MotoGP™: A 1-2 for Ducati and more records for Michelin at Jerez

Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) was first past the flag at Jerez to claim Sunday’s Gran Premio Red Bull de España, Round 4 of the 2021 MotoGPTM World Championship. The Australian was joined on the podium by team-mate Francesco Bagnaia and Yamaha Petronas SRT’s Franco Morbidelli. The lasting grip delivered by Michelin’s tires contributed to several new records over the weekend, including the fastest race lap at the Spanish venue, the shortest race-duration (which was bettered by more than three seconds!) and a new top-speed record. The result has promoted Bagnaia to the top of the provisional Riders’ standings.

Having qualified third on the grid, Miller got away to a strong start to lead for the first three of the afternoon’s 25 laps before being demoted to second by pole-winner Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).

The Frenchman’s pace saw him beat the previous race lap record several times (1m37.770s) as he focused on pulling out a gap over his Ducati rival, but he then lost ground due to a physical problem shortly after the midpoint. He ended up 13th overall.

Once back in front, Miller posted a sequence of quick laps that paved the way for the second MotoGPTM victory of his career, and the first in dry conditions. The Ducati rider completed the distance in 41minutes 5.602 seconds (a little more than three seconds faster than the previous benchmark set by Marc Marquez/Repsol Honda in 2019) to finish almost two seconds clear.

Bagnaia was next past the post to earn Ducati’s first one-two result since the Czech Republic in 2018. It was also the make’s first win at Jerez since 2006.

Morbidelli got a foot back on the podium after warding off Takaaki Nakagami (4th, LCR Honda), as Joan Mir (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) rounded out the top six which featured five different bike makers.

The grip provided by the MICHELIN Power Slicks helped Quartararo, Miller, Morbidelli and Alex Rins (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) to all improve on the previous best race lap, while Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) established a new race top-speed record for the track (300.8kph).

The majority of the field opted for Michelin’s medium compound front and rear. Only three riders opted for the soft front, including Mir who came fifth.

Bagnaia is the fourth man to appear at the top of the provisional standings since the start of the season after going two points clear of Quartararo and 16 clear of Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).

Jerez also hosted the opening clash of the 2021 FIM MotoETM World Cup for which Michelin has developed new front and rear tires. Thirty-three and forty percent of the ‘ingredients’ they contain respectively are sustainable materials. The French manufacturer sees racing as an invaluable high-tech laboratory for the evaluation of its innovations and its MotoETM tires are ahead of the firm’s target for sustainable materials to account for 40 percent of the ingredients that go into all the tires it makes by 2030. The season’s first win fell to Alessandro Zaccone (Octo Pramac MotoE).

Next round: SHARK Grand Prix de France, Le Mans (May 14-16).