2018 Aragon MotoGP – Marquez back to winning ways

Another strong qualifying performance from the Ducati duo of Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovisiozo meant that the Italian outfit was in a strong position to clinch their fourth consecutive win. However, Marc Marquez had other plans and ended their winning streak at Aragon.

There was drama from the word go. Jorge Lorenzo ran wide onto the dirty part of the track entering the first corner of the race. In his desperation to open the throttle quickly, the Spanish rider was flung-off in the air owing to a high side, and his race came to an abrupt end. With his teammate out of the running, Andrea Dovisiozo lead the race and was followed closely by Marquez. In the following lap, Cal Crutchlow was the second casualty of the race after the front-end of his Honda buckled entering C1. Valentino Rossi, who had registered his worst qualifying performance of the 2018 season in 17th place nade swift progress. Within the opening four laps, the MotoGP legend managed to rise up to ninth place.

The other two riders who showed great pace were the Suzuki duo of Alex Rins and Andrea Iannone, with both the riders battling hard for third position. Ducati rider, Dovisiozo, gradually expanded his race lead and at one point was ahead of Marquez by over half a second. However, with less than 10 laps remaining in the race, the reigning champion responded by clocking some fast laps, thereby eating into Dovizioso’s race lead. And as expected, he dived bomb to take the race lead from the Ducati rider.

However, Dovisiozo didn't surrender his lead easily and both riders exchanged positions on a regular basis. This fight allowed Iannone to close in on the leading pair. Dovi tried to out-brake Marquez which resulted in both the riders running wide. As they exited the corner, it was a three-rider drag for the race lead and this spectacle brought Spanish fans to their feet. Dovisiozo used the extra grunt of his Ducati to reclaim the race lead, but only for a short duration. Marquez passed his arch rival with two laps remaining in the race and was determined to win this scuffle.

The Spanish rider was on the absolute limit with his Honda sliding and trembling, in and out of corners. The last lap lunge worked in his favour as he took the chequered flag and registered his third consecutive win at Aragon. It was also the first time that Dovisiozo lost a battle for victory against Marquez, but the Italian rider was content with second place. Matching Marquez for elation and happiness was Andrea Iannone, who helped Suzuki claim their first podium finish in 2018. Rossi again was the best rider for Yamaha in eighth position, while Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro claimed a well-deserved sixth place.

Marquez will not be able to grab the 2018 title in the next race at Thailand. However, Repsol Honda looks in a strong position to be crowned the 2018 champion at Honda’s home race in Motegi, Japan, next month.