MotoGP Argentina LIVE race: 1st victory for Aprilia and Aleix Espárgaro in MotoGP

Aleix Espargaró won in Argentina the first pole position for Aprilia since the introduction of MotoGP in 2002 and the third for the Noale factory in the premier class, with Tetsuya Harada in Italy in 1999 and Jeremy McWilliams in Australia in 2000. For his 200th start in MotoGP, Aleix Espargaro qualified in leading position for the third time in MotoGP after Assen/2014 (with Forward Yamaha) and Catalunya/2015 (with Suzuki). He becomes the first rider to qualify in pole position with a bike from three different manufacturers since the introduction of MotoGP in 2002… Aprilia also becomes the third manufacturer to qualify in pole position at Termas de Rio Hondo in MotoGP with Honda (five pole positions) and Ducati (1).

George Martin qualified in second position for his seventh appearance on the front row since joining MotoGP last year. He hasn't qualified outside the top two in 2022 so far, but is yet to score any points this year. Luca Marini qualified third for his second MotoGP front row with Emilia-Romagna last year, where he was also third.

After going through Q1, Pol Espargaro qualified in fourth position as best driver Honda for his best qualifying result since he was also fourth last year in Emilia-Romagna. Maverick Vinales qualified in fifth position, which is his best result since joining Aprilia. It was also his best qualifying result since he was on pole position at Assen last year.

With Alex Espargaro et Casa Particular in Viñales, this is the first time that two Aprilia are in the top 5 of qualifications in the premier category. fabio quartararo qualified in sixth position, his best qualifying result in Argentina in any category.

The best Suzuki is alex rins, who took his first MotoGP podium in Argentina in 2018, in seventh position. It's his best qualification since his sixth place last year in Valencia, and he will be aiming for his first podium since Silverstone. Joan mir qualified in eighth position, matching his best qualification since Qatar this year. He will attempt to reach the podium for the first time since Algarve last year, where he was second.

Jack Miller, who took his only MotoGP pole position so far in Argentina in 2018, qualified in 11th position for his worst qualifying result since his 14th place at the Teruel GP in 2020. He will also start 14th in Argentina after having been a 3-place grid penalty for disrupting another driver in Q2, in this case Fabio Quartararo.

The leader of the championship, Enea Bastianini, qualified in 13th position, which is the first time this year that he has not started from the first two rows of the grid. Francis Bagnaia qualified in 14th position, his worst result since his 16th place in France last year.

What will this third round of the year have in store for us with the favorites still absent and the last two winners at the start of the season, including the leader of the general classification, beyond the top 10? Before answering this question, here is the table which summarizes the facts known so far.

Argentine GP MotoGP™	2019	2022
FP1	1'39.827 Marc Márquez (See here)	1'39.028 Takaaki Nakagami (See here)
FP2	1'39.181 Andrea Dovizioso (See here)	1'38.244 Aleix Espargaró (See here)
FP3	1'38.471 Marc Máask (See here)	Canceled
FP4	1'39.341 Marc Máask (See here)	Canceled
Q1	1'39.064 Takaaki Nakagami (See here)	1'38.501 Pol Espargaró (See here)
Q2	1'38.304 Marc Márquez (See here)	1'37.688 Aleix Espargaró (See here)
Warm up	1'39.096 Marc Márquez (See here)	1'38.648 Aleix Espargaro (See here)
Course	Marquez, Rossi, Dovizioso (See here)	A.Espargaro, Martin, Rins
All time lap record	1'37.683 Marc Márquez 2014

The conditions are still ideal for this third round of the championship and the live images prove it…

To your predictions!

The forces present on the starting grid…

It is MICHELIN who says it...

The drivers will have 25 laps (4,8km) to complete to achieve victory.

The peloton set off and at the exit of the first turn it was Martin who got the better of Marini and Aleix Espargaro. The Aprilia rider returns to 1nd. Pol Espargaro and Rins complete this top2. Quartararo is 5th, Zarco is 11th

Martin and A.Espargaro widen the gap: Behind Pol the brother on the Honda gets the better of Marini. Rins, Mir, Vinales, Binder, Bagnaia and Nakagami complete the march of this top10

Martin holds on in front, A.Espargaro is patient and puts pressure on him gently. Quartararo passes Zarco and takes 12th position but Zarco regains his position

Fall of Zarco

The top10 is the following with 19 laps to go: Martin, Espargaro A., Rins who goes live Pol Espargaro, Mir, Marini, Vinales, Bagnaia, Binder, Bastianini. Quartararo is 12th

Things are heating up between Vinales and Marini for the victory of the 6th: Marini is holding on for the moment, this could benefit Bagnaia who is observing this duel. Vinales manages to overtake Marini, he is therefore 6th

There are 15 laps left in this GP, A. Espargaro makes two errors and is relegated to 1s behind Martin who is holding the line at the front. Rins, Pol Espargaro and Mir make up this provisional top5. Quartararo is 11th

The Spaniard makes the effort on the Aprilia, he comes back to 0.367s in the saddle of Martin.

Fall of Pol Espargaro

With 10 laps to go, Martin still leads ahead of A.Espargaro, Rins, Mir, Vinales, Bagnaia, Binder, Marini, Quartararo and Nakagami.

A.Espargaro passes Martin but in vain, the Ducati rider regains control...he missed the Aprilia rider when braking!

Quartararo gets rid of Marini, the Niçois takes 8th position

Another attempt at espargaro on Martin, but once again, he brakes too late. He goes back and this time it passes.

With 4 laps to go, the top 10 is as follows: Espargaro, Martin, Rins, Mir, Vinales, Bagnaia, Binder, Quartararo, Bezzecchi, Bastianini and Marini

Martin doesn't give up, it's 0.202s, there are 2 laps left.

Fall of Di Giannantonio

Last lap….Espargaro in the lead ahead of Martin and Rins

Victory for Espargaro ahead of Martin and Rins. Quartararo avoids damage, he is 8th

MotoGP Argentina Race: classification

 

Credit classification motogp.com