MotoGP: title fight to Motorland Aragon – Road Racing World Magazine

Back to Motorland: Another fight in store in 2024?

MotoGP™ will return to the stage with some amazing stunts in recent seasons, with the scene set for a repeat performance. But which one?

Monday, August 26, 2024

In the year As the paddock arrives at Motorland Aragon in 2021, now two-time MotoGP™ World Champion – and current championship leader – Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) has never won a MotoGP™ race. That changed on Sunday as #63 eight-time world champion, home hero and anti-clockwise king Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) raced for the top spot, fending off seven attacks over the final three laps to join the premiership pantheon. Class winners. Since that day, their respective paths have taken many twists and turns – and next year they will reunite as teammates. But here began the milestone of what could become one of the sport’s greatest long-term rivalries. Can we expect this fall?

Bagnaia is on a roll when Paddock returns to Spain. He has now equaled his most wins in a single season – seven – and reached the double in style at Aragon by Spielberg. The fact that he is the rider to beat, the championship leader, riding in enemy territory and now staring down the barrel of his 2025 teammate will have his say on Bagnaia’s legacy. By the way, the same rider who has a corner named after them on this track. Inspiration and form don’t come in more compelling packages than this.

Márquez, meanwhile, arrived at a blistering pace after two sprint crashes and an even more impressive start to the Austrian GP. But the pace in Spielberg was amazing in a different way. Will he be able to stick with the red machine in the future? It didn’t look like anyone else could do it and the stage seemed set for him as Bagnaya, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), Marc Marquez lined up on the front row. So now add in Aragon, the reality is clockwise and home turf, and there could be fireworks this weekend – even without considering that a centimeter more chance could have its say in changing the direction of his run.

Having said that, Martin can never be counted out. In the year In the final season of 2023, #89 learned to be fast and consistent at the same time, and he will carry that into 2024 in the battle for the lead – and lead the way for many seasons – without the need for any great return. He’s quick everywhere, he’s made relatively few unforced errors, and he’s only five points off the top. It is also well versed in sticking to and aligning with other key competitors. Reaching the top ten is something he has done before and it will come as no surprise to see him prove to be a key player in the fight for victory.

And then there is Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team). 2021 was certainly not the last time Aragon hosted MotoGP™. The last time he did it, in 2022, was another fight – but this time with Bastianini vs Bagnaia, and the Beast coming out on top. He lost a bit of ground at the Austrian Championships but his double at Silverstone was a reminder of just how fast he is if anyone wanted one. He is third in the title race, unbeaten and 61 points off the top. In the year A maximum of 333 points remain on the table in 2024, and Bastiani is one of the passengers, if not the rider, who immediately springs to mind when you think of the 148 races in Aragon, San Marino, Emilia-Romagna and Sepang. This is where that time begins.

There were many positives in Austria though. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) is back in the top five on his home turf, and teammate Jack Miller had plenty of pace to write home about despite his split on Sunday. Marco Bezecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) had a strong weekend and took home the top six, and Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) had some real flashes of speed despite some drama on the road. We can expect the return of Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) in Aragon to fight in the same team.

For Aprilia, meanwhile, Aragon should promise a little more. Spielberg saw Alex Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) take the Tissot sprint podium and team-mate Maverick Vinales take the lead in P7 on Sunday, but that doesn’t make him better than his former best in the standings. Motorland’s vastly different layout, plus their on-track records and home turf appearance for the #12 and #41, should see the Noale factory back in the mix. Trackhouse Racing’s Raul Fernandez and Miguel Oliveira want more from the 2024 RS-GPs and are hoping for similar progress.

Looking to join and win that tight fight for the top five or so are the likes of Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and especially Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GAASGAS Tech3). The #73 took the top ten but had a tougher weekend, and the #31 had one of the toughest yet in MotoGP™, not far behind wildcard Pol Espargaro and with teammate Augusto Fernandez hot on his heels.

It was hard for a few in Austria. Some issues affected Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team) and Yohan Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) – although the latter finished – on Sunday, although Honda took two points, Takaki Nakagami (Charge) was caught in P14 in the last lap ( IDEMITSU Honda LCR ). Meanwhile, Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) had a stronger game and will be looking for more in the Honda battle in Aragon and the fight for points. But none more true than Yamaha.

Neither Fabio Quattararo nor his Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ teammate Alex Rins scored in Austria and they want to do it right ASAP in Aragon. They had a test in the middle where work to get back into that battle continued, and instead called on MotoGP talent Andrea Dovizioso to line up, while test rider Cal Crutchlow continued his recovery from illness. Damage. That was on Misano, so it could be interesting on the events on the horizon, but it will be clear on Motherland’s first mission: points.

We’ve seen some real classics on this track and the 2018 With more than just points on the line like honor, fame, glory and more up for grabs, you won’t want to miss the Gran Premio GoPro de Aragon this weekend.

Showtime

Saturday

Tissot Sprint: 15:00 (UTC +2)

Sunday

Grand Prix: 14:00 (UTC +2)

Moto2™: Will the form book change again in Aragon?

The Austrian GP was a weekend where the front runners of the Moto2™ World Championship had a tough time – and on Sunday afternoon nobody could compete with Celestino VTT (Red Bull KTM Ajo). The Italian won at the Red Bull Ring for the second year in a row as he traveled to a different challenge in the form of the Motorland Aragon.

It was Vietti’s first win in the famous Red Bull KTM Ajo colors. Two podiums made an impressive start to the second half of the #13’s season as Alonso Lopez (Synchro Speedup) ended his small podium drought in second. Jake Dixon’s (CFmoto Inde Aspar Team) P3 Britannia continued his good form, narrowly missing out on a podium finish for 2022 Aragon stage winner Aaron Canet (Fantic Racing).

Those four riders will be looking for more of the same performance in Aragon, but title chase leader Sergio Garcia, his MT Helmets – MSI teammate Ai Ogura, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing) and Fermin Aldeguer (Sync SpeedUp) will be hungry for more. More.

Garcia’s P14 saw him gain just two points – the difference now stands at 20 – over a luckless Ogura, who saw the Japanese star suffer a broken right hand in his first crash of the season. Roberts’ quiet weekend saw him claw back some crucial points on Garcia, while Aldeguer’s P20 now sees him drop to P5 – behind his team-mate – in the overall standings… How will the grid line up again at MotorLand?

Moto3™: Alonso looks to hit home the advantage in Aragon

David Alonso’s show stopper at Spielberg saw the Colombian take his seventh win of the season, despite suffering a long lap penalty. The latest 25-point collection sees the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar team take a 71-point lead in the Moto3™ title race in Aragon. Now the question is: Can anyone stop the amazing #80s movement?

Despite the drama that opened for Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) in Austria, the Spaniard remains Alonso’s main championship chaser. Sunday promises more for Ortola than P9, as he stops the bike as the riders move up the grid. Still, that recovery was something special, but now it’s about beating Alonso on occasion.

In the year That result saw Muñoz move up to P5 in the championship, one place behind Colin Weger (Leaky Molly Husvarna Intact GP), but P5 was not the case as the Dutch star hoped Aragon would be his first win since Jerez. T Veijer ordered from Austria.

Catch me if you can shout from Alonso – how will the chasers react at Motorland?