MotoGP Catalan GP: Bagnaia Bounces Back with Stellar Win Ahead of Martin, Marquez

After a nail-biting Sprint on Saturday, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya gave us another amazing feature-length race. Having dumped his GP24 in the gravel at Turn 10, while leading the Sprint, Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia redeemed himself by winning the race. Current World Championship leader, Jorge Martin converted his P7 start into P2 while Marc Marquez gave us another unbelievable comeback ride, going from 14th to 3rd. This is the second consecutive weekend where Marquez climbed through the ranks to finish on the podium.

Also Read: MotoGP Catalan GP: Espargaro Wins Sprint as Bagnaia Suffers Last Lap Crash

Bagnaia wasted little time at the start of the race to take the lead. Close behind him was the rookie, Pedro Acosta who had been rapid all weekend and another rider who crashed from the lead of the Sprint. Not to be left in the crowd again, Martin also made a few places at the start. Home hero, Aleix Espargaro did not have the best start once again. As the flag fell, it was Bagnaia who took the victory with his brilliant tyre management and consistent pace. The reigning champion kept his bike towards the front of the field and then on Lap 19, he overtook Martin for the lead. To make it sweeter, he did it at Turn 5, the same turn where he crashed yesterday. Marquez brought some heartache to Espargaro and his fans by passing him at the pit straight on Lap 21, denying him a chance to stand on the podium for one last time in front of his home crowd.

Also Read: Aleix Espargaro Announces Retirement at End of 2024 Season

Turn 10 was perhaps the most eventful part of the circuit, one that caused a lot of pain for riders. Jack Miller was the first rider to fall off his KTM on the third lap. The Australian, whose future in the sport in uncertain as of now, is not doing himself any favours by crashing frequently. Both GasGas riders, Pedro Acosta and Agusto Fernandez fell at the same turn on Lap 11 and Lap 6, respectively. While Fernandez retired from the race, Acosta quickly remounted his RC16. He was just ahead of Honda’s Stefan Bradl and running in P20 as he rejoined the circuit. However, the young rider did make it back into the points and bagged four points with hi P13 finish. It was not just crashes, Turn 10 also was a good spot for overtakes, especially for Martin who first overtook Acosta for second place on Lap 4 and then a lap later Bagnaia for first place. 

Two Ducati riders who did not have a great day were Franco Morbidelli and Enea Bastianini. Morbidelli who has failed to produce a decent result riding the updated Ducati, crashed towards the end of the race. And in a bizarre turn of events, Enea Bastianini got a long lap penalty for cutting Turn 2, after he was pushed wide by Alex Marquez while he was passing him. Bastianini did not serve the penalty and got handed a double long lap penalty. The Italian then failed to serve that penalty as well. As a result, he was given a ride through penalty and ended way outside the points in P18.

Raul Fernandez of Trackhouse Racing was a surprise star of the weekend. He managed to crosse over from Q2 to Q1 with an all-time lap record and then was leading the Sprint on Saturday, a first for him. Sadly for him, he crashed out of the lead, ending his hopes for a first Sprint victory. While he could not lead the race on Sunday, he did bring in a good haul of points, crossing the line in sixth place.

Fabio Quartararo was yet again the lead Japanese bike, finishing just inside the top 10. Alex Rins, who had managed to get straight into Q1 this weekend, went backwards in the race, finishing way outside the points. The Spaniard went wide at the first corner and could not recover. Takaaki Nakagami took the honours of being the lead Honda rider ahead of Joan Mir.