Francesco Bagnaia won the MotoGP Catalan GP. The champion of the last two years overcame yesterday’s fall in the Sprint race in Barcelona to win clearly, showing he was the strongest this Sunday.
A good start from Bagnaia (Ducati) placed him in the lead of the race ahead of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM) and Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati). Pole position holder Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) fell back to fifth.
🚦LIGHTS OUT in #MotoGP🚦@PeccoBagnaia leads into T1! @37_pedroacosta is right behind#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/pmJNHHYpAr
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 26, 2024
The first crash happened on the third lap, involving Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM). At that point, the podium positions were stable, with no real fights or attacks. In a long race where tire management would be essential, the riders started more conservatively.
On the fourth lap, Martín overtook Acosta to reach second and, a lap later, did the same to Bagnaia to take the lead. The Italian would also lose the position to Acosta on the fifth lap.
Changes in the top five on lap ten. Binder lost positions to Espargaró and Raúl Fernández (Trackhouse Racing/Aprilia), while on lap 11 Acosta fell. The incident promoted Bagnaia to second and Espargaró to third. But the race was far from over.
💥 @37_pedroacosta GOES DOWN!
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 26, 2024
The Spaniard is out of contention 😱#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/dIvWRCk81D
In the last ten laps, Bagnaia began to close in on Martín. A change of leader on lap 19 with an overtake by Bagnaia in turn five. Four laps from the end, Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) finally reached the podium, overtaking Espargaró to move up to third.
With Bagnaia managing a comfortable distance from Martín, the most exciting battle was for third place. Márquez resisted intense pressure from Espargaró to secure a return to the main race podiums.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati) achieved his best result of the season by finishing fifth, ahead of Fernández. Notable mention for Acosta, who did not abandon after the fall and managed to score points with 13th place.
