Aleix Espargaro wins Catalan MotoGP, Bagnaia escapes serious injury

It was a day of highs and lows for MotoGP as it visited the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for Round 11 of the season. On one hand, Aleix Espargaro led a historic 1-2 finish for Aprilia across the line. But the race was also marred by several high-profile crashes at the start.

1. Aleix Espargaro wins, 0.377 secs from Vinales
2. Prima Pramac's Martin took third place 
3. Bastianini suffers fractured hand and ankle

No major injury for Bagnaia after horrific Catalan GP crash

Two separate incidents on the opening lap saw five Ducati bikes crashing out in the space of two corners, with both Ducati Lenovo riders suffering injuries as a result.

The first incident saw Enea Bastianini leaving his braking a little too late for Turn 1,which resulted in him wiping out Prima Pramac Ducati's Johann Zarco as the pair entered Turn 1, subsequently also scuttling fellow Ducati riders Alex Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi.

Just one corner later, championship leader Francesco Bagnaia – who had gotten the holeshot into Turn 1 and was leading the race – suffered a nasty highside crash and landed hard in the middle of the circuit. He was then struck by the Red Bull KTM of Brad Binder who was close behind and could do nothing to avoid the accident. Fortunately, the impact was not on the upper body, and Bagnaia was hit on the legs by Binder's bike.

Post-race scans revealed contusions and bruising to the Italian's legs, but he escaped any fractures. His teammate Bastianini was not so lucky, suffering fractures to his metacarpal and tibia as a result of his Turn 1 crash.

Espargaro, Vinales claim historic 1-2 for Aprilia  

The race was red-flagged because of the two incidents, and when it eventually re-started without the two Ducati Lenovo riders, it was Aprilia Racing's Maverick Viñales who grabbed the lead – the Spaniard, for once, nailing his start and capitalising on a good qualifying position. Behind him, it was Prima Pramac Racing's Jorge Martin, followed by the second factory Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro, who clearly had the superior pace in the opening stages.

Espargaro first got past Martin to snatch second place on Lap 3, and then stayed there for a while. The gap between the two leading Aprilias ebbed and flowed for a number of laps, growing as large as 1.3 secs at one point.

Tyre degradation was expected to play a big part in this race, and it reared its head in the closing stages. Between lap 11 and lap 19, Espargaro reduced his deficit from 1.3 secs to zero, having saved his tyres better for the end of the race. He eventually made a block pass on his teammate as the pair entered Turn 1 on lap 20, and eked out a small gap on his way to the chequered flag. 

The final podium spot went to Jorge Martin who, after being passed by Espargaro, spent the rest of the race battling with RNF Aprilia man Miguel Oliveira, who eventually took the chequered flag in fifth spot, making it three Aprilias in the top five.

Behind Martin was his teammate Johann Zarco, who regrouped impressively after being taken out in the Turn 1 incident, and snatched P4 from Oliveira in the closing laps. 

2023 MotoGP standings

Bagnaia’s crash delivered a blow to his championship lead, but he still holds a 50-point advantage on top of the standings. He only has a few days to rest, as the next round at Misano is this weekend itself. However, Ducati has confirmed that he has flown to Italy and will “try to get back on track already in the next round”.

Martin is second overall, with Marco Bezzecchi 21 points adrift in third place.

2023 Catalan GP results