Aleix Espargaró clinched victory in the Sprint race of the Catalan GP in MotoGP. The race was marked by the crashes of three leading riders, including Francesco Bagnaia, who crashed on the last lap.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) had a strong start, taking the lead ahead of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM). Espargaró (Aprilia) didn’t capitalize on his pole position, dropping to fifth. Raúl Fernández (Trackhouse Racing/Aprilia) was in third place.
The second lap saw Acosta move into the lead. On the third lap, Bagnaia lost positions to Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) and Fernández, who eventually took the lead. Acosta, meanwhile, dropped to third but quickly regained his position.
On the fifth lap, Fernández was leading but crashed out, ending his race. On the following lap, Binder overtook Acosta to become the new leader. Bagnaia climbed back into the top three, now in third place, with Espargaró in fourth.
💥 @25RaulFernandez HAS CRASHED OUT OF THE LEAD!
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 25, 2024
A major blunder just when he was starting to pull away 😱#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/fiphDLUS2d
By the seventh lap, Binder suffered the same fate as Fernández, crashing out while leading. Bagnaia, who had already passed Acosta, reclaimed the top spot. A lap later, Espargaró overtook Acosta, aiming to catch Bagnaia. Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati), who started from 14th, was now in fourth place.
Now @BradBinder_33's gone down! 😱
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 25, 2024
High drama at the lead! @PeccoBagnaia inherits P1 now 👀#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/ALG934T3Y7
The eight-time world champion managed to reach third place by overtaking Acosta at the start of the final lap. But the race still had more drama to unfold.
During the last lap, Bagnaia crashed while comfortably leading, forcing him to retire. Espargaró inherited the lead and won the race, with Marc Márquez finishing second and Acosta in third. Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati) completed the top five.
MORE AND MORE DRAMA 🤯@PeccoBagnaia crashes out of the lead in the last lap as @marcmarquez93 takes 2nd from @37_pedroacosta 😱#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/ESJQCAvxEb
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 25, 2024
The remaining point-scoring positions, from sixth to tenth, went to Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati), Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM), Maverick Viñales (Aprilia), and Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati).
