In what is a feel-good story of redemption, Aleix Espargaró took a memorable win for Aprilia Racing at the 2023 MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix with Maverick Viñales making it a 1-2 finish, a first in the team’s history. But the real talking point about the race is undoubtedly the start and the chaos that ensued at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya.
How things transpired
The mayhem all started on the opening lap when the factory Ducati of Enea Bastianini dropped it into the first corner, causing at least five riders to crash out. Meanwhile, championship leader and reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia started on pole, but his lead only lasted two corners as the other factory Ducati rider had a massive highside fall and had an extremely close call due to the KTM of Brad Binder making contact with his legs.
With all this chaos, the red flag was understandably called out and the good news for Bagnaia was that he managed to escape serious injury and walked away with multiple contusions. His teammate Bastianini on the other hand wasn’t so lucky as he suffered a non-displaced fracture of the medial malleolus in the left ankle as well as a fracture to the second metacarpal on his left hand. This means the Italian will be sidelined for a while which is another hefty blow to an already unlucky season that started with an accident that had left Bastianini sitting out the first five races of the season.
After clearing out the mess from Lap 1, the Prima Pramac Racing Ducati of Jorge Martin took the early lead but was swiftly dispatched by the two Aprilias of Viñales and Aleix Espargaró, who, like in the sprint race, had superior race pace. For most of the race, it was a battle between the two Aprilias for the win, with Espargaró getting the measure of his teammate in the closing stages of the race to take his third premier class win. This win is also a great way to bounce back after the heartbreaking moment last year when a misjudgement in the lap count meant Espargaró dropped from second to fifth on the final lap.
With Bagnaia’s retirement from the race and Jorge Martin scoring a third-place finish, the title fight has gotten that little bit closer with the championship leader’s points gap cut down to 50 points. Next up will be the San Marino Grand Prix scheduled to run at Misano from September 08-10.
