MotoGP

Catalan GP 2024: Bagnaia closes the gap to the top of the championship

At the track of Circuit de Barcelona- Catalunya, it was another showing of what Moto GP does best – CLOSE UNPREDICTABLE RACING.

Published

12 months ago

May 29, 2024

Shashank Shekhar

Catalan GP 2024: Bagnaia closes the gap to the top of the championship

With Motogp riders arriving in the paddocks of the Catalunya circuit, it was understood that the championship leader would not change statistically. Still, the Catalan GP presented itself as an opportunity to close the gap to the table toppers. Here is a timeline of how the weekend unfolded-

Free practice 1

With Jorge Martin topping the first practice session on Friday closely followed by Marc Marquez in second position, the weekend already looked set for another great battle. They were followed by the KTM machines of Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3)

With Aleix Espargaro announcing that he’ll be hanging his boots come the season’s end, it was the last Catalan Gp he would be attending as a rider. He started his weekend by placing his bike in 5^th position in free practice 1.

Here’s how the top 10 looked at the end of FP1:

Practice

With a 60-minute practice session presenting itself as an opportunity to have a direct entry into Q2, Riders were pushing their limits to have a position inside the top 10. With the factory KTMs keeping the top positions for themselves for the majority of the session, it was looking like a strong weekend for the KTM riders.

It was Aliex Espargaro however, who topped the session in a perfect start to the weekend. Brad Binder came in a very close second, only 0.072s adrift of the top step. With Pedro Acosta coming in 3^rd place, it was yet another strong performance from the rookie.

The top 10 gaining a direct entry into Q2 were –

Free Practice 2

With Saturday providing the riders with a last 30-minute FP2, everyone was out on track to gather data to fine-tune their setups.

Aleix Espargaro continued his pace from Friday practice to top FP2 before the all-important Qualifying. Elsewhere it was Francesco Bagnaia who had a strong start to his Saturday from finishing P2 in FP2 followed by two fast Prima Pramacs, with Franco Morbidelli in 3^rd and Jorge Martin in 4^th. Pedro Acosta rounded up the top 5 positions.

Qualifying

With 10 positions in Q2 already decided from Friday’s practice session, Q1 was ever important as it gave the riders entry into the final 2 positions in Q2. As a fast Q1 came to an end, Fabio Di Giannantonio topped the session with a time of 01:38.208. However, it was Raul Fernandes of Trackhouse Racing who gathered the most eyes as he outqualified both Alex Marquez and Marc Marquez, and entered Q2.

Come Q2, the competition was as fierce as ever. It was Aleix Espargaro at his home run, who broke the lap record and secured pole position for himself. Beside him was Francesco Bagnaia who posted a lap time 0.031s slower than the Spaniard. Coming in P3 was Raul Fernandes who got his lap time reinstated. However, it was a disaster for the Prima Pramac Racing garage as both Jorge Martin and Franco Morbidelli came down at the same corner barely moments apart. Jorge Martin eventually qualified in P7, with plenty of work to do. Elsewhere, Alex Rins pushed his Yamaha to a brilliant p8.

Here are the full results- Qualifying Results

Sprint

With the weekend hinting at a close race, we were not disappointed in the sprint. With 3 Riders crashing out of the lead, it was anybody’s win.

At the start, it was the world champion with the best of the starts followed closely by Pedro Acosta in his GASGAS machine. It didn’t take much time for the rookie to start attacking Bagnaia for the lead resulting in a back-and-forth battle between the two. Behind these two, a fast-charging Trackhouse Racing machine of Raul Fernandes was lurking.

As Acosta cleared Bagnaia at Lap 3 of the race, Fernandes too took his chance and overtook Pecco to slot into P2. Raul Fernandes made easy work of Acosta and was now leading the race. Behind them, Brad Binder too had arrived at the scene and started fighting with Acosta. Meanwhile, it was a disastrous end for Raul Fernandes as he slid off the track in turn 10, understandably dejected.

WATCH: Raul Fernandez crashes out of the Sprint lead! — Raul Fernandes dejected after crashing

Now the duel between Pedro and Brad looked like it would become one for the race lead, but KTM of Binder built a gap for himself, leaving Pedro Acosta to defend himself from Francesco Bagnaia in P3. But Binder’s race lead wasn’t long-lasting either, as he lost it in Turn 5.

With Pecco inheriting the lead, Acosta was again left to fend his position from Aleix Espargaro, with the Aprilia rider quickly clearing the GASGAS rider. It was now a match between Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta for the final position on the podium.

The front of the sprint was looking sealed until the very last lap, when Francesco Bagnaia lost his Ducati in Turn 5, with Aleix Espargaro inheriting the lead in almost a fairytale end of the Sprint for the Spaniard.

A scrap for p2 on the grid between Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta went all the way up to the final sector. Jorge Martin finished in P4, with Enea Bastianini finishing in P5 from outside the top 10.

Here are the top 10 –

Race

If anything could be made out of the Saturday sprint, it was a certainty that Sunday’s race would be a close-fought battle. And as the five lights went out, we fans were certainly not disappointed.

It was Francesco Bagnaia who got the best of the starts followed by Pedro Acosta in P2. Brad Binder slotted into 3^rd as Aleix Espargaro being not so lucky, fell down the grid. Jorge Martin shot up from P7 to P4.

Martin looked determined to move up the grid as he cleared Brad Binder with an ambitious lunge into turn 10 of lap 1 itself. Further ahead Acosta had started his attack on Pecco, allowing Martin and Binder to close onto them. Martin eventually passed Acosta into turn 10.

Martin was looking very determined as he passed Pecco as well into turn 1. Next, it was Acosta who passed Pecco into turn 10. The rookie was looking very quick as he easily closed the gap to Martin and started attacking the Pramac Rider.

Behind Bagnaia, a fierce scrap ensued between Brad Binder, Raul Fernandes, and Aleix Esparago. Eventually, both Fernandes and Esparago passed Binder who got shuffled back into P6.

Further ahead, it all came crashing down for the rookie Pedro Acosta as he slid off the track into the gravel at turn 10.

This promoted the #1 bike to P2. From there, Bagnaia drove on his toes to close the gap to P1 and eventually passed Jorge Martin for the lead of the race.

From then on, Pecco shot ahead in the distance, with Jorge dropping. Eventually, Jorge managed to maintain the status quo and maintain his second position until the chequered flag.

Further behind, Marc Marquez had clawed his way back to the front from all the way back in P14. It was now a battle between Aleix Espargaro and Marc Marquez for the final podium position. Marquez made the overtaking move on Esparago and made it stick. He just had to hold onto it till the end of the race. In a battle that happened until a drag race to the line, it was finally Marc Marquez who finished in third position.

Elsewhere, one of the heroes of the entire weekend was Raul Fernandes. From maiden front row start to leading the sprint to eventually finishing the race in P6, it was an overall great weekend for the Spanish rider.

Praise shall also be showered at Pedro Acosta who after falling off his back, managed to claw back into the points and finished p13

Championship Standings

After the CatalanGP, the championship looks like this:

The next race takes place at the iconic Mugello circuit in Italy from 31st May to 2nd June.

MotoGP

MotoGP 2025 : Johann Zarco takes the home race victory at Le Mans

Both the Frenchmen have a magnificent home race, with Quartararo taking pole for second time in a row, and Zarco taking the big victory in MotoGP.

Published

6 days ago

May 13, 2025

Sayujya Apte

Johann Zarco celebrates after winnning the MotoGP French Grand Prix at Le Mans

The French GP, held at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans, was a glorious flag-to-flag spectacle for anyone to behold. Honda and Yamaha both stepped up their game to support two of their riders in their home race. Meanwhile, the ever-dominant Marc Márquez sets new records, extending his unbroken sprint winning streak. Join us as we review, session by session, the spectacle of the French GP.

Weather Causes Chaos before Race Start

THE WHOLE PACK GOES TO PIT LANE 🤯#FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/OnpfD1nJmz
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 11, 2025

The rainy weather of Le Mans caused chaos in the GP before it even started. On the Warm Up Lap, most riders set off on slick tires on a wet track. Evidently this was a bad choice as almost everyone ran wide going into the first chicane, and Fabio Quartararo almost crashed out 3/4ths of the way into the lap.

SAVED IT on the warm up lap 🤯#FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/XzkjluiDk9
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 11, 2025

The race got white flagged, and every single rider decided to go to the pit lane to swap bikes. Now, because too many riders were to start from the pit lane, the race got red-flagged as a whole and got delayed.

Furthermore, after the race restart, some riders, including the Márquez brothers, decided to pit again after the second warmup to swap back to slicks. Because the pit lane was closed, these riders were imposed with a double-long lap penalty.

Marc Márquez Regains his Championship Lead

MotoGP 2025 : Johann Zarco takes the home race victory at Le Mans — Marc serving one of his two long laps penalties during the Grand Prix. Credit: motogp.com

After Marc’s unfortunate crash in Jerez, he lost the championship lead to his younger brother Álex. However, going into France, Marc was determined to regain his championship lead, and he ultimately succeeded in this endeavour.

Having qualified in P2 just behind Quartararo, Marc’s start to the sprint was rather uneventful. However, within just a couple of laps, he engaged in an aggressive back-and-forth with race leader Quartararo and managed to snatch the lead from him. He proceeded to cruise to victory in typical Marc Márquez fashion. With this sprint win, Marc has set a new record by winning six consecutive sprint races.

During the Grand Prix, however, things went a little differently for Marc. Because he went into the pit lane after the race restart, he was imposed with a double long lap penalty. Furthermore, Marc came into the pits for a third time to switch bikes again. Amidst this chaos, he lost a lot of positions, going down all the way to P7 at one point. He did make a recovery, amidst other riders also changing bikes or serving penalties, and ultimately finished the race in P2.

Fabio Quartararo’s Stellar Performance at Le Mans

The past couple of years have not been kind to Frenchman Fabio Quartararo. Complacency in development from Yamaha, along with a lack of support from his team, had placed Fabio as a mid-pack rider at best in the past few seasons. However, in these recent couple of races, Fabio has been making a recovery, from his pole position at Jerez, to finishing on the podium there. And he seems determined to keep pushing on.

At Le Mans, Fabio qualified in pole position, setting a time faster than the likes of Marc Márquez. During the sprint race, he had a stellar start and held his own. He did eventually get overtaken by Marc and a few others, and finished the race just short of a podium in P4.

During the Grand Prix, however, Fabio’s fortunes soured. Early on, his bike showed signs of instability, and in the midst of the early-to-mid race chaos, Fabio crashed out after a collision with Binder, ending his dreams of a victory on home soil.

Johann Zarco Knocks it Out of The Park

Zarco was heading into the French GP with big expectations. Being the best rider on a Honda currently, he was already in talks with the manufacturer, who was considering pulling him off the satellite LCR team and putting him on the factory team. And after his triumph, he has almost guaranteed himself that factory seat.

Zarco’s sprint was uneventful at best. He started from P11 and managed to claw his way up to P6. However, he really shone in the Grand Prix. Having made a better strategic decision on the tires as compared to the other riders, combined with not having to suffer a double long lap penalty, firmly placed Zarco in the lead, and he finished almost 20 seconds ahead of the runner-up Marc Márquez. With this victory, Zarco ends a 71-year drought, becoming the first French rider to win the French GP since 1954.

BACKFLIP TIME AT HOME 🤸 @johannzarco1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/PGeon2BDEq
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 11, 2025

Rookie Aldeguer finally finds his element

For the past few seasons in Moto2, Fermín Aldeguer was one of the most promising riders on the grid. That is why Ducati signed a contract with him at the beginning of the 2024 season. However, the move to the premier class has not been sunshine and rainbows for Aldeguer. For the first few races, he struggled to even make points.

However, Aldeguer had an awe-inspiring performance in Le Mans. He qualified in P4, just behind Quartararo and the Márquez brothers. During the sprint, he had a glorious battle with Quartararo for P3, which earned him his first sprint podium.

The Grand Prix was no different. Aldeguer held his own amidst the chaos, and he briefly managed to become the race leader for a lap. Ultimately, he finished the race in P3 after a glorious battle with Pedro Acosta, earning his first full race podium in the same weekend. Because of this, he overtook Ai Ogura as the best-performing rookie this season. Hopefully, we get to see similar performances from Aldeguer in the near future.

Highlights of the French GP

The following are some moments in the weekend that I consider particularly exciting :

Marc vs Quartararo battle for the lead in the sprint
Fermin Aldegeur vs Quartararo battle for third in sprint
Race start chaos in the Grand Prix
Quartararo vs Marc battle for the lead in the Grand Prix
Aldeguer vs Acosta battle for P3 in Grand Prix

Championship Standings

MotoGP

MotoGP 2025 : Title fight heats up as the paddock heads to Le Mans

Can Marc regain his position at the top of MotoGP, or will he be held off by his younger brother Álex?

Published

1 week ago

May 11, 2025

Sayujya Apte

Fabio leads Alex and Bagnaia at MotoGP Spanish GP

The Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans has seen its fair share of legendary battles involving the likes of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. So it is only fitting that after mid-season testing in Jerez, the MotoGP paddock returns to racing starting here, with Álex Márquez leading the championship standings. Meanwhile, his older brother Marc Márquez, arguably in his peak form, seeks to reclaim his position at the top. Join us as we go over everything you need to know before the lights go off in Qatar.

Marc Márquez seeking to rectify his blunder

MotoGP 2025 : Title fight heats up as the paddock heads to Le Mans — Marc in his garage after the Spanish GP. Credit : @DucatiCorse on X

Marc Márquez has had an absolutely dominant run for the first quarter of the season, breaking and setting new records. He won, consecutively, the first five sprint races of the season. He has also won three of the five GPs. The only times which he has not succeeded outright were at the American GP and the previous Spanish GP. And both of these times, it was because he made a critical blunder.

Marc has shown two times in this season already that while his ambition is his key to success, it can also be his own worst enemy. Therefore, going into Le Mans, one can only foresee two possibilities – Marc either dominates the sprint and the race, or he makes a critical blunder and throws it all away. And with an impeccable track record, he might just sweep the whole thing, maybe even setting new records.

Álex Márquez on top, coming off his maiden victory

So far in this season, the only rider who has shown himself to be a challenge to Marc Márquez is his younger brother, Álex Márquez. Álex has incredible consistency, which is evident by the fact that he has finished the previous five consecutive sprint races in second place, and finished top 2 in four out of those five GPs. He also recently achieved his first win in the premier class at the Spanish GP.

Álex Márquez has a chance to extend his championship lead at the French GP in one of two ways – either he patiently follows his brother, waiting for him to make the rare mistake, or he goes on the offensive and attempts to go head-to-head with him. Álex has a decent track record in Le Mans, and this is one of the tracks where he might just be able to challenge Marc.

Aspirational weekend for Yamaha and Honda

Yamaha’s star rider Fabio Quartararo is coming off a stellar performance in the Spanish GP at Jerez, taking the pole and finishing the race in second place. With almost poetic timing, the following race is his home race. While Fabio has never been able to secure a victory, he seeks to add to his sole podium here from 2021.

Meanwhile, over at the Honda garage is Quartararo’s compatriot and Honda’s top performer this season – Johann Zarco. While he has not had as stellar a performance as Quartararo, he is still leading Honda in the direction of improvement. Zarco, who is currently being considered for a move into the factory team, can certainly aim for a points finish, and if everything falls into place just right, maybe even a podium.

Márquez and Martin bring about immediate regulation changes

The Grand Prix Commission have announced some notable and immediate #MotoGP rule changes ahead of the #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 👇https://t.co/kYsze88cX7
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 6, 2025

MotoGP announced two new key regulations, effective immediately, that were a direct reaction to incidents which took place this season.

The first new regulation states that if a rider leaves the grid for any reason during the start procedure, he will have to start the race from the pit lane. This is a direct response to the antics that Marc Márquez tried to pull off in Austin where he got the race start delayed by getting the riders to abandon their bikes en masse.

The second new regulation states that an injured rider who has missed events due to his injury will be given an opportunity to test with a MotoGP motorcycle, giving them a chance to familiarise themselves with the machine. This is a response to the defending champion Jorge Martin’s crash in Qatar. After he missed pretty much the entirety of pre-season testing and the first three races of the season due to injury, Martin returned to racing at Qatar. However, due to unfamiliarity with the Aprilia, he got into a crash which left him even more injured.

Championship Standing

Following are the championship standings going into the Qatar GP :

Schedule and Where to watch

All MotoGP sessions can be watched in India on Fancode (digital) or on Eurosport (TV broadcast).

Following is the complete schedule of the MotoGP race weekend in IST:

Desi Racing Co is dedicated to bringing the latest updates and insights from the world of motorsport. Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, MotoGP, Indian motorsports, or other racing series, we’ve got you covered! Stay connected with us for in-depth motorsport coverage. Follow us on Twitter/X, Instagram, and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest motorsport news and updates.

MotoGP

Álex Márquez on top for the first time: MotGP Jerez 2025

Álex Márquez takes his first Grand Prix victory as his older brother Marc crashes out in the earlier laps of the race.

Published

3 weeks ago

April 28, 2025

Sayujya Apte

Alex Marquez celebrates on the podium after winning his first race inn MotoGP.

Credits: MotoGP

The Spanish GP at Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto showcased some thrilling racing, as it has on many occasions in the past. From a surprise polesitter, to several key battles, to one crucial mistake from the hero. Álex Márquez, on the other hand, managed to secure his first premier class win and also solidified himself at the top of the championship standings. Join us as we review, session by session, the spectacle of the Spanish GP.

Marc Márquez drops the ball again

Álex Márquez on top for the first time: MotGP Jerez 2025 — Marc, after winning the fifth consecutive sprint in a row, setting a new record. Credit: @DucatiCorse on X

Marc Márquez has been almost untouchable this season, running ahead of everyone else, winning every sprint race and almost every Grand Prix, while also taking pole. However, he had a bit of a turbulent start to his weekend at Jerez when he lost pole position to Fabio Quartararo. This did not prove to be a big deal for the sprint race, as he overtook Quartararo in the early stages, causing him to crash out. Marc proceeded to comfortably cruise to a sprint victory.

On Sunday, however, it was a different story. Marc botched the start to the Grand Prix, causing him to fall behind Quartararo, his teammate Bagnaia and briefly his brother Álex Márquez. Marc soon recovered ground and started going aggressively back-and-forth with Pecco, but as fate would have it, Marc crashed out due to his own misjudgment. He rejoins and has incredibly fast pace after, but it isn’t enough and he finishes outside the points in P12.

Unbelievable scenes 🤯 🤯 @marcmarquez93 tried but could not save this one and crashed 💥#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/eP4fXZADZH
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 27, 2025

Marc has demonstrated two times already that he is his own worst enemy. When the going is good, no other rider has the ability to get even close to Marc, let alone overtake him. But when he makes mistakes, they usually cost him dearly, like losing the championship lead.

Álex Márquez clenches his maiden MotoGP victory

2025 is Álex Márquez’s 6th year of racing in the premier class of MotoGP. Yet, he had not won a single full-form race in the class. However, he changed this fact this weekend by taking the victory in the Jerez GP.

Ironically, Jerez was Álex’s worst qualification this season, as he started from P4 on the grid. He had a relatively uneventful sprint race, riding to a rather comfortable second place behind his older brother, as has been the pattern for the past five consecutive sprints.

However, in the GP, after Marc’s tumble, Álex saw a real opportunity and chased down Bagnaia and Quartararo from quite a way back. He got the upper hand on Bagnaia easily and struggled a bit to overtake Quartararo. But he did pull it off in the first turn of lap 11, and he maintained his position until the end of the race.

👊 @alexmarquez73 HITS THE FRONT! #SpanishGP 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/Le9VNTqglV
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 27, 2025

This performance earned him a position at the top of the championship standings, 5 points over his older brother Marc, whose shadow Álex has been in for a long time. If Álex can keep up his consistency along with his ability to seize any opportunity presented to him, he might very well be Marc’s toughest competitor for the championship.

Fabio Quartararo surprises by putting the Yamaha on pole

The past few years have been difficult for Yamaha, especially for their star rider Fabio Quartararo. Fabio hit a bit of a dry streak after his championship in 2021, which was caused by the Yamaha motorcycle being leagues behind the dominant Ducati. But Yamaha has been making consistent strides, and especially thanks to the concessions given to them, they have been slowly developing a truly competitive bike again. And this fact was proven by Fabio when he put the Yamaha on pole for the first time in 1134 days since the 2022 Indonesian GP.

However, more credit should go to Quartararo than to Yamaha. Quartararo’s motorcycle still placed 21st out of 23 in the speed traps, i.e. it had the 3rd lowest top speed in qualifying. Because Jerez is a track with fewer straights, this fact did not play as big a role. However, on a straight-heavy track, the superior top speeds of the other motorcycles would absolutely crush the Yamaha.

Either way, this is a big positive for Yamaha. The manufacturer who struggled to even score points last season has already put a rider on the podium this season, after 560 days of waiting. However, they still have a long way to go, and their endeavours into V4 engine development are sure to help them in the journey back to the top.