MotoGP Aragon Race LIVE: Fabio Quartararo crashed, Bastianini does not do Bagnaia second any favors

Francesco Bagnaia qualified on pole position for the 11th time in MotoGP, setting a new all-time lap record at MotorLand Aragon, and for the fifth time this season. This after Spain (where he won), France (where he fell while fighting for the lead), Germany (where he fell while fighting for the lead) and the Netherlands (where he won ).

Sunday bagnaia will try to become the first pilot Ducati to achieve five victories in five successive MotoGP races. He would be the first pilot to do so since Marc Marquez in 2019 (from San Marino to Australia). This is the 12th pole of Ducati this season, a new record set by the Bologna factory in a single MotoGP season. Since 2010, only three riders have won the MotoGP race from pole at Aragon: Casey Stoner (2010, 2011), Marc Marquez (2013, 2016, 2019) and Francis Bagnaia (2021)

On pole last time at Misano, Jack Miller qualified in second position for his fourth consecutive front row. He will try to win for the first time since France last year. With Bagnaia, Miller et Enea Bastianini, this is the 35th consecutive race with at least one Ducati in the top three during qualifying. bastianini qualified in third position for his fourth front row since the start of the season. That is, Qatar (where he won his first victory), Austria (where he abandoned the race) and San Marino (where he finished second).

After going through Q1, Aleix Espargaró qualified fourth, his best result since he also qualified fourth in Germany earlier this year. This was his best MotoGP qualifying result at MotorLand. He will aim to reach the podium for the first time since Mugello this year (P3).

Johann zarco, via Q1, qualified in fifth position for his best qualification since his pole at Silverstone. He will aim to achieve his first victory in MotoGP. His best MotoGP result at MotorLand is P5 in 2020 (Teruel GP).

fabio quartararo qualified in sixth position and is the first non-Italian bike. This equates to his worst MotoGP qualifying result at MotorLand since 2020 (Teruel GP). This is the fourth consecutive time that he has not started from the first row of the grid. He will aim to get on the podium for the first time in Aragon in MotoGP.

Marco Bezzecchi qualified in seventh position, this is the seventh time he has qualified on the first three rows of the starting grid in his rookie season. He will aim for his second MotoGP podium with the Dutch TT in P2.

alex rins qualified in ninth position for his best qualifying result since he also qualified in ninth position at the Dutch TT. Kidneys won in MotoGP at MotorLand in 2020 (Aragon GP) after qualifying 10th.

Brad Binder qualified 10th as best KTM, tying his third best qualifying result of the season since the Dutch TT. He will be aiming for his second podium since the start of the year, after that of Qatar where he placed second.

Returning from arm surgery, Marc Marquez qualified in 13th position, which was his worst qualification for his ninth visit to MotorLand in MotoGP. He finished second last year for his sixth MotoGP podium in Aragon.

What will this fifteenth round of the championship have in store for us? Before you know it, here is the table that summarizes the facts known so far.

Aragon MotoGP™	2021	2022
FP1	1'48.048 Marc Marquez (See here)	1'48.686 Aleix Espargaro (See here)
FP2	1'47.613 Jack Miller (See here)	1'47.402 Jorge Martin (See here)
FP3	1'46.926 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	1'46.992 Jack Miller (See here)
FP4	1'48.116 Marc Marquez (See here)	1'47.430 Miguel Oliveira (See here)
Q1	1'47.293 Johann Zarco (See here)	1'46.569 Aleix Espargaro (See here)
Q2	1'46.322 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	1'46.069 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Warm up	1'48.054 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	1'47.689 Takaaki Nakagami (See here)
Course	Pecco Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, Joan Mir (See here)	Bastianini Bagnaia Aleix Espargaró (See here)
All time lap record	1'46.322 Francesco Bagnaia (2021)	1'46.069 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)

Here are the live images…

 

23° in the air and 40° on the track with almost no wind and bright sunshine will be the conditions offered to the drivers for the 23 laps of the race. Combined with the low-grip asphalt conditions of almost 13 years, these hot late summer temperatures could create a real tire thriller at Motorland Aragon.

A reminder of the starting grid:

On the starting grid, the 23 drivers opted for a hard front tire and a medium rear tire. It was already the preferred choice during the 4th free practice session.

A lot of attention is also on Marc Marquez today: the Honda star is celebrating his return to Aragon after a long injury break, he last raced at Mugello. It will be interesting to see how fit he is already.

Here is the choice of tires: all drivers are on equal terms.

Ducati can already claim the title of world champion in the constructors' standings today. To do this, the Italians just have to score 15 points more than Yamaha , because even if they had the same number of points, they would still have many more victories under their belt.

The grid empties, the engines roar. Here we go, the warm-up lap begins. The drivers are back on the grid and resuming their starting positions, we are about to start!

Dramatic start with the heavy fall of Quarterly and further the accident of Nakagamid. In both cases, Marc Marquez is involved. His bike is damaged, he gives up. Marquez got off to a great start, but then nearly fell with a highside in T3. Quarterly hits the rear of the Honda, can no longer avoid it and flies away violently. Then Nakagami hit the injured Honda 93, ending up full track. Fortunately the peloton was able to avoid it...

After all these emotions, the ranking:

bastianini increases pressure and appears in P2 for the first time, but does not attack yet. Brad Binder is unleashed, he goes third. Aleix I will espargaro goes back to 4th.

bastianini kept his promise, he attacked bagnaia and takes the lead. It must be said that, for the championship, Quarterly not here anymore. But the Gresini driver makes a mistake and bagnaia takes the lead.

bagnaia in control after 10 laps with an advantage of around 8 tenths now on bastianini  who made a mistake at turn 12.

Binder et Aleix Espargaro are very close to Italian, then Miller et Martin.

Classification :

bastianini has already recovered bagnaia and now both are divided by less than 5 tenths. During this time Marini exceeded Olive tree for 8th position and is getting closer to zarco. Martin nearly Miller for 5rd position. Aleix I will espargaro stick to Brad Binder, the Spaniard seems ready to attack the South African from KTM.

Aleix Espargaró must also leave Brad Binder and look back because Miller gets closer again.

bagnaia et bastianini increase the pace, they distance themselves from the rest of the field. Brad Binder and Co. can no longer keep up. 1,2 seconds now between him and bastianini.

bastianini can always get closer to bagnaia in sectors 3 and 4, but he always loses in the first section of the track. Brad Binder is now 1,5 seconds away from bastianini, but also fell 0,4 seconds behindAleix I will espargaro et Miller.

Meanwhile, news arrives from the medical center about Fabio Quartararo, who has abrasions on his chest. Nakagami takes an x-ray of his right hand. 

bagnaia in control with 0.350 ahead Bastianini. The scene we are going to experience looks like a replay of what we saw in Misano. Binder still third, but Aleix Espargarò is on the lookout. The last five rounds are underway!

bastianini seems to have more grip. He can drive much tighter lines but can't pass yet. Aleix Espargaró Binder et Miller are fighting like ragtags for third place. Last round ! bastianini pass !

bastianini wins his fourth victory of the season ahead of bagnaia et Aleix Espargaro. In the championship, bagnaia is 10 points from Quarterly et Aleix Espargaro is 17 lengths away. But bastianini is at 48 units and remains in the race for the crown… At Ducati, feelings are mixed.

Brad Binder is fourth, closely followed by Miller. Martin saves sixth place on the line, behind him Marini Beat zarco in the fight for P7. Kidneys et Bezzecchi complete the top ten.

Olive tree must be satisfied with 11th place in front Alex Marquez, Casa Particular in Viñales finished 13th. Crutchlow impresses during his return to MotoGP in 14th, Pol Espargaro grabs the last point.

Ducati has in the meantime secured the title of constructors' world champion! The Italians will no longer be able to be caught up in 2022.

MotoGP Aragon Race: classification

Credit classification motogp.com