Written by Silvia Cojocaru, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
After a one-year break, MotoGP returned to Argentina, with Marc Márquez making history at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit. The Spaniard won the race, equalling Ángel Nieto as the rider with the third most wins across all classes. The factory Ducati man also set a new all-time track record in qualifying.
GRAND PRIX RESULTS
1st - Marc Márquez, Ducati Lenovo Team, 41:11.100
2nd - Álex Márquez, Gresini Racing MotoGP, + 1.362
3rd - Franco Morbidelli, Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, +4.695
4th - Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Lenovo Team, +5.536
5th - Fabio Di Giannantonio, Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, +7.138
6th - Johann Zarco, Honda LCR Team, +7.487
7th - Brad Binder, Redbull KTM Factory Racing, +14.294
8th - Pedro Acosta, Redbull KTM Factory Racing, +15.646
9th - Joan Mir, Honda HRC Castrol, +15.787
10th - Luca Marini, Honda HRC Castrol, +16.025
11th - Àlex Rins, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team, +21.663
12th - Maverick Viñales, Redbull KTM Tech 3, +22.319
13th - Jack Miller, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP, +23.486
14th - Fabio Quartararo, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team, +25.148
15th - Raúl Fernández, Trackhouse MotoGP Team, +26.914
16th - Fermín Aldeguer, Gresini Racing MotoGP, +27.661
17th - Enea Bastianini, Redbull KTM Tech 3, +40.179
18th - Somkiat Chantra, Idemistsu Honda LCR, +41.693
DSQ - Ai Ogura, Trackhouse MotoGP Team
RT - Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
DNS - Lorenzo Savadori, Aprilia Racing
DNS - Miguel Oliveira, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
Sprint Race
The Márquez brothers continued their perfect run, with a dominating 1-2 finish in the sprint. Francesco Bagnaia claimed another podium, although he seemed to struggle to keep up with the two riders in front.
The session had two yellow flags, one brought by Brad Binder at the end of the first lap, and one due to a contact between Fermín Aldeguer and Miguel Oliveira. Aldeguer was the only one who was able to continue the race, though, finishing last on the road.
Lorenzo Savadori, Jorge Martín’s replacement, also retired from the race after he experienced pain and discomfort in his shoulder.
Grand Prix
After the fall suffered on Saturday, Oliveira was taken to the hospital, with concerns regarding the ligaments of his left shoulder. He was unable to take part in the race. As a result, Fermín Aldeguer was given a long lap penalty before the start of the race for causing the crash with the Portuguese rider in the sprint.
Savadori had also undergone a medical check before the warm-up session on Sunday and was not able to start the race. The first lap saw Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Quartararo touch in Turn 1, causing the Italian to crash and retire from the race.
Brad Binder had a great start, going from P11 to P7 in the first lap, while the fight between Johann Zarco and Francesco Bagnaia allowed the Márquez brothers to distance themselves from the rest of the field early.
After a disappointing qualifying, only managing to start from P15, Ai Ogura managed an incredible race, recovering to P10 on Lap 3 and continuing his amazing rookie campaign. He had some great battles with Pedro Acosta, who struggled with tyre degradation on the KTM model, only finishing in P8. However, the rookie was disqualified after the race for using a software version which was not homologated by the Championship.
On Lap 4, a small mistake made by Marc Márquez caused him to lose control of his motorcycle, allowing his brother Álex Márquez to take the lead of the race. The two of them were clear of the rest of the field for the entirety of the race.
Raúl Fernández was given a long lap penalty on Lap 5 after he came into contact with Enea Bastianini. With only five laps remaining, Marc managed to overtake his brother and create a considerable gap between himself and Álex, finishing a second clear of the runner-up.
On the final lap, Fabio Di Giannantonio made one last attack against Zarco, claiming P5 and further proving Ducati’s domination this season.
Marc had another perfect weekend in Argentina, solidifying his position at the top of the Championship standings.
Moving to the Grand Prix of the Americas, we can expect Marc to continue his masterclass on a track he is known to enjoy. Martín has also confirmed that he will still not be able to compete for Aprilia, seemingly creating more opportunities for the Ducati-powered bikes to continue to lead the field.
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