12.
15:21
Last round
Vinales launches his attack on Bagnaia a little early at the end of the home straight. This allows Bagnaia to brake later and maintains its position. This will be an exciting last round. 12
11.
15:19
Strong fight for tenth place
A real battle ensues for tenth place. Alex Marquez currently holds that rank. His brother is right behind him, with Luca Marini and Fabio DiGianntonio in tow. It’s not about points here, but the last word has not yet been spoken. In this battle for positions there is still a lot of fuel.
10
15:17
Espargaro on his way to his first sprint win
Aleix Espargaro is now able to extend his lead to over a second. If he continues like this, no one can take victory away from him. Behind it is narrower. Vinales is only 0.2 seconds behind Bagnaia and may want to launch another attack. Behind Brad Binder takes a look at the duel.
8th.
15:15
5 more rounds
The drivers still have five laps to complete. The rain has stopped again, so there is a high probability that there will be no more bike changes. Marc Márquez is 10th in his safety mode, Fabio Quartararo is fighting his way up to 18th.
8th.
15:14
Espargaro pulls away
Espargaro puts 0.5 seconds between himself and Bagnaia on one lap, showing how well his Aprilia performs at the home circuit. In third place is Vinales, the second works Aprilia.
7.
15:12
leadership change
Strong move by Aleix Espargaro! He waits one lap and launches his next attack after the long straight. He pushes himself hard, but absolutely fair past the leader. Bagnaia seems a bit lacking in grip and Espargaro maintains the lead.
5.
15:10
Espargaro shows up in front
Aleix Espargaro shows up at Pecco Bagnaia. On the start and finish straight, he moves alongside the leaders, but is still at a disadvantage on the brakes. Still, it’s a clear sign towards Bagnaia that he’s not through here yet.
4.
15:09
Pol Espargaro is out
Pol Espargaro misbrakes, drives into the gravel bed and can no longer keep control of his GasGas. He falls over and the race is over. He was not injured in this action.
3.
15:07
field sorts itself
At the very front, the field sorts itself out a bit. Bagnaia continues to lead and feels Aleix Espargaro on his neck. Behind there is a small gap of almost a second to Maverick Vinales, who currently holds the last place on the podium. Brad Binder has worked his way up to fourth place.
3.
15:06
Driving error by Jorge Martin
Martin brakes far too late in the first corner, has to open it again and takes a detour via the long-lap track. As a result, he loses a few places and returns to the track in seventh place. He now has Bezzecchi in front and Marc Marquez behind.
2.
15:04
starting loser
The losers of the start are quickly found. Fabio Quartararo goes wide on the outside of turn one and has to go wide. There are just too many pilots next to each other. In this way he avoids a fall, but only returns to 20th place. Pol Espargaro is also marginalized and loses places. But everyone made it through the first round unscathed.
1.
15:02
Martin with a great start
Jorge Martin got off to a terrific start and entered the first corner in second behind Bagnaia. But he cannot hold the position, because Vinales and Aleix Espargaro quickly pass him.
1.
15:01
It’s starting!
The voltage increases. It’s really hectic in the pit lane, the mechanics are preparing the replacement bikes for the rain. But first the start has to be completed. The traffic lights go out. Who will be the first to turn into turn one?
15:00
Warm up lap
The eleventh sprint of the season is about to start. The pilots give their all for the warm-up lap and then it starts. But on some sections of the route light rain is already reported.
14:55
Track offers crash potential
Last year there was a brutal crash in the main race. Nakagami crashed at Turn 1, taking Alex Rins and Francesco Bagnaia with him. Those responsible reacted and expanded the run-off zone after turn one. Nevertheless, the sprint is always good for one or the other more daring manoeuvre. There were also several falls in turn five in 2022. It remains exciting whether all 22 drivers will see the black and white checkered flag today.
14:50
12 rounds are pending
The sprint race is scheduled for 12 laps today. There are still a few question marks about the weather. The clouds are getting darker and a severe weather warning has been issued for today. So far, however, the track is still dry and there is hope that the rain will only show itself after the race. Otherwise the cards could be completely reshuffled, because no driver really knows anything about rain in Barcelona.
14:40
The Japanese are sliding deeper and deeper into the crisis
For the works from Japan, on the other hand, nothing went together again. Marc Márquez was able to get his Honda into Q2 with a little help from Jack Miller, but delivered the worst qualifying time here and starts from 12th place today. The two Yamahas will start the race from positions 16 and 17. I placed the second factory Honda in 20th place, ahead of the two LCR customer Hondas.
14:32
Bagnaia sovereign like Verstappen
The Aprilias are known to be extremely strong on the Circuit de Catalunya. They dominated the training sessions, but at just the right time, current World Cup leader and World Champion Francesco Bagnaia found a way to break the dominance in Barcelona. With a new lap record, Bagnaia snatched pole position on his Ducati ahead of the Aprilia trio of Aleix Espargaro, Miguel Oliveira and Maverick Vinales. It is not without reason that some colleagues compare him to Max Verstappen from Formula 1. Both seem to be in a league of their own right now.
14:24
Welcome
Hello and welcome to the next highlight in Barcelona. After qualifying took place this morning, the premier class sprint race continues at 3 p.m.