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[roadracingworld.com] - MotoGP: Will Catalunya Produce Another Epic Battle?
Battle lines drawn: a standoff for the ages arrives in Barcelona Le Mans promised a show and we got one. Ready for another? Monday, 20 May 2024 Perspective can play […]
The post MotoGP: Will Catalunya Produce Another Epic Battle? appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News. Battle lines drawn: a standoff for the ages arrives in Barcelona Le Mans promised a show and we got one. Ready for another? Monday, 20 May 2024 Perspective can play a funny game. If you’re looking down from the leader, 38 points feels like a fairly significant gap for Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) at the top of the FIM MotoGP ![]() If you’re Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) looking up from second, knowing you made up 91 points in 2022 when there were only 25 on offer each weekend, it also feels far from panic stations. It feels close enough, after a fair dash of bad luck too, to explain why you wouldn’t roll the dice on the last lap of the French GP. Bank and move on, come back stronger. Barcelona would also be a statement as you’ve never taken a GP podium there, one of only three venues of which that’s true. If you’re an eight-time World Champion looking up from third, in the top three of the riders’ standings for the first time since 2019 – before it all unravelled as the line between magic and physics was suddenly blurred – and you’re only getting faster? 40 points suddenly feels like nothing at all. Such is the delicious standoff between Martin, Bagnaia and Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP ![]() SHOW ME WHAT YOU’VE GOT Bagnaia’s statement in Jerez remains as stunning as the day he made it. To stand face to face with one of the names already in the debate for greatest of all time, before he’s even retired, and not only not back down but come out on top? Statement made as you build your own legacy. Martin’s throwdown at Le Mans is likewise more than the sum of its parts, taking on not only the reigning Champion but that same duel from Jerez and beating both. In serious style, too, to make his own big statement. A different style to Bagnaia in Jerez, and a different style to Marquez. Three approaches to attacking the same goal is part of what has made the story so electric so far. Martin is explosive pace, Bagnaia unruffled poise, and Marquez? Marquez redefined an era and is now making his mark on another. The new era is also responding. Marquez’ season so far can be almost summed up by the vision of him screaming back onto the scene into the chicane at Le Mans, when it looked like the fight for the win was a last lap duel and he made sure it wasn’t. From P13 on the grid and last year’s bike. Now, he just needs to do it again, and again, and again – but no one else on the grid has his experience of doing just that. Three riders, three approaches, one incredible show. Still, however much the last couple of races have been a stunning showdown between the reigning Champion, the pretender to the throne and the benchmark of an era, all determined to show each other exactly what they’ve got, it’s not a grid of three. It wasn’t in Qatar, or Portugal, or the Americas, or Jerez, or Le Mans in front or that record-breaking crowd. And it won’t be in Barcelona as one of the most packed fields in MotoGP ![]() NO TAKEBACKS, ONLY COMEBACKS The results for the French GP are also deceptive in some ways. If Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) hadn’t cut that apex and been given the Long Lap penalty, the ‘Beast’ would surely have been in the podium hunt. That would also likely have kept him in the top three in the standings. But he wasn’t and isn’t, and there are no takebacks in MotoGP ![]() Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), meanwhile, was pretty fast in France but crashed out, so he’ll want to bounce back after that uptick in Jerez, whereas teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio will be keen to show he has the upper hand regardless. Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) got that coveted finish after some solid speed, taking P7, but that still won’t be enough for him. And for Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP ![]() YOUR RIVALS ARE EXPECTING YOU For Aprilia Racing, it’s a case of “no pressure, but-” looking back on the factory’s 2023 Catalan GP. Aleix Espargaro did the double, and Maverick Vińales took P3 in the Sprint before making it a 1-2 on Sunday. It’s unlikely the marque won’t be at the front in 2024 too, but it will be interesting to see if the pecking order changes. Espargaro has a great record at Catalunya but Vińales has had his measure more often than not in 2024 – already having won a Grand Prix race and two Sprints. Which is an understatement for the #12, as his COTA win is most definitely one of the most otherworldly masterpieces hanging in the 2024 gallery so far. To make it feel fairer for the rest, he could have dropped to the back and started painting from there. At Trackhouse Racing MotoGP ![]() It was a tougher weekend at Le Mans for KTM and GASGAS. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) found himself in a shocking last place on the grid after a nightmare run up to the lights going out, but on Sunday he pulled off a classic Binder and came home a solid eighth. For rookie sensation Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) it was almost the reverse as he qualified P7 and then made his first and only Sunday mistake so far, crashing out – alone by a hair’s breadth – to bring his run as the only rider to score in all Sprints and GP races so far to an end. Le Mans and Acosta don’t mix, so far. But both will be reset to come out swinging in Barcelona, a venue where KTM have already won. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), meanwhile, is missing the later race pace and will want a solid finish, and Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) scored points in France but is still looking for that step forward. POUR ENCOURAGER LES AUTRES Said unironically, there were some standouts in France. At Yamaha, there was plenty to celebrate from Fabio Quartararo’s (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP ![]() Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) pulled some gap on his fellow Honda riders at Le Mans too, and he’ll want to keep that roll going. After a more positive Jerez, Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) will want a solid finish to hit back, and the mission continues for Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) and Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team) to move forward as the project looks to make a big step. After a test for Yamaha and Honda at Mugello, and with a wildcard this weekend for Stefan Bradl, it’s all hands on deck to make those gains. The field they’re fighting in has also never been closer. The average gap between first and second in the first five Grand Prix races of 2024 is just 0.951 – the first time in the MotoGP ![]() ![]() SHOWTIME Saturday Tissot Sprint: 15:00 (UTC +2) Sunday Grand Prix: 14:00 (UTC +2) What’s happening at the #CatalanGP On Thursday afternoon, the podcast welcomes Trackhouse Racing’s Raul Fernandez at 15:05 (UTC +2). The first Press Conference at 16:00 then hosts Championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP ![]() The second line up at 16:35 is Maverick Vińales (Aprilia Racing), rookie Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), and 2023 Catalan GP winner Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing). Moto2 ![]() Following a flawless ride to a second victory of the season at Le Mans, Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) lands in Barcelona back in the hot seat as the Moto2 ![]() Garcia has a winning pedigree in Barcelona too thanks to his 2021 Moto3 ![]() The podium places last time out went the way of comeback King Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI), who will be craving a Saturday improvement to enable his Sundays to become less hassle, and Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) as we witnessed the first Moto2 ![]() Last year’s Catalan GP winner, Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar), will be another rider on a Kalex seeking to find an extra burst of speed though, not yet off the mark fully in 2023 as a tantalising title fight in the Riders’ and Constructors’ Championships continues to unravel. Tune in for more Moto2 ![]() Moto3 ![]() Jerez’s error was a tough pill to swallow, but David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar) responded in the best way possible: winning. The Colombian pipped title rivals Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) to the 25 points in Le Mans. Ahead of a date with Barcelona – the scene of Alonso’s second Moto3 ![]() The latter kept up his impressive start to the season in France. It’s now just Jerez’s P7 that stands as Holgado’s non-top two finish in 2024, but his one win is in comparison to Alonso’s three so far, so the #96 will want to add a second victory soon enough. So will Veijer, with the Dutchman 32 points away in P3 overall after claiming two podiums in a row. Will others come to the fore again in Barcelona? Ivan Ortola’s (MT Helmets – MSI) P5 was a good points haul, but the Spaniard needs to start clawing back points on the trio above him in the Championship. And we can’t not mention Joel Esteban’s (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar) P4. Can the rookie go – at least – one better in Barcelona? Find out on Sunday at 11:00 (UTC +2)! The post MotoGP: Will Catalunya Produce Another Epic Battle? appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.
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