09/05/2023
Catalunya MotoGP
Aleix Espargaro completes home double as Francesco Bagnaia crashes out after dramatic start
Aleix Espargaro secured his second consecutive win of the 2023 Catalan MotoGP, while Maverick Vinales helped make it a first-ever Aprilia 1-2.
The start to the Grand Prix saw a huge crash take place at turn one as five Ducatis went down.
Enea Bastianini clipped the rear of Johann Zarco before a skittle-effect saw Marco Bezzecchi and both Gresini riders go down.
Joan Mir complained
“Worst feeling of my life on a bike,
I need answers”
A red flag was then deployed but not before an awful highside for polesitter Francesco Bagnaia.
Leading on the exit of turn one, Bagnaia then went down before being struck in violent fashion by the fast-approaching KTM of Brad Binder.
A new race distance of 23 laps was confirmed as both factory Ducati riders were the only ones unable to take part in the restart.
Making another brilliant start, Jorge Martin jumped both factory Aprilia riders in order to take the lead.
But their response was immediate as Vinales came through on Martin at turn four. Espargaro then attempted to make it an Aprilia 1-2 at turn 10 but the Pramac rider was too strong under braking.
Further back, Pol Espargaro suffered his second DNF of the weekend after suffering a technical issue.
One lap later and A. Espargaro made his move on Martin for second after getting his RS-GP23 to turn better on the exit of turn 10.
Binder’s eventful day then ended on lap four after an issue led to him pulling off circuit.
With Espargaro beginning to catch his teammate, Vinales made a small mistake at turn one which allowed the gap to become less than half a second.
Vinales then kept hold of a three tenths advantage over Espargaro, however, Oliveira was dropped by the two Spaniard and fell back into the clutches of Martin.
Oliveira then lost his place on the podium at the start of lap 10 as Martin came through at turn one. On the other side of the RNF garage, Raul Fernandez saw his race end due to technical issues.
At the front, Vinales saw his lead grow to 1.3 seconds after gaining seven tenths at the start of lap 11.
After dropping time in order to give his front tyre some clean air, Espargaro began his second charge towards the lead of the race as the gap dropped under half a second with seven laps remaining.
With four laps to go Espargaro made his move but pushed Vinales wide in the process.
After seeing his lead grow even further, Espargaro controlled the gap on the final lap as he came across the line just ahead of Vinales to secure Aprilia’s first 1-2 in MotoGP.
Aleix Espargaro completes a dream home double and leads Aprilia's first-ever one-two in a restarted 2023 Catalunya MotoGP at Barcelona.
But reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia was absent from the restart after suffering leg injuries and has been taken to hospital for further treatment.
Winner of Saturday's Sprint, Espargaro stalked team-mate Maverick Vinales for much of the race before going on the attack in the final six laps.
Espargaro pulled alongside Vinales on the main straight with 4 laps to go, forcing Vinales off line at the apex of Turn 1. Replays showed the front tyres looking very worn on both bikes and Vinales was never in a position to retaliate.
The pair then swapped bikes on the slowdown lap!
Title contender Jorge Martin completed the podium in third for Pramac Ducati, having got the better of RNF Aprilia's Miguel Oliveira and then kept Pramac Ducati team-mate Johann Zarco at bay.
The initial race was halted due to a first-turn pile-up, plus a nasty accident for Francesco Bagnaia
2023 Catalunya MotoGP, Barcelona - Race Results
Catalunya MotoGP at Barcelona, round 11 of 20 in the 2023 world championship.
2023 Catalunya MotoGP, Barcelona - Race Results
Pos Rider Nat Team Time/Diff
1 Aleix Espargaro Spani
Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) 38m 56.159s
2 Maverick Viñales SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +0.377s
3 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP23) +2.831s
4 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP23) +4.867s
5 Miguel Oliveira POR RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) +7.529s
6 Alex Marquez SPA Gresini Ducati (GP22) +10.590s
7 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +10.821s
8 Jack Miller AUS Red Bull KTM (RC16) +10.880s
9 Augusto Fernandez SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)* +12.889s
10 Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA Gresini Ducati (GP22) +13.280s
11 Luca Marini ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) +16.491s
12 Marco Bezzecchi ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) +16.561s
13 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +21.616s
14 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +23.108s
15 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +26.740s
16 Iker Lecuona SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +28.860s
17 Joan Mir SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +33.929s
Raul Fernandez SPA RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) DNF
Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) DNF
Pol Espargaro SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) DNF
Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) DNF
Enea Bastianini ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) DNF
* Rookie
