the front group for much of the race and then taking an impressive P7. A huge group fight behind went all the way back to 14th, and it was another rookie heading that as Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) took P8. Filippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) was next up and just beat Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) to ninth and they completed the top ten.
Next up it’s the stunning Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello next weeked. Can Alonso extend that advantage?
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