MotoGP Spain LIVE race: Francesco Bagnaia wins despite Brad Binder and Freddie Spencer

This Saturday in Jerez de la Frontera delighted us with a qualifying disrupted by drops of rain and a Tissot Sprint marked by a red flag and ragtag battles at all levels, including for victory. The good news is that the best is yet to come! Because now is the time for the 2023 Guru by Gryfyn Spanish Grand Prix…

Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia Racing) will start from the leading position. He scored his fifth MotoGP pole this Saturday at Jerez, a performance he had not achieved since Catalonia last year. The native of Granollers fell in the Tissot Sprint and now hopes to regain the podium, which has eluded him since the 2021 Aragon GP, ​​or even achieve his second victory after that acquired in Argentina in 2022. Incidentally, Aprilia is the fifth manufacturer to dominate premier class qualifying at Jerez after Honda, Yamaha, Ducati and Suzuki.

Second in Q2, Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) signed his best result in the exercise since his arrival at KTM This year. The Australian had not had such a good performance since the Aragon GP last year, when he started from this same second place. The #43 finished third in the Tissot Sprint and will look to make MotoGP history tomorrow by becoming the first man to win for three different brands, after his previous successes at Honda and Ducati.

Thanks to Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac Racing), Ducati continues a 44th consecutive Grand Prix with at least one representative on the front row. Fourth in qualifying, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) achieved its best performance of the season in the exercise and its best result since its third place in Q2 in Japan last year. The South African won his second Tissot Sprint (after Argentina) and equal Francis Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) after these first four Saturday clashes. This Sunday, the No. 33 will have its sights set on a third success in the elite after the Czech Republic in 2020 and Austria the following year.

Poleman and winner last year at Jerez, Pecco Bagnaia went through the repechage, which had not happened to him since Malaysia in 2022. The World Champion finally finished fifth in Q2, which means that he will be missing on the front line for the first time this season.

Benefiting from a wild card this weekend, the MotoGP Legend Dani Pedrosa (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) qualified in sixth place, his best result in the exercise since this same position in Aragon in 2018. The “little samurai” reached the podium 10 times in Jerez, the last dating back to 2017, when the No. 26 won from pole.

With the seventh fastest time in qualifying, Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team) achieved his second best performance in the year in MotoGP after the 2020 Andalusian GP, ​​which he started from fifth row. In the Tissot Sprint, the Portuguese crossed the line in fifth position and will aim to get on the podium, something he has not done since his victory in Thailand last year. If he succeeded, it would be the first top 3 for No. 88 with Aprilia.

Trapped in Q1, the leader of the World Championship Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) is 13th on the grid this weekend, his worst result since his 18th place in Valencia last year. The Italian took the point for ninth place in the Tissot Sprint and will be dreaming of his second victory in the elite after that won in Argentina earlier in the season.

fabio quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) competed on Saturday in its sixth Q1 since arriving in MotoGP in 2019 and its second of the year after Argentina. The Frenchman was absent from Q2 for the second time after the 2021 Emilia Romagna GP. Only 16th on the grid, this is the worst result for the Niçois, who started second last year on this track.

Here is the starting grid:

The presentations made, what will this fourth round of the season have in store for us with its four poets in the first four places? Before you know it, here is the table that summarizes the facts known so far.

MotoGP™, Jerez, Spain	2022	2023
P1	1'38.194 Joan Mir (See here)	1'36.770 Dani Pedrosa (See here)
P2	1'37.071 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	1'36.708 Aleix Espargaró (See here)
FP	1'36.782 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	1'37.229 Miguel Oliveira (See here)
FP4	1'37.517 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	XXXXXXX
Q1	1'37.003 Johann Zarco (See here)	1'36.493 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Q2	1'36.170 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	1'37.216 Aleix Espargaró (See here)
Sprint	XXXXXXX	Binder, Bagnaia, Miller (See here)
Warm up	1'37.442 Takaaki Nakagami (See here)	1'37.261 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
Course	Bagnaia, Quartararo, Aleix Espargaro (See here)	Bagnaia, Binder, Miller (See here)
All time lap record	1'36.170 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)

And we will remember that anything can happen this year…

28.3° in the air and 34° on the track under a sky that is hardly threatening will be the conditions offered to the pilots. Here are the live images…

What if Pedrosa had a nice surprise in store for us today!!!

Wink to the fans

Grid...

25 laps will be completed

What if Binder did it again...?

Big challenge for Quartararo... to move up very quickly from 16th position..

Fall of Quartararo from the start! Oliveira falls while following the 2 drivers are affected: Oliveira leaves on a stretcher.. Quartararo walks with difficulty but everything is OK

RED FLAG!