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Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) continued to assert his authority on the 2018 MotoGP™ World Championship after emerging victorious in a ferocious race-long fight with second place Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), with Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) earning the Hamamatsu factory’s first Aragon rostrum as pole man Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) dramatically crashed out at Turn 1 on the opening lap.

It was the Spaniard who snatched pole from teammate Dovizioso and Honda rival Marquez on Saturday, but after the latter got a great launch from P3 on the grid and dived up the inside to grab the holeshot, sending both riders wide, the ‘Spartan’ highsided out of contention as his hopes of a win went begging – huge disappoint for Lorenzo who suffered a dislocated toe in the process.  

This first corner drama allowed Dovizioso to take the lead of the race, with Marquez slotting into second ahead of the two fast-starting Suzuki’s of Iannone and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar). The Ducati rider then settled into a rhythm and controlled the pace, but the following quintet which included Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) and Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Espargaro were locked in tow for the opening exchanges. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) was joining the back of the leading group after he lost out on the opening lap from a P4 start, but the British rider then crashed out at Turn 1 on lap five – rider okay.

Back on track and Rins was looking menacing behind Marquez, shadowing numerous overtaking attempts into the first corner as both Suzuki’s kept tabs on the leading duo. By lap 11, Dovi, Marquez, Rins and Iannone had edged out two-second gap to Pedrosa and Esparagro and almost as if someone had flicked a switch, ‘DesmoDovi’ turned up the wick and posted the fastest lap of the race a lap later – a 1:48.3. Marquez responded to cling onto the tailpipe of the Italian as the two looked to have broken clear of the GSX-RRs.

The Jaws music then sounded as the number 93 smelt blood on lap 14, carving past the Desmosedici at Turn 12 as the battle for the win kicked into life. On lap 16, Dovizioso got the drive up the hill to duck under Marquez at Turn 4, only for the Repsol Honda rider to immediately respond up the inside at Turn 5, with the Italian then biting straight back at Turn 7. This allowed Iannone to close the gap and then on lap 19, Marquez pounced again at Turn 12.

The Spaniard ran slightly wide which allowed Dovizioso to get a run and the number 04 stuck his GP-18 up the inside at Turn 14. Marquez tried his best to hold the position but he found himself out on the astroturf, but he cut back to get the inside line before the back straight, with Dovizioso chopping back underneath at Turn 15, while Iannone took the outside route around the six-time World Champion to briefly lead. It was breathtaking stuff from the trio, with Dovi and Marquez’ straight-line speed getting the better of Iannone on the run down to Turn 16.

Lap 21 saw Marquez make the race-defining move at Turn 5, and the reigning World Champion held firm until the checkered flag to take a third straight win in Aragon, equaling Mike Hailwood’s win tally of 41 for Honda in the process. Dovi settled for second to equal Casey Stoner’s Grand Prix podium count, with Iannone earning his third podium of the year.

Fourth was Rins who played his part in a classic race on home soil, a second consecutive P4 for the Spaniard, with Pedrosa securing his first top five since the Catalan GP at his penultimate career home Grand Prix. Espargaro excelled in sixth to pick up the Aprilia’s best result of the season, matching their P6 in Aragon last year. Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) was seventh, just under a second ahead of Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) as ‘The Doctor’ produced a solid comeback ride from P17 on the grid. Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) lost out to Rossi in the latter stages, 9th for the Australian, with Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) rounding out the top ten – not the result he would have been looking for on home soil.

Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) won the battle of the rookies in P11, with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) 12th, Bradley Smith (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 13th, Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) 14th and Karel Abraham (Angel Nieto Team) 15th.

A monumental Marquez victory on home soil leaves the Honda rider with one hand on the title as the premier class head to Thailand for the first time in just under two weeks – will it be another Marquez vs Ducati contest?

Moto2

After starting from pole position, Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder produced a brilliant performance at the Gran Premio Movistar de Aragon to take his second win of the season, beating second place and Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) - who claimed a fourth straight podium finish on his 100th Grand Prix start - with compatriot Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40) standing on the rostrum for the first time since Mugello.

Binder got off to a great start and led the opening exchanges ahead of Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) after the Spaniard was able to get himself up to second from P4 on the grid, with Bagnaia slotting into fourth before overtaking Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP). Marquez was then able to slice his way through to the lead on lap three to lead his home GP as the front trio then started to break away from the chasing Baldassarri and Schrötter.

Fourth place Baldassarri was reeling in the leading three though as Marquez’ pace at the front started to dip, with Binder and Bagnaia now swarming the number 73. Then, heading into Turn 16 at the end of the back straight on lap 13, the South African ran slightly wide. Bagnaia held the tighter racing line as Binder started to cut back, with the Italian tagging the side of the KTM rider – a heart in the mouth moment that cost Bagnaia third place at that point of the race.

Not fazed by the incident, Binder continued to lock horns with Marquez and after two failed attempts, the 2016 Moto3 World Champion made a move stick into Turn 12 on lap 15 – the two coming into contact on the exit. From there, the 23-year-old couldn’t be stopped and he went on to claim his second intermediate class win. Behind, Bagnaia re-gathered and made his way past Baldassarri on lap 17 after the latter was wide at Turn 3 before getting the better of Marquez – P2 for the Championship leader who now has a 19-point lead in the title race. Baldassarri and Marquez then found themselves in a dog fight on the penultimate lap, the former emerging victorious – third for Baldassarri, fourth for Marquez.

Fifth was Schrotter, a slightly disappointing 5.8 seconds back from the win after the German showed great promise throughout the weekend, with Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) securing sixth after starting P15 – a great ride from the reigning Moto3™ World Champion. Seventh was Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) who also produced another comeback ride after starting 18th, the Portuguese rider loses valuable ground in the Championship in Aragon though.

Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) was able to come out on top in the battle with Fabio Quartararo (MB Conveyors – Speed Up), 8th and 9th respectively for the pairing, with Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) recovering from a bad start to round out the top ten – the Spaniard slipped down to as low as 15th at one point after launching from P3 on the grid. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) was 11th, two seconds ahead of compatriot Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) who finished 12th as Augusto Fernandez (Pons HP40), Iker Lecuona (Swiss Innovative Investors) and Tetsuta Nagashima (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) completing the points in 13th, 14th and 15th.

Stefano Manzi (Forward Racing Team) and Danny Kent (MB Conveyors – Speed Up) crashed – riders ok.

A ninth podium of 2018 sees Bagnaia increase his lead in the Championship over Oliveira as the intermediate class enter the final five rounds of the season. Will the latter bounce back in Thailand?

Moto3

There was no stopping Gran Premio de Aragon Moto3 winner Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) as he produced a masterclass ride to take his sixth win of the season, extending his Championship lead over second place finisher Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PruestelGP) to 13 points with Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) completing the podium in Aragon.

The Spaniard started on pole in front of his home fans and got the perfect launch heading into Turn 1, with Bezzecchi having to start from P18 on the grid after receiving a 12-place penalty for slow riding in qualifying. The holeshot then turned into a 1.6 second lead by the end of the lap one – a gap that would continue to increase with the Honda rider scarily consistent with his lap times.

In a chasing pack that consisted of over 20 riders spit by less than five seconds, Bezzecchi was making his move and the Italian was able to get up to second on lap five but by this time, his main Championship rival was over four seconds up the road.

With Martin in the distance, the battle for second raged on with Bastianini, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini), Albert Arenas (Angel Nieto Team) and Marcos Ramirez (Bester Capital Dubai) all taking turns at the front, along with Bezzecchi, but the number 12 KTM was able to bring it home in P2 despite slipping back down to ninth, salvaging the best possible result – 18th to 2nd nothing short of superb.

Bastianini also produced a stunning comeback from P15 to hold onto P3 at the line, this podium now sees him draw level with Alex Rins and Romano Fenati with the most Moto3™ rostrums - 23 the tally. Di Giannantonio did his best to secure a fifth podium of the season in fourth, with Ramirez rounding out the top five on home soil.

Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) earned his best result since he was fifth at the Catalan GP in sixth, the Japanese rider in the mix throughout the race, with Arenas losing out on the last lap as he went in search of his first podium since his Le Mans victory – P7 for the Spaniard. Adam Norrodin (Petronas Sprinta Racing) had a brilliant return to the top ten in eighth after battling with the frontrunners, with the Japanese rider pipping ninth place Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) to the checkered flag – a brilliant and brave ride for the young Spaniard after a heavy crash in Warm Up.

John McPhee (CIP – Green Power) completed the top ten at MotorLand Aragon on board his KTM machine, with Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) in close pursuit of the Scot in P11. Andrea Migno (Angel Nieto Team) ended 12th, Misano winner Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) finished P13 after being one of the riders to receive a grid penalty, likewise for 14th place Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46) as Vincente Perez (Reale Avintia Racing Academy 77) claimed a point scoring ride for the second race in a row – 15th for the rookie.

Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE – Skull Rider) crashed out of the fight for second after being clipped by Arenas in a racing incident at Turn 3 on the penultimate lap – rider ok. Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) also crashed, rider okay, as Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) retired from the race after pulling in to the pits on lap 11.

So magical Martin takes a 13-point lead into the flyaway races after his masterful win at MotorLand, with the lightweight class title race heading into a critical stage of the season.