Bagnaia powers to MotoGP victory in Catalunya ahead of championship leader Martin

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Racing) bounced back in style to win the Catalunya Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The title defender came into his own in the second half of proceedings, gradually taking time out of race leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) and closing down a one-second gap.

“I was very angry about yesterday, but I knew the potential was good enough to win the race,” he said in parc ferme. “I tried everything. The start wasn’t easy because all the riders were pushing a lot.

“But then when I saw they were starting to struggle a bit with the front, I started to push more and the pace was fantastic, the bike was fantastic – my team did an incredible job yesterday to set up the bike again. I’m very happy and now looking forward to my home GP.”

Bagnaia stole the holeshot at lights out but swiftly had to surrender to Martin who had the superior pace in the early stages of the race.

Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) was the only rider able to go with the championship leader and the duo ground out a one-second advantage. Bagnaia was following in an increasingly lonely third place as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) suffered tyre degradation.

However, disaster struck for Acosta on Lap 11 when the front of his KTM folded at Turn 10 and he went down into the gravel. Martin was left in a comfortable lead of around one second, but Bagnaia was the marginally quicker rider.

Gradually, the gap kept coming down and Bagnaia caught his Ducati colleague by Lap 19. Wasting no time, he saw a chance to dive down the inside at Turn 5 and made the move stick.

Martin could not match Bagnaia’s pace from there and had to settle for second. “I’m super happy, super proud of my race – today was a tough one!,” the championship leader admitted.

“Starting from seventh, it was a difficult one, but I executed the first corner perfectly, going up into fourth. Then I felt great, I felt I was saving some tyre even though I was overtaking other riders.

“At some point I felt Pecco [Bagnaia] had something else. I tried to keep the pace, always, and in the end, I had nothing left in my pocket. I just tried to finish; I saw we had a big gap [to third], I tried to put some pressure on Pecco [Bagnaia], but it was difficult.”

With the runner-up finish, Martin still increased his points lead in the title race, heading the table by 39 points, now over Bagnaia.

The fight for third went on to the last corner. While Binder and Fernandez, who had been in the mix early on, dropped down the order with fading tyres, Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) was on another comeback mission.

Having started the race from 14th on the grid and spent the early stages stuck behind Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing), Marquez was making his way up the field late on in the race.

He reeled in Sprint winner Espargaro for third and made an overtake out of the slipstream stick on Lap 21. However, Espargaro was not willing to give up a home podium easily and stalked the Ducati until the very end.

Crossing the line separated by less than a tenth of a second, Marquez eventually secured his third consecutive Grand Prix podium.

“I chose the soft rear tyre which I knew was more risky, but it was the only solution to be able to attack from the beginning,” he said post-race. “Because, usually, with the medium, you’re stuck there behind the others in the beginning and then you cannot possibly overtake. So the grid position of 14th place forced me to choose the soft.

“Unfortunately, I started poorly; I didn’t make a good start, but then, step by step … I knew that the race was long, I didn’t want to stress the tyres and then when I caught and overtook Aleix [Espargaro], I wanted to push, but the tyre was already finished.

“But I was able to defend the position, so I’m super happy. I’m sorry for Aleix [Espargaro] because it was his last race here in Catalunya, but happy that at a difficult circuit we are with these top guys again.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) took the chequered flag in fifth ahead of Fernandez and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP). Binder was eighth from Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) who claimed both Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) on the final lap.

Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) finished 12th while Acosta recovered after his crash to take some points in 13th. Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) and Joan Mir (Repsol Honda) rounded out the top 15 and secured points scores for Honda.

Four comebacks in as many races should not be possible, but Marquez has somehow made it possible, gaining no less than 45 positions from start to finish over the French and Catalunya Grand Prix.

This race stands out though due to the immense tyre degradation experienced throughout the field. Marquez was forced to choose a softer tyre, on paper more prone to degradation, and yet, while his competitors’ lap times were dropping towards the end of the race, Marquez was at the sharp end of things.

If Marquez and Gresini can sort out their qualifying woes and find some consistency, one cannot help but feel that they are legitimate title challengers at this point.

1/24: BAGNAIA STEALS HOLESHOT – It’s Bagnaia with the best getaway and beats Acosta to the holeshot. Binder is fourth from Martin and Espargaro.

9/24: FRONT GAPS – It’s now a full second in Martin and Acosta’s favour. In contrast, Binder is losing touch to Bagnaia and falling into the clutches of Espargaro.

11/24: ACOSTA DOWN – Acosta’s front end folds at Turn 10 and the KTM goes down. He is able to rejoin the race.

17/24: GAP COMES DOWN – Bagnaia is now starting to take serious time out of Martin. It’s half a second separating them now.

19/24: BAGNAIA TAKES THE LEAD – Wasting no time, Bagnaia sees a chance at Turn 5, dives down the inside and makes it stick.

21/24: MARQUEZ INTO THIRD – Coming out of the slipstream, M Marquez takes third off Espargaro.

22/24: BAGNAIA’S TO LOSE – With more than eight tenths in his favour now, this is Bagnaia’s race to lose. Martin is in a comfortable runner-up spot with more than nine seconds over M Marquez in third.

24/24: BAGNAIA WINS IN CATALUNYA – No errors today, Bagnaia brings the win home with Martin taking the chequered flag in runner-up spot. M Marquez manages to hold Espargaro behind him for third.