Aragón MotoGP Report

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Enea Bastianini made a last-lap pass on fellow Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia for the victory at Aragón. Bastianini had to work hard for the win. (MotoGP/)

Our world is subject to change without notice! At Aragón, after a close, race-long pursuit of Francesco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini was able to pass on the last lap for a close win (both riders on Ducatis). Meanwhile, championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) was out on lap 1 in a collision with returning Marc Márquez (Honda).

At the start, Márquez made a stunning rush from 13th on the grid to sixth, but when he knocked the throttle to recover a rear-tire slip at turn 3, Quartararo was too close behind him to avoid a hard collision.

“Marc turned well but also had a slide. I had better grip [so I] didn’t expect it and just hit [the back of Marc’s bike],” Quartararo said.

Quartararo Crashes…Twice!

Quartararo was thrown from his machine, which later hit him, but suffered only rash and burn from sliding on his chest. He subsequently suffered the indignity of a second crash, while riding as a passenger on the back of a track marshal’s scooter. “It was quite fast, actually. Luckily I didn’t take off my helmet.”

Márquez said, “…in turn 3 I lost the rear a little bit so I closed the gas, and the problem was then that Fabio was super close to me. This is normal—it’s racing to be close in the first laps.

Quartararo was out, shaving his lead in championship points to 10 over Bagnaia (Ducati). Márquez’s day was also soon over:

“…in turn 5 I felt something strange. In turn 7 [Takaaki] Nakagami overtook me and went wide, but when I went to engage the rear [ride height] device I felt like the rear was locking.

“Then everything happened at once as the bike was moving to the left with this locking and I felt myself touching with Taka.”

Unable to continue, Márquez retired. As did Nakagami after crashing out from contact with Márquez.

Changing Track Conditions

On Friday many riders had observed that grip was low and that the race winner would be whoever best managed his tires. But as bike rubber overlaid race-car rubber on the track, grip slowly improved. Bastianini (Ducati) started from fourth on the grid and advanced gradually as if tire condition was on his mind—third on lap four, second on lap six. This is always a question for riders: whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to pull an early lead, or to accustom the tires to their duties more gradually. The gap between leader Bagnaia and Bastianini was never more than 2/3 of a second, so there was no question of Bagnaia breaking away; it would come down to last-lap plays.

Bagnaia finished second at Aragón, but more important Quartararo was a DNF. That means Bagnaia is now just 10 points out of the overall lead, with five races still on the schedule. (MotoGP/)

Bastianini didn’t have it easy. “My start was difficult. When Aleix [Aprilia] overtook me I went a bit long and lost some positions.…

“…on lap 9 I was back on top and then made a mistake at turn 10 and went off, but I thought, ‘OK now, I have to stay calm to close the gap.’

“…when I saw Pecco really close in turn 5 I thought then was the time to overtake.…”

Bagnaia observed later that when on lap 2 he approached the scene of the Márquez/Quartararo collision, “…there were pieces all over the place. I would have preferred they had displayed the red flag.

“…you didn’t know where to put your wheels.”

Recall that in July of 2000 a 220mm titanium rub strip from a DC10 engine dropped onto a CDG runway from a previous takeoff. This is believed to have triggered a tread separation during a later Concorde departure, which led to a fuel-tank puncture, a tremendous fire, and loss of the aircraft and all aboard.

The Importance of Speed From the Start

Underlining what riders have been saying lately about the absolute importance of being fast right from the first practice session, nine of the top-10 qualifiers (Bagnaia on pole) were the nine top finishers in the race. While it’s possible to recover places at the start (as did Márquez and Brad Binder), this is not a reliable tactic but rather a lucky, often desperate exception. Being fast through practice, including having the setup nearly finalized so that FP4 can be used to validate tire behavior in long runs, and then qualifying “ahead of the heat” has everything to recommend it.

Aprilia-mounted Aleix Espargaró (third at Aragón, also third in overall points) illustrates perfectly how 2022 has turned into a “European” season, with Ducati, Aprilia, and KTM ascendent and Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki struggling. (MotoGP/)

Quartararo had been upbeat all weekend about his pace and the possibility of a substantial finish, despite qualifying sixth. Jack Miller (fifth, Ducati) was also fast through practice, and second qualifier.

Aleix Espargaró, now third in points, said he “…did a good qualifying, solid third place, and in the race too.” (He got past Binder on the next-to-last lap.)

“I decided to stay calm and wait for his tire to drop, and then in the last lap when I saw his pace started to drop I decided to overtake.”

Márquez observed, “Now, in MotoGP, if you are quiet and relaxed, then you are last. You can see how tight are the times. Even pushing now it is hard to be in the top 10.”

Ducati’s Advantage

Again, Ducati’s combination of a number of talented riders on uniformly fast and well-set-up bikes put seven of their eight machines in the top 10. Bagnaia and Bastianini are the cream which has risen to the top in terms of speed with consistency. The other Ducati men have not so consistently avoided unforeseen grip loss.

Ducati’s present strategy also relies upon having the data from many riders to enable a quicker and more certain arrival at a workable setup. The 180-degree opposite to this was the situation Kenny Roberts found himself in when he went to Europe in 1978. As no other rider was on Goodyear tires, he was entirely on his own. Goodyear provided so many tire choices that there wasn’t remotely enough time to evaluate them all. Instead of having solid setup consensus from a number of riders, Kenny’s setups were “pick something and see what you can make of it.”

For the moment, with Márquez telling the press that he is riding to improve his chances in 2023, and given that Honda’s “more accessible” RC213V still needs intensive development (or even a complete change of design direction), MotoGP has become mainly a European series: Ducati, Aprilia, and KTM. Suzuki, who will withdraw its team at season’s end, is a rump effort. Yamaha has only Quartararo capable of running up front, as no one else has been able to ride the M1 in its style. Honda’s prospects depend at the moment 100 percent on Marc Márquez’s smooth return to his former ability.

Every rider at Aragón was on hard front, medium rear.

Brad Binder was fourth at Aragon on his KTM–the first Japanese factory bike was Álex Rins (Suzuki) in ninth. (MotoGP/)

Next comes Motegi, Japan, although the event remains in question because of a possible typhoon. Quartararo notes,, “I feel Japan can be a good track for us because, even if there is a lot of acceleration [a Ducati strength], there is also a lot of braking. That is our strong point.”

MotoGP Championship Points Standings After 15 of 20 Rounds

Quartararo 211

Bagnaia 201

Espargaró (Aleix) 194

Bastianini 163

Miller 134

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