MotoGP Aragon Race LIVE: Bagnaia snatches victory against Marc Marquez, Quartararo eighth, Zarco out of the points

It was Francesco Bagnaia who qualified in pole position for this Aragon Grand Prix, setting a new MotorLand track record. This is the second time he will command a starting grid in MotoGP, after Qatar this year. He will aim to achieve his first victory in the category. Francesco Bagnaia's pole position is the 50th pole position for Ducati in the premier class. Additionally, this is the third pole position for Ducati at MotorLand Aragon with Casey Stoner in 2010, when he took Ducati's only victory at this track.

This is the first time that the two official drivers of Ducati qualify for the first time since the 2018 Aragon GP, ​​with Jorge Lorenzo on pole in front Andrea Dovizioso. Jack Miller qualified in second position, equaling his best result of the season in Catalonia, where he finished the race in third position. He has finished on the podium in MotoGP at MotorLand once, in 2019 and in third position.

fabio quartararo qualified third and starts from the front row for the 34th time in what is his 46th race in MotoGP, a rate of almost 73,9%. In his 33 front row starts, he has reached the podium 17 times, including seven of his eight premier class victories so far.

Marc Marquez, a five-time MotoGP winner at MotorLand, qualified fourth for his best qualifying result since third at the 2020 Spanish GP, where he broke his right arm during the race.

George Martin qualified in fifth position, which is the fifth time in his nine MotoGP races that he has started from the first two rows of the starting grid. He will attempt to reach the podium for the fourth time this season.

Alex Espargaro qualified in sixth position, which is the second best qualifying result for a driver Aprilia at MotorLand in MotoGP after 2019, where he qualified in fifth position. It will aim to offer Aprilia its first consecutive podium in the premier category.

Joan mir, who finished third twice last year at MotorLand, qualified seventh, marking the sixth time so far this year that he has started from the first three rows of the grid.

Espargaro Pol qualified in eighth position, equaling his second best result of the season since France, Germany, and after Silverstone where he was on pole position.

Joining Q2 for the first time in his rookie MotoGP season, Enea Bastianini qualified in ninth position, which constitutes his best qualifying performance in the category. His best race result so far in MotoGP is ninth place in Portugal.

After going through Q1 for the third time this year, with the Dutch TT and the British GP, Johann zarco qualified in 10th position, for his worst result since his 16th place at the Aragon GP last year.

After going through Q1, Brad Binder qualified in 12th position for the second consecutive time. He is the best placed KTM rider. KTM's best result at MotorLand is fourth place Pol Espargaro at the Teruel GP last year.

What will this Aragon Grand Prix, thirteenth round of the MotoGP season, have in store for us? Before answering this question, here is the table which summarizes the facts known so far.

Aragon MotoGP™	2020	2021
FP1	1'48.184 Alex Márquez (See here)	1'48.048 Marc Marquez (See here)
FP2	1'47.782 Takaaki Nakagami (See here)	1'47.613 Jack Miller (See here)
FP3	1'47.333 Franco Morbidelli (See here)	1'46.926 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
FP4	1'47.931 Maverick Vinales (See here)	1'48.116 Marc Marquez (See here)
Q1	1'47.071 Pol Espargaró (See here)	1'47.293 Johann Zarco (See here)
Q2	1'46.882 Takaaki Nakagami (See here)	1'46.322 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Warm up	1'48.565 Takaaki Nakagami (See here)	1'48.054 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Course	Franco Morbidelli, Alex Rins, Joan Mir (See here)	Pecco Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, Joan Mir
All time lap record	1'46.635 Marc Márquez (2015)	1'46.322 Francesco Bagnaia

Before jumping into the fray here are the live images…

29° in the air and 46.7° on the track are the conditions proposed to the drivers for the 23 laps of the race which will take place under a blazing sun and a delighted public.

The rear soft tire is a majority choice on the grid. With a hard one up front. The Jack Miller Option is therefore widely followed. Alone zarco has a front medium.

Let's go, bagnaia takes the lead in front Marc Marquez Miller et Aleix. Mir suit Quarterly slipped to sixth. zarco 13e. Alex Marquez fall at turn 5. Quarterly is even seventh then passed by Martin. The KTMs of Binder and lecuona are after him. Dixon fall at turn 9.

After two rounds, Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, Miller et Alex Espargaro are in the lead, Mir closes the top 5. Enter Quarterly et Binder it's a war for seventh place.

lecuona goes eighth behind Quartararo, Zarco doesn't make it, he's 14th. Kidneys starting 20th is 12th. bagnaia whip and line up the best laps in the race. Valentino Rossi is last, behind Casa Particular in Viñales...

lecuona is unleashed and he passes Quarterly… Which slips ninth since Brad Binder passes in turn. zarco is 15th. There are 16 rounds left.

Quarterly is now under threat of bastianini against which he is obliged to defend himself fiercely. His lap times are slow, he is the only one in the top 12 to run faster than 1'48. There are 14 rounds left and the duel between bagnaia et Marc Marquez becomes clearer. The dueling duo breaks away from Miller who sees the threat Aleix Espargaró grow.

12 laps from the goal, Miller made a mistake and slipped to fifth. Mir is third and Aleix I will espargaro fourth.

bagnaia always in the lead and Marc Marquez who follows him like his shadow have a lead of 4 seconds over the official Suzuki. Quarterly fights to be ninth against bastianini et Nakagami. lecuona is unleashed, he fights against Binder et Martin to gain seventh place.

There are 7 rounds left and lecuona slipped tenth behind bastianini, and Quarterly which is eighth. Martin et Binder as Miller are in front.

There are 5 rounds left and Marc Marquez looks fitter than bagnaia... Quarterly goes back on Martin. Zarco is 17th and therefore out of the points.

Three laps from the goal, Marc Marquez launches his attacks and bagnaia his defenses...

Under the checkered flag, bagnaia wins the day after having magnificently resisted a ringworm Marc Marquez. Mir complete the podium. Alex Espargaro et Miller close the top 5. Quarterly is eighth, ahead Martin et Nakagami and behind Brad Binder and an excellent bastianini on the GP19. zarco 17e. Casa Particular in Viñales 18th in front Red et Marini is last.

In the championship, bagnaia passes second to Quarterly here 53 points ahead. So he dropped 12.

MotoGP Aragon Race: classification

Credit classification motogp.com