Marc Márquez – P1
“Today, with a good start, I managed to put together the type of race I wanted, as I could push harder when I felt like I could do it. I felt comfortable and could ride well. These are the type of races in which – if you want to fight for the title – it is crucial to ensure the best possible result without making mistakes, because as we saw today, both Alex and Pecco were very competitive. It was the perfect weekend: I got back the feeling I had before Silverstone and I hope we can continue this way at Mugello.”
Alex Marquez – P2
“We were coming from two not-so brilliant performances in previous races and to find back this consistency with a second place was important, considering also the return by Bagnaia in third. This one-two with Marc on Spanish turf was nice, now we look forward to the next circuits where we hope to have something more to battle for the win.”
Francesco Bagnaia – P3
“This podium finish is a very important one for the morale as well as for the whole team. We have been working tirelessly in the last three weekends to solve the issues, but then for a reason or another we just couldn’t put everything together. After yesterday’s Sprint, in which I didn’t manage to get the front tyre to work, today we got off to a better start and the adjustment made during warm up surely helped me a lot. It was a small modification that gave me a lot more confidence, especially under braking, and allowed me to be more competitive.”
Pedro Acosta – P4
“Taking the hard front tire was the right choice. I’m a guy that needs the front tire to go faster and yesterday it was a handicap. Today it was fantastic. We didn’t have the speed for the top three; it was a battle we would have lost but I really enjoyed the first five laps. We were losing a bit into the entry of the corners – we need traction and turning – but this was the race where we had a smaller gap to the winner. This is a positive.”
Franco Morbidelli – P5
“It was a complicated race. Today I expected to do better, especially at the beginning I wasn’t having the right feeling. I’m really happy to have finished the race, because I had huge moments in three turns. It was a very eventful race, and I fought to maintain my position, luckily, I was able to keep it. In tomorrow’s test it will be important to make a good work plan to arrive in a good shape to Mugello, we are all pumped up for our home race.”
Fermin Aldeguer – P6
“It was a good weekend, we learned a lot and also brought home a Sprint podium. Today we raced well, battled and bagged some important points. A pity to have lost the fight with Morbidelli as I’m sure we had something more, but he’s a tough one to beat as well as a rider with great experience. We’ll work on exactly that tomorrow, more laps and experience.”
Joan Mir – P7
“Finally we were able to finish the race with a respectable result, I don’t think I have ever felt like this for a seventh place! It shows the situation we have been in and I am really hoping that this is a turning point, we have to be happy with what we have accomplished and where we have come from. Of course, there are still areas to work on, and I hope that Monday brings us a few more things to help with this. I was able to understand even more where the other riders and bikes are making the difference on us. I gave everything, used all the tools I had to battle with these guys, and I am satisfied knowing I gave my maximum.”
Marco Bezzecchi – P8
“On one hand, I’m disappointed and on the other, I’m satisfied. I am definitely satisfied with what I did, if we look at where I started from. I am clearly not pleased because I could have done more. My goal is to improve my time attack, which is an aspect where I have struggled, even in Silverstone, for example, where I won but still had to start from the eleventh spot on the grid. We’ll keep testing and try to sort this issue.”
Fabio Di Giannantonio – P9
“Unfortunately, today we battled too far away, I struggled with the front, and I was feeling at the limit in the braking. We are struggling a bit, but, together with the team, we are working very hard. The guys are amazing because we try to improve in every area. We are trying to understand how to do steps forward, but we are aware that we can perform well. The good thing is that today we collected a very important data that could be a real turning point.”
Raul Fernandez – P10
“Yesterday I made one of my best starts with this bike and today one of the worst. Anyway, I think we did a really good race – the position is important but, more important for us is the feeling on the bike and the pace that we had and I am really happy because we had a very bad start and after that, I could go at a really good pace. I was recovering a lot of positions and I was very close to getting to Joan (Mir). I think we are heading in a good way and I know what we have to try tomorrow to improve the bike a little bit because I don’t feel 100% comfortable at this time. We are getting there but, right now, I think I’m at 80 or 90%. We need to find this last 10 to 20% to make the bike feel like it’s my bike. Tomorrow, we have an important test to try to find something. I know that Aprilia and the Trackhouse MotoGP Team are pushing to give me some things to try tomorrow and of course, I’m really happy about that. Thanks to my team! The beginning of the season was not a good one, it was very difficult for all of us; for my crew, for me, also for my family because they are with me in all these moments. We found a way during the Jerez test but now we have to make the next step.”
Alex Rins – P11
“I was struggling in the first 10-12 laps, but from 12 laps onwards I was suddenly able to do low to medium 1’47s. I was riding super fast in the last part of the race. We need to fix this and find something that allows me to be faster in the opening stages. We need to work on it. We have some items that we can test tomorrow that Augusto tested today, which will be important.”
Enea Bastianini – P12
“Somehow in the morning warm up, we were faster and we seemed to understand that I can push more when the track conditions are a bit colder, and it is something we can look into with the team. However, in the race, the feeling was bad, I still felt the vibrations at the front, the same locking, and I was at the limit all the time. When you want to fight with the others, you need to be aggressive on the entry, and at the moment the bike is not allowing me to do that, so it was once again a very tough race for us. The lap times were pretty constant all race, from start to end, but I could not push more, so it is frustrating. I will probably be the first rider on track tomorrow, because we have a very important test waiting for us on Monday which I am counting on. We have a very busy schedule and many different things to try, it is going to be key for us.”
Augusto Fernandez – P13
“It was not an easy Race, but I’m happy with it, though I didn’t feel as good as I did during the Sprint, especially in the first part of the race. With 7 laps to go, I was starting to feel the bike better, and I set my fastest time on the last lap. In general, this was my weak point: getting the benefit from a new tyre. But overall I’m happy with my weekend. We did a great job. It’s not easy testing so many things, but I’m super happy.”
Jack Miller – P14
“Not the day we wanted, but we take it. At least we finished with couple of points. At the beginning I felt I had a good speed, after a few laps I also tried to attack Fabio at turn 12, but was hard to stop, went a little wide and from that moment my pace dropped and was really difficult to get back to the rhythm. I could see the issues he was having, very similar to mines, and when he lost the bike at turn 1 I almost did the same. There were some very big vibrations from the rear from lap 7 and continued to be there especially on the right side. I tried to be gentle and ride around the issues I had, but I was suffering a lot, anytime I tried to go faster I was making some mistakes or have some moments, so… It was not an easy weekend for us, but that is how it goes sometimes.”
Miguel Oliveira – P15
“I think we could more or less copy and paste the issues Jack had. I also experienced some vibrations on the right side, especially when entering turns 3 and 13. But the biggest issue for me was front locking during the early and middle stages of the race, and how unbalanced the bike felt between a full and empty fuel tank. It was really difficult to keep the bike on track during the first ten laps. Once the fuel load lightened a bit, things became slightly easier, but there‘s still a lot of work to do. Tomorrow, we‘ll focus on a few key areas we believe need improvement—especially the time attack, where we‘re currently struggling a lot.”
Somkiat Chantra – P16
“The race was pretty good, and I’m happy with how things went today. We tried a different setup and worked well as a team. We made a step forward and had more pace than yesterday. I managed to close the gap, so that’s a good sign. We’re moving in the right direction, and that’s positive. We’ll try again in Mugello!”
Lorenzo Savadori – P17
“We struggled a bit with the front and, unfortunately, in the opening laps I made a couple of mistakes. I went long, caught up in the slipstream, and I lost time. After that, my pace was good. In fact, on the penultimate lap I did a time of 1.47.9, so I was in line with the times around tenth place. We need to try and sort the braking stage in these conditions a bit, because positive aspects came out in terms of the upgrades we are testing in the race. There will be an important test on Monday and we’ll have a tight schedule of elements to test.”
Maverick Viñales – P18
“The result is not what we aimed for, but I think it has been a really positive Sunday, because the rhythm was there, and we could definitely have fought for the podium. This weekend was a good one for learning and gathering data, and hopefully it will help us approach the weekends better. Yesterday in qualifying, we did not pick the best tire and I could not place the bike on rows 1 or 2, and the story became different. The target is to place our bike on the front row, which is what we will be aiming for in Mugello. We have a good bike, I have the speed, so it is just a matter of putting it all together, so I feel really positive at the end of this weekend, even if we did not finish where we should have.”
Fabio Quartararo – DNF
“I had the same problem as yesterday. The grip was improving lap by lap because of the rubber on track, but when I pushed just a little bit more, I lost the front. We have to understand why this happened. Tomorrow we are testing here. Today we saw that we still have to improve, but I think that in Mugello and Assen we can be much faster.”
Johann Zarco – DNF
“Today, I had a good pace during the laps I completed and felt competitive enough to fight for a top 10 position. While trying to overtake Miller, the tyre temperature got too high due to the conditions we were facing on track, and I crashed. At least we learned something from that. I feel like I know the bike pretty well now. I can tell when things are working and when they aren’t, and that helps. Tomorrow’s test will be important. Overall, the strong results from recent weeks give me the confidence to accept that setbacks happen sometimes, and we always learn from every situation.”
Brad Binder – DNF
“Today started well: no spin, I felt normal and everything was going to plan. But then I lost the front into Turn 3. I thought ‘what the hell happened?’ I later saw the data and I had less speed, less brake and less pressure on the tire. It’s tricky because every time I gain some confidence with the front end it tends to give up on me! I need to take the positives from the weekend and I was able to take what I needed from the bike: every time I needed a quick lap I was able to be in the mix. If we can hold the performance from this weekend going forwards then things can only get better.”
Team Managers
Luigi Dall’Igna – Ducati Corse General Manager
“This has been one of the best Sundays I’ve ever lived. I’m happy for Marc – who dominated on one of his favourite tracks – as well as for Pecco, who bounced back the way only champions do. I now hope that we can keep moving forward in this direction: tomorrow’s test will be very important to prepare for Mugello and Assen, two tracks Pecco really likes, and where I’d like to see him in great form.”
Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager
“Our weekend ends up with a bit of frustration because we had higher expectations for both Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini in Aragón. Maverick showed fast pace all weekend, with a 7th place in the sprint, which gave us high hopes for today. Today in the race, he was really fast on his own, but we saw that he struggled more with the traffic, and the conclusion of the weekend is that it is key for him to start a little bit higher up on the grid. We really believe that he can fight at the front with his pace, so we know where we need to work on for the next round. We saw some improvements on Enea Bastianini’s side, with some sparkles and hope at different stages of the weekend. In the race, he was lapping in similar times than the other KTMs at some point, but he eventually had some issues with the front of the bike, which prevented him from pushing more. We finished 12th with 4 points, so we take all these little positives on Enea’s side heading to tomorrow’s test.”
Pablo Nieto – VR46 Team Manager
“The weekend was not bad, we could make good races with Franco, and we’ve always been contenders. We struggled a bit more with Diggia, but maybe we found the reason of this situation and this is crucial. We still miss a little bit, but the most important thing is that tomorrow we have a test to try something different. We have the speed, and we can be there. We have such few testing days, and tomorrow it will be crucial to understand what we missed this weekend and to arrive in a good shape to Mugello, that is one of the most important races for us this year.”
Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha Team Director
“We‘re coming away from a very difficult weekend, but there‘s a lot to learn from it because it highlighted the areas where we currently struggle. Still, I tend to see the glass half full. What I know for sure is that as soon as we understand what to do to address certain details, we‘ll make another big step forward. So I see this weekend as complicated, yes, but one that helps us focus clearly on the biggest issue, and that will push us to solve it as quickly as possible. In that sense, tomorrow‘s test, with a few new items to try, will be very important to help us understand if we‘re on the right path.”
Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager
“This weekend in Aragon has been really positive for us because, from Friday, our riders had the performance to chase the top positions right up until the critical point: today. Unfortunately, Brad and Maverick had crashes but Pedro provided the highlight with the 4th position. Generally, the project is going forwards and the progress has been clear to see over the last month. We now have an important few weeks ahead with five riders on track tomorrow and the test team also in action in Barcelona shortly. We’ll then hope for more in Mugello.”
Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Aprilia Team Manager
“I think today was a positive race and it was a positive weekend overall. We have been in the top 10 on both days and I like the fact that Raul rode consistently with a consistent lap time, a consistent pace, no mistakes. Unfortunately, he had an issue at the first corner, so he was back in 18th position and he had to recover. With a better start, it could have been a better race but, it’s a positive weekend. I hope this is a starting point and we’ll try to continue like this. For Ai, of course it is a shame that we couldn’t start the Aragon GP with him, but he is on the road to recovery and we are looking forward to have him back with us soon.”
Massimo Rivola – Aprilia Racing
“We must once again talk about a comeback race, this time from the last row. Marco got us used to it, both Saturday and in other races, doing incredible comeback rides, which is certainly a positive aspect. Congratulations to him for his great determination, the ability to battle and never give up. Marco’s performance demonstrates the bike’s pure speed, which we have unfortunately still be unable to express in qualifying, but I am confident we will soon. We have an important day of testing on Monday, with a lot of upgrades we’ll be developing throughout the rest of the season. An extremely important race is also coming up in Mugello, and we are highly keen to achieve a good result in front of our Italian fans.”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha Team Director
“It was a difficult race, especially in the opening laps, and we need to identify what is preventing Álex from being as fast in the first half of the race as he is in the second half. In the final 11-12 laps, he was able to match the lap times of the front guys. Fabio was unlucky to crash out of a top-10 position due to similar issues as he had yesterday. Luckily, he was not injured. He is perfectly fine and able to take part in the upcoming IRTA test in Aragon. Tomorrow we will evaluate new components, and we will also investigate the issues we encountered today. Overall, it’s been a tough weekend, but there are silver linings: our fastest lap times in today’s race are much closer to the front guys than last year, and the gap to first has also reduced considerably.”
Piero Taramasso – Michelin
“Our tyre package was perfectly suited to the situation. We discovered the evolving nature and smoothness of this asphalt last year, and that guided our choices. In qualifying, we saw that the riders had chosen the Medium compound for the front and the Soft compound for the rear. This was the right combination for the Tissot Sprint, especially as the Soft compound had undergone a few adjustments to improve the tyre’s durability. In the Grand Prix, it was the versatility of our Medium compounds, both front and rear, that made for such an intense and fast race. But Pedro Acosta’s choice to start on the Hard tyre at the front was also possible, as the KTM rider finished just off the podium after several battles with Francesco Bagnaia for 3rd place. At Michelin, this is exactly what we are looking for: to enable battles where anything is possible, where the tyre is not a factor for the rider, and where consistent performance enables the exceptional. The Grand Prix lap record, set by Marc Márquez in the final minutes of the race, also demonstrates the intensity with which we support our partners, who are constantly developing their race bikes.”
