Aragon MotoGP Deep Dive

Marc’s Aragon magic explained, the change that helped restore Bagnaia’s front end confidence and more

In truth, this result was in the offing from the eve of the GP. Aragon has been Marquez territory in years gone by. And the riders sitting first and second in the championship made short work of this weekend, with Marc Marquez (Lenovo Ducati) producing his most dominant weekend to date in factory red.

After the relative struggles of Jerez and Silverstone, there was very little to give his rivals comfort here. Yes, his pole time was only 0.2s faster than second (last year it was 0.8s), and Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) had the temerity to lead the opening laps of the Sprint. Yet Marc topped every session, won the Sprint at a canter and led every lap of Sunday’s feature race.

His victory here one year ago was the first in 1,043 days, a significant milestone in this late career revival. Yet his reaction to this latest win was more ‘job done’. The crashes from positions of promise in Austin and Jerez were still lingering for the eight-time champion. And as soon as he assumed control at the race’s first turn, it was clear the only one that could stand in his way was himself.

A reversion to a setting from earlier in the season paved the way for his fourth double victory of the season. “I found the same feeling as I had in the preseason,” he said. Add in that he’s always loved Motorland Aragon’s anti-clockwise layout, plus the low-grip conditions, and this was far from a surprise.

“This victory was mandatory in our garage,” he said of his latest success. “Why? Because if I want to fight for this championship… Okay, I’m leading. But in two good circuits for me that were Austin and Jerez, I lost 50 points.”

Closest challenger Alex rode his own flawless weekend. Yet even in such a state he was resigned to fighting for second. “You can gain 5 points here, but easily lose 20,” he reasoned on Saturday. “When you arrive to a track where Marc showed he’s one step and a half (ahead), you have to be realistic.”

His older brother’s superiority lay mainly in the corner that was named after his dazzling ability in 2018: Turn 10. “He’s able to make like less metres than us with more speed and less spinning,” Alex explained, and when pressed on how he managed such a feat, countered: “Ask him!”

After the unexpected variety at Silverstone, this was a reversion to the early season. The Marquez domination mirrored Ducati’s clear superiority, with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM) the only name to get among the red bikes. After Moto2 and Moto3 thrillers, decided at the last turn, the racing left much to the imagination, too, with the main action coming further downfield.

Some light for any potential championship fight came in third. Pecco Bagnaia’s (Lenovo Ducati) wretched season was continuing apace on Saturday. He conceded that recovering from Saturday’s 12th place would amount to the toughest challenge of his career, his confidence in the front end of Ducati’s GP25 non-existent.

But a change in brake disc size on Sunday saw the old confidence return. Able to ward off Acosta’s early threat, he harried Alex Marquez all race long in what seemed his most important performance of the season to date. With Mugello and Assen – two Bagnaia tracks – coming up, this competitive return couldn’t have been more timely.

The die was cast from the first turn. Unlike Saturday, when he spun off the line and ceded places to Alex and Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati), Marc got away cleanly from pole position, with his brother, Baganaia, Acosta and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) tucking in behind. Morbidelli, meanwhile, blew his start from third on the grid, forcing him back to seventh, behind Fermin Aldeguer.

For the first six laps, the lead quintet were together. Yet a devastating run of fastest laps – set on laps seven, eight, nine, 11 and 12 – stretched his lead out to 1.7s and put this competition to bed. Marquez’s ultimate quickest time, set with three to go, was enough to assert his superiority. There was the impression his eventual winning margin could have far exceeded 1.1s.

The interest lay behind. While his brother was in the midst of his devastating run of fastest laps, Alex Marquez was in the clutches of Bagnaia, Acosta and Binder. By lap 14, half a second separated him and the second factory Ducati. Yet a strong late run saw him eke out a full second on the Italian to claim his fourth double second place of the year.

Despite the low grip suiting the RC16 (“It’s not our level went up, the other’s went down,” according to Acosta), the KTMs just couldn’t keep up. Binder’s potential to score a season’s best came apart on lap 12 as he tucked the front at Turn 3. “I was slower, with less lean angle than normal,” he shrugged after. That left Acosta free for fourth, equalling his best result of the season. Not that it pleased him. “I was five seconds behind Pecco and seven seconds from the winner – why should I be happy?” he asked.

A few battles behind stirred in an otherwise forgettable finale. Twice Aldeguer looked to have the measure of Morbidelli, as he first made a neat pass for fifth at Turn 13 (lap 18) then Turn 12 (lap 22). Yet the Italian responded with a block pass at Turn 15.

Three seconds back, Joan Mir (HRC Castrol) rode to his best finish since September 2023, after getting the better of Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) and Maverick Viñales (Tech3 KTM) during a slug-fest on lap 14. Viñales later crashed out at Turn 12, and lamented a poor qualifying, which denied him a shot at the podium. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) paid for a qualifying crash and rose from 20^th to eighth, ahead of Di Giannantonio and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia).

Marc (233 points) extends his lead in the championship to 32 points with Alex (201) still second. Bagnaia’s crucial podium keeps him third (140).

Surprise of the weekend

Joan Mir. Often criticised for a wretched finishing record, the Majorcan showed signs of why he’s a double World Champion here. Carrying the flag for Honda, he rode smoothly and calmly in challenging conditions. Could be the start of something beautiful.

Disaster of the weekend

Yamaha. There have been so many positives across the past four rounds. But this was a return to the doom of recent years as little worked from the start of the weekend until the end.

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