Marc Marquez wins MotoGP race in Aragon GP as a formality ahead of Jorge Martin and Pedro Acosta, but Francesco Bagnaia crashes out.
The Gran Premio GoPro de Aragon was a race that will go down in the history books after Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) charged to an unbelievable victory – taking his first Grand Prix victory in 1043 days. Meanwhile, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) took second, crossing the line almost five seconds behind the eight-time World Champion. It was a massive day in the Championship race, with Francesco Bagnaia’s (Ducati Lenovo Team) Championship taking a huge blow – scoring zero points on Sunday.
Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) took the final spot on the podium, securing P3. It was the #31’s first podium since the Americas GP in April, adding to an impressive point tally for the rookie, who sits fifth in the World Championship standings. After a long wait, it was lights out at the Aragon GP with Marc Marquez claiming the holeshot and taking the lead once again and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) dropped down to P7 after the Italian struggled to get a good launch from third on the grid. It was a dramatic opening, with Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) crashing on the entry to Turn 16.
Acosta looked strong in the opening stages, sitting in P2 with Martin behind. 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 began to drop back, with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) now entering the podium positions. Bagnaia began to recover positions after a poor start, 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 positions. Morbidelli soon made a mistake, dropping to eighth and allowing the #1 through. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) was unable to secure a double top 10 finish in Aragon, crashing out 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 crucially remained ahead of his title rival, with Bagnaia entering P4 after a spectacular overtake on Acosta at the end of Lap 11. The Italian had a consistent pace, edging closer to Alex Marquez. On Lap 19 Bagnaia remained on the tailpipe of Alex Marquez as the #73 ran wide on the entry to Turn 11 before both riders crashed out at Turn 12.
Bagnaia was taken to the medical centre for a check up and was later declared fit with the incident to be reviewed after the Grand Prix. It was a huge swing of the Championship, with Bagnaia scoring zero points on Sunday, Martin now extends his Championship lead to 23 points. In the closing stages, Marc Marquez did not make a mistake, extending his margin to five seconds which would be enough for the #93 to take his first victory since 2021.
It was a magical and emotional day for Marc Marquez as Martin came across the line in second position. It was a critical day in the Championship, as Martin finished ahead of Acosta, who claimed the final spot on the podium. Securing fourth after another strong finish at MotorLand Aragon was Binder, unable to pip the rookie after crossing the line 1.555s behind. Bastianini would round out the top five after an incredible recovery ride after the Beast was forced to start from 14th on the grid.
Meanwhile, Morbidelli claimed sixth, crossing the line after a strong for the Italian, as Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team’s Di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi rounded out the top eight. It was a great Sunday for the VR46 Racing Team, with both riders finishing ahead of Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team), who showed incredible late race pace to storm to ninth and ahead of Miller, with the Aussie claiming the final spot inside the top 10.
Result: https://x.com/MotoGP/status/1830233562140008548
UPDATE: FIM MotoGP Stewards – MotoGP riders #25 R Fernandez, #43 Miller and #49 Di Giannantonio have each been given a 16 second penalty for running tyre pressures lower than the parameters advised.
As a result, Miller drops to 15th while promotes Espargaro, Nakagami, A Fernandez, Zarco and Mir to 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th. Also, di Giannantonio drops one place to eighth and promotes teammates Bezzecchi to seventh. There was no further action on the A Marquez and Bagnaia incident as well.
Here: https://x.com/denkmit/status/1830270222152208510
[Note: The story is as per press release]