Spanish GP: Bagnaia fends off Quartararo challenge in Jerez showdown, Marc Marquez thrills to finish fourth

It
had
been
a
showdown
that
has
built
all
weekend
long
—
Ducati
Lenovo’s
Bagnaia
vs
Monster
Energy
Yamaha’s
Quartararo.

The
pair
were
in
a
class
of
their
own
at
the
Circuito
de
Jerez
Angel
Nieto
with
victory,
despite
incredible
late
pressure,
going
the
way
of
Bagnaia
as
he
officially
announced
himself
as
part
of
the
title
race.

Spanish
GP:
Bagnaia
on
pole,
Marquez
fifth

Quartararo
was
forced
to
settle
for
second
but
did
take
an
outright
lead
in
the
2022
FIM
MotoGP
World
Championship
standings.

After
finishing
the
previous
campaign
with
four
wins
in
six
races
–
his
first
victories
in
the
top
category
–
Bagnaia
had
endured
a
slow
start
this
year,
failing
to
even
reach
the
podium
prior
to
this
weekend.

But
a
record
lap
in
qualifying
put
the
Ducati
man
on
pole
in
Jerez,
and
he
led
from
start
to
finish
to
kick-start
his
season
in
style.

In
the
fight
for
third,
Aleix
Espargaro
broke
clear
in
the
final
laps
to
end
Aprilia’s
MotoGP
concessions
after
six
long
years.

Both
Jack
Miller
and
Marc
Marquez,
chasing
his
100th
MotoGP
podium,
got
the
jump
on
Aleix
Espargaro
early
on,
seemingly
setting
up
a
direct
battle
between
the
pair.

Marquez
eventually
got
past
Miller
with
five
laps
remaining
following
a
stunning
move
at
Turn
5,
which
he
made
stick
despite
the
pace
of
the
Ducati.

But
that
manoeuvre
opened
the
door
for
Aleix
Espargaro,
running
in
fifth,
to
come
back
at
them,
and
he
profited
when
Marquez
went
wide
at
Turn
13
and
required
an
incredible
save
to
stay
on
his
bike,
catching
himself
with
his
left
elbow.

Aleix
Espargaro
was
able
to
build
a
bigger
gap,
although
Marquez
at
least
passed
Miller
again
for
fourth,
delivering
the
drama
that
was
missing
at
the
front
of
the
race.

Behind
Marc
Marquez
and
Miller
in
fourth
and
fifth
was
Team
Suzuki
Ecstar’s
Joan
Mir,
who
drifted
into
late
contention
but
couldn’t
find
a
move
on
the
men
in
front
of
them.

Takaaki
Nakagami
eventually
came
across
the
line
in
seventh,
4sec
clear
of
Enea
Bastianini
(Gresini
Racing)
who
claimed
eighth.
The
erstwhile
2022
FIM
MotoGP
Championship
leader
picked
off
rookie
Marco
Bezzecchi
(Mooney
VR46
Racing),
who
matched
his
best
MotoGP
result
despite
that
in
ninth.
The
final
place
inside
the
top
ten
went
the
way
of
Red
Bull
KTM
Factory
Racing’s
Brad
Binder.

The
MotoGP
caravan
now
moves
to
Le
Mans
for
the
French
Grand
Prix,
the
seventh
round
of
2022
FIM
MotoGP
World
Championship
to
be
held
in
two
week’s
time.

RESULTS
(Top
10)

1.
Francesco
Bagnaia
(Ducati
Lenovo
Team)
–
25
laps
2.
Fabio
Quartararo
(Monster
Energy
Yamaha
MotoGP)
+
0.285
3.
Aleix
Espargaro
(Aprilia
Racing)
+
10.977
4.
Marc
Marquez
(Repsol
Honda
Team)
+
12.676
5.
Jack
Miller
(Ducati
Lenovo
Team)
+
12.957
6.
Joan
Mir
(Team
SUZUKI
ECSTAR)
+
13.934
7.
Takaaki
Nakagami
(LCR
Honda
IDEMITSU)
+
14.929
8.
Enea
Bastianini
(Gresini
Racing
MotoGP)
+
18.436
9.
Marco
Bezzecchi
(Mooney
VR46
Racing
Team)
+
18.830
10.
Brad
Binder
(Red
Bull
KTM
Factory
Racing)
+
20.056

(By
a
special
arrangemnet
with
Dorna
Sports)