A horror crash overshadowed the MotoGP race in Barcelona and the victory of local hero Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia). Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia lost control of his Ducati shortly after the start at turn three while in first place and smashed the tarmac with full force. Brad Binder (South Africa/KTM) couldn’t avoid it any longer and drove his machine over the world champion’s leg.
The race was stopped immediately, the local doctors took care of Bagnaia. The Italian was conscious but was taken first to the Medical Center and then to a hospital in Barcelona for further tests. Several riders had already fallen in the first corner after a mistake by Enea Bastianini (Ducati) in midfield. The Italian also had to be examined.
After a longer break, the race resumed at 2:26 p.m. Espargaro prevailed in a duel with his Spanish Aprilia teammate Maverick Vinales and crowned his weekend in his own “living room” after the sprint victory.
The 34-year-old comes from Granollers, a town just north of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It was also Aprilia’s first double victory in a Grand Prix.
After the early retirement of Bagnaia, Jorge Martin (Ducati) reduced the gap in the overall standings with his third place. After eleven races, the Spaniard is now 50 points behind the Italian world champion.
Previously, the German motorcycle rider Lukas Tulovic clearly missed out on the points in the Moto2 race. The man from Eberbach, who finished in the top 10 for the first time two weeks ago in Spielberg, only finished 19th in Spain. In the overall World Championship standings, the 23-year-old from the German team Intact GP remains in 21st place with twelve points from eleven races.
First place went to British pole setter Jake Dixon ahead of Spanish duo Aron Canet and Albert Arenas. Overall leader Pedro Acosta (Spain) was only sixth, but still extended his lead over his closest rival Tony Arbolino (Italy/all Kalex) to 22 points.
In Moto3, Colombian David Alonso (GASGAS) secured his second win of the season. In a dramatic race, the 17-year-old only took the lead in the last corner and won ahead of the two Spaniards Jaume Masia (Honda) and Jose Rueda (KTM). Fourth went to Ayumu Sasaki of Japan (Husqvarna), who is just 13 points adrift in the standings following a crash by championship leader Daniel Holgado (KTM).
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