The Aragon MotoGP race was one full of excitement as Pecco Bagnaia picked up his maiden MotoGP victory after fending off Marc Marquez who saw the chequered flag after Bagnaia to pick his second podium finish of the season along with Joan Mir who did extremely well to climb up the pack and seal the final podium spot. Let’s have a look at the men who shined and the men who left us wanting more from the Aragon MotoGP.
MEN WHO SHINED
Francesco Bagnaia broke the headlines this week when he picked up his first-ever MotoGP victory and became the eighth different rider to win a race in 2021. Honda’s Marc Marquez looks as if he has found his rhythm back but just couldn’t take the lead off Bagnaia. The Spaniard made seven attempts across the final three laps to pass Bagnaia but failed to make the move stick on all occasions. Reigning World Champion, Joan Mir completed the podium after Aleix Espargaro dropped off the pace and lost a position to Mir. Jack Miller looked promising on Sunday but he went off the track at the final two corners which cost him two positions as he crossed the line P5. Enea Basrianini, in his rookie season with Ducati, crossed the line in the sixth position which marked the young Italian’s second top 10 finish this season. After starting 12th on the grid, Brad Binder picked up a couple of places in the dying moments which helped him cross the line with a P7 finish. A poor race launch from Fabio Quartararo dropped him to P5 at the start of the race and by lap six he was down to P7 and lost that position to Brad Binder in the dying moments of the race. The Styrian GP winner Jorge Martin has been doing well since the double-header in Austria and has finished inside the top 10 once again. Takaaki Nakagami completed the top 10 on the sole LCR Honda at the finish.
MEN WHO LEFT US WANTING MORE
Alex Marquez, who was slowly starting to find rhythm this season, went out on the first lap of the race and was accompanied by SRT stand-in Jake Dixon on the following lap of the race. Maverick Vinales was back on the MotoGP grid after missing three races but this time it wasn’t on his blue and black Yamaha, it was his Aprillia which he is not yet used to, as he struggled to move up the grid and finished the race a lowly P18. A few races ago, if anyone would have asked who Quartararo’s rival is for the title, many would’ve answered Johann Zarco, but recent results tell you the exact opposite story as he currently finds himself nearly 80 points behind Quartararo.
STANDINGS:
Riders
A P8 finish for Quartararo meant that he could only add eight points to his tally which takes him to 214 points. A race win for Francesco Bagnaia takes him much closer to El Diablo and brings the points gap to just 53 points. Joan Mir did well this weekend too and kept his title defense hopes running as he now sits in third with 157 points, just 4 behind Bagnaia. Another poor race for Johann Zarco means that he’s still stuck in 4th position with Jack Miller right on his tail with 129 points. Brad Binder and Aleix Espargaro both have been excellent since the summer break and find themselves in 6th and 7th position with 117 and 96 points respectively. Maverick Vinales is still without a point since getting a podium finish at Assen and is stuck at 95 points just like Miguel Oliveira who is at 9th with 97 points. To wrap up the top 10, we have Marc Marquez whose second podium finish took him 8 points clear of Jorge Martin and into the top 10.
Constructors
It was a great day for Pecco Bagnaia and his Ducati team as they went back to the top in the constructor’s championship with just an eight-point lead over their rivals Yamaha who have bagged 242 points as of now. A podium finish for Suzuki saw them reclaim their lead against KTM but the gap between the two is just four points and things could go either way in the coming races. Honda extended their tally to 135 points thanks to Marc Marquez’s podium finish and at last, we have Aprillia with 97 points to their name.
As the battle for the Rider’s and constructors’ Championship intensifies, MotoGP now travels to San Marino for the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini this coming weekend.
[All Images Credit: MotoGP]
Shashank Iyer