MotoGP: Marc Marquez returns to winning ways with stylish Aragon victory
Marc Marquez celebrated on the Gran Premio GoPro de Aragón's top step to end a personal drought that had lasted exactly 1,043 days! The Gresini Racing MotoGPTM rider produced an assertive display at Round 12 of this year's World Championship to beat Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3). Despite the race's difficult conditions, the MICHELIN Power range provided another demonstration of its performance and consistency. Read on for more about the events at the Aragon Grand Prix...
Marquez's perfect weekend began with a new track-lap record during Free Practice and continued with him qualifying on pole-position. He then claimed his first-ever sprint win (three seconds clear of Martin) and concluded with victory in Sunday's showpiece.
Clearly comfortable in the slippery conditions that marked the grand prix itself, he led from pole at lights-out on medium MICHELIN Power Slicks front and rear, before pulling away thanks to a sequence of quick early lap. Unchallenged, he ultimately took the flag 4.7 seconds ahead of Martin to collect the 60th premier-class win of his career.
MotoGPTM Rookie Acosta joined the Spanish pair on the rostrum of both races.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) had put Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGPTM) under pressure during the latter stages in a bid to clinch third. In the end, he failed to finish after a collision with the winner's brother.
Recent resurfacing work at Motorland Aragon put Michelin's tires to a big test, prompting the organizers to add three fronts and three rears to the riders' allocations. The soiled conditions effectively proved tricky during Free Practice 1 but picked up in time for Friday afternoon's session when Michelin helped Marquez to establish a new record for Aragon (1m45.801s).
Overnight rain caused the conditions to deteriorate again and the track was part-dry/part-wet for FP2. They remained delicate for Qualifying and nobody managed to match the previous day's lap-times. The situation improved slightly for the sprint, for which all the riders paired the medium front MICHELIN Power Slick with the soft rear.
The conditions worsen again for Sunday's action after more showers swept over Motorland Aragon during the night, and rain tires were even the preferred choice for the warm-up. The race turned out to be a dry, albeit dirty and slippery affair, leading the entire grid to fit medium slicks front and rear.
The weekend's results have taken Martin clear at the top of the provisional championship standings on 299 points, chased by Bagnaia (+23 points) and Marquez (+70).
Next round: Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, Italy (September 6-8).