Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) delivered a flawless performance at MotorLand, topping every session of the Grand Prix weekend for the first time since 2015, en route to a dominant seventh victory at the Spanish circuit.
On home soil, brother and title rival Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) secured second place, ahead of a resurgent Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).
MotoGP Race Report
Unlike Saturday’s Sprint, Marc Marquez nailed the start of Sunday’s Aragon Grand Prix, claiming the holeshot from pole position. Brother Alex Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia slotted into second and third, while Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) lost out at the start, shuffled back to seventh from the front row.
The two Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machines of Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder got away well though, they were shadowing Bagnaia in P3 as Acosta showed a wheel at Turn 1 on Lap 2 – but the Italian regained P3 at Turn 2. However, at Turn 12, Acosta did make a move stick on Bagnaia – but not for long! Bagnaia bit back at the penultimate corner to reclaim P3. This made for great viewing, but it was costing the duelling duo, plus Binder and Morbidelli time to the Marquez brothers up front.
A mistake from Sprint podium finisher Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) meant the Spanish rookie was 1.2s behind the fight for P3, as his teammate Alex Marquez shadowed Marc Marquez. The gap was hovering around the half-second mark in the opening exchanges.
Heading onto Lap 7 of 23, the top five were split by 1.4s as both factory KTMs – Acosta and then Binder – set fastest laps of the Grand Prix.
But on the next lap, was it time for Marc Marquez to put the hammer down. A 1:47.275 was set as the title race and Grand Prix leader stretched his lead to 0.8s with a lap that was more than two-tenths quicker than Alex Marquez, Bagnaia, Acosta and Binder.
Another fastest lap of the GP, a 1:47.180, saw Marquez’s advantage climb to 1.3s. His chief title rival, Alex Marquez, was the slowest of the top five and had trouble brewing. And speaking of trouble, back-to-back podium finisher Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) crashed out at Turn 12. An unfortunate end to a great run of form for the Frenchman.
On Lap 12 of 23, a podium fight of four became three as Binder’s promising Grand Prix came to a premature end at Turn 2, and then Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) crashed out too. El Diablo slipped out of contention at Turn 1, as his Aragon woes continue.
With nine laps to go, Marc Marquez’s lead was now just under two seconds as Alex Marquez continued to keep Bagnaia at bay by 0.5s. Acosta had dropped to 1.6s off the podium, but the KTM rider had three seconds of fresh air behind him to the Morbidelli-Aldeguer fight for P5. And what a battle it was between the yellow and blue Ducatis.
While chasing Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) for P7, Maverick Viñales’ (Red Bull KTM Tech3) Aragon pursuit ended at Turn 12 in the closing stages, as Marc Marquez demonstrated his dominance by setting the fastest lap of the Grand Prix.
Alex Marquez and Bagnaia’s late pace also saw them get into the 1:46s, but neither of them was a match for Marc Marquez at MotorLand as the home hero becomes the first rider to lead every session of a Grand Prix weekend since… Marc Marquez at the 2015 German GP. Supremacy.
Alex Marquez limited the damage and Bagnaia returned to the podium in what must be a massive injection of confidence for the double MotoGP World Champion.
Acosta couldn’t quite keep tabs on the podium chase but a P4 was a job well done for the double World Champion, as Morbidelli eventually beat Aldeguer in a feisty fight for P5.
P7 went the way of Mir as the 2020 World Champion picks up his best result since the 2023 Indian GP, as Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) produced another great comeback to collect a P8 from P20 on the grid.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was ninth ahead of Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), the Spaniard rounded out the top 10.
Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Yamaha Factory Racing wildcard Augusto Fernandez, Jack Miller and the Australian’s Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP team-mate Miguel Oliveira were the final point scorers in Aragon.
Miller made an encouraging start, climbing from 14th to 10th by Lap 1. He held 12th for much of the race, but a significant drop in tyre performance from Lap 15 forced him to fade, ultimately finishing 14th.
In the end, Marc Marquez delivered a perfect weekend at MotorLand, extending his Championship lead to 32 points over Alex Marquez as the series heads to Mugello.
Can Bagnaia strike back on home turf? Will the pendulum swing in Italy? The battle for the championship is certainly shaping up to be a case of sibling rivalry.
However, there were encouraging signs for Bagnaia on Sunday, and the Italian has staged monumental comebacks before to claim the title. With the ever-present threat of injury looming large, it would take just one major mistake to quickly reset the current form guide—and this fight is far from over.
