The eighth round of the MotoGP, the Aragon GP, was held at Motorland Aragon in Spain from June 6th to 8th, and Marc Marquez (Ducati) won both the sprint race and the final race.
Marc Marquez dominates Aragon GP
Ai Ogura (Aprilia), who injured her right knee in the previous race, the British Grand Prix, underwent surgery in Barcelona, Spain on May 27th. She underwent a re-examination by the surgeon before the Aragon Grand Prix and is recovering well, but she has been ruled out as not being fit enough to compete in the Aragon Grand Prix.
Fellow Honda factory rider Luca Marini will also be absent from the race after a fall during the Suzuka 8 Hours test on May 28th, which he took part in after the British Grand Prix, leaving him with a dislocated left hip, damaged ligaments in his left knee, fractures to his sternum and left collarbone, and a pneumothorax on his right side.
This weekend was dominated by Marc Marquez (Ducati), who broke the all-time lap record in Saturday’s qualifying (Q2) to take pole position (first in qualifying) and went on to win the sprint race.
And in the final race, M. Márquez took the lead right from the start. His younger brother Alex Márquez (Ducati) followed in second place, but M. Márquez was unable to catch up.
The first fierce battle for third place early in the race was between 2022 and 2023 champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Pedro Acosta (KTM), in his second year in the premier class. Bagnaia emerged victorious in this battle, and from the fifth lap onwards, the positions settled down to Bagnaia in third place and Acosta in fourth.
M. Marquez took the checkered flag in first place, earning his fourth win of the season. A. Marquez came in second, and Bagnaia came in third. After the Aragon GP, the top three positions in the Aragon GP final race were the top three in the championship standings.
There were also five Ducati riders in the top four, with Acosta in fourth place and Fermin Aldeguer in sixth.
Honda’s factory rider Joan Mir finished in 7th place. This was a good result for Mir, who will be competing in the 2023 Indian Grand Prix (5th place). Mir’s 7th place finish is the highest result for a Japanese manufacturer. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), who was leading in the final race of the previous British Grand Prix but retired due to machine trouble, also retired after crashing at the first corner on lap 13.
The ninth round of the season, the Italian Grand Prix, will be held at the Mugello Circuit in Italy from June 20th to 22nd.
