@MotoGP
Aprilia was amazing at Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya; they performed strongly all weekend, culminating in a first and second-place finish in the Grand Prix race on Sunday, with Aleix Espargaró finishing the weekend with a double win - the sprint win and the Grand Prix win. Overall, it was redemption for the pilot who famously celebrated a lap early in this race in 2022. Teammate Maverick Viñales also had a strong weekend with a double podium, P3 in the Sprint, and P2 in the Grand Prix.
RNF Aprilia had mixed fortunes this weekend. Raul Fernandez finished P14 in the Grand Prix and had a mechanical issue in the Grand Prix, causing him to retire. On the other side of the garage, Miguel Oliveira had a strong performance on both days with a P6 in the Sprint and a P5 in the main race.
KTM saw Brad Binder secure P4 in the Sprint; unfortunately, a mechanical issue caused him to retire from the Grand Prix. Teammate Jack Miller was more fortunate with a P8 finish in the Grand Prix after a pointless P18 in the Sprint.
Pol Espargaró of GasGas didn't complete the sprint or the main race, leaving teammate Augusto Fernandez to score the only points for GasGas on Sunday with a P9 finish after he only finished P17 on Saturday.
@MotoGP
Pramac Ducati had a strong weekend. Johann Zarco put in a performance that landed him in P7 for the Sprint and P4 for the Grand Prix. Jorge Martín reclaimed valuable championship points on Sunday with a podium position, securing P3 and adding a trophy to his collection. After only finishing P5 in the Sprint, I feel he will be happy with this performance.
Marco Bezzecchi was the stronger of the VR46 team in the Saturday Sprint, settling in P8, with teammate Luca Marini in P12. Roles were reversed on Sunday, with Bezzecchi in P12 in the Grand Prix and Marini ahead in P11.
Gresini Ducati saw Fabio Di Giannantonio in P14 in the Sprint. He showed a much stronger performance on Sunday with a P10 finish. Overall, it was a strong Sunday for the team, especially after he and teammate Alex Marquez were caught up in a turn 1 incident with Enea Bastianini. Álex Márquez also had a strong Sunday with a P6 finish, an improvement from his Saturday performance, which was a P10 finish.
@MotoGP
Factory Ducati suffered a Sunday to forget. Following Pecco Bagnaia getting P2 and Enea Bastianini getting P9 on Saturday, Sunday saw both factory riders crash in two separate incidents. Enea Bastianini was possibly too late on the brakes, possibly due to a slipstream caused by the bike of Johan Zarco. He crashed and collided with Johan Zarco, Marco Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez, and Fabio Di Giannantonio. Bastianini is reported to have two fractures, one in his hand and one on his foot. Both will require surgery, and we all wish Enea a quick recovery.
Pecco Bagnaia suffered a highside that we haven't seen outside of Honda in years. He was leading the race before he crashed, landed in the middle of the race track and was struck in the legs by Brad Binder. Fortunately, it's reported that Bagnaia suffered no serious injuries.
Yamaha saw no points on Saturday, with a P18 and a P15 for Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli, respectively. Sunday was more successful for the team, with Morbidelli securing a P14, and Fabio Quartararo showcased his talent with a P7 performance, a true feat on the current Yamaha.
The other Japanese manufacturer is in more dire straits. P15, 16, and 17 in the Grand Prix don't sound too bad until you realize these were last places. Only the sheer talent of Marc Marquez could put the Honda in the points on Sunday with a P13. However, I think Honda can take this as a win, purely due to the fact that all riders finished the race.
Comments