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Written by Nina Rogerson
Jerez provides a tale of redemption as Bagnaia gets back to winning ways after an exciting battle with the KTMs.
Image via @motogp on Twitter
The Spanish Grand Prix started off strong for the Factory KTMs of Jack Miller and Brad Binder as Binder made a move on the inside of Miller to take the lead into Turn 6.
However, the red flag was brought out after Fabio Quartararo and Miguel Oliveira had collided at Turn 2 in a scary crash. Both riders were receiving medical treatment in the gravel trap and were both conscious after the incident. Oliveira was taken to the medical centre for treatment and was later revealed to have dislocated his left shoulder.
The riders lined up in their original grid positions for what would be the 4th race start of the weekend after a red flag incident in the sprint on Saturday as well. Quartararo was declared fit for the restart but was handed a double long lap penalty due to “irresponsible riding”.
It was another good start from the KTMs as they took to the front once again with Jorge Martin on the Pramac following closely behind them. Bagnaia was not messing about as he launched an attack on the top 3 and quickly made his way into third by the end of Lap 1.
It was a disaster for Honda in the first two laps of the race as Alex Rins sent his LCR machine into the gravel on Lap 1 and Factory rider Joan Mir fell victim to yet another crash only a lap later.
The KTM duo continued to battle during the first few laps, giving Bagnaia a chance to catch up with them. Bagnaia made a move on Miller on Lap 5 but the two made contact, so the World Champion was forced to give the position back to Miller.
Image via the-race.com
Image via @motogp
Whilst the battle at the front was happening, tyre wear was starting to become a problem as Johann Zarco crashed out of the top 5 on Lap 17. On the same lap, Marco Bezzecchi crashed at Turn 6 meaning he would leave Jerez having lost the championship lead.
Bagnaia was able to get back past Miller and started piling the pressure on Binder. With four laps to go Bagnaia put his Ducati GP23 up the inside of Binder and took the race lead.
Binder attempted a last lap final corner move that we’re oh so used to seeing in Jerez but there was just no getting past Bagnaia.
Image via @motogp
The Italian brought home the 25 points to redeem himself after the crashes in both America and Argentina. The KTM duo rounded off the podium with Binder finishing in 2nd place and Miller in 3rd.
Martin struggled to pass Miller and had to settle for 4th place after the Aussie had sent him wide on the last corner. Aleix Espargaro brought it home in 5th place ahead of Luca Marini and KTM wildcard and MotoGP legend Dani Pedrosa.
Image via the-race.com
Alex Marquez finished the race in 8th ahead of his former teammate Takaaki Nakagami who finished in 9th.
Quartararo had a strong recovery to 10th place after he was handed yet another long lap penalty after failing to serve the first one correctly. The Frenchman’s teammate Franco Morbidelli finished just behind him in 11thplace.
Fabio Di Giannantonio finished in 12th ahead of rookie Augusto Fernandez and Honda test rider Stefan Bradl. Raul Fernandez rounded off the points finishers just ahead of Repsol Honda stand-in and World Superbike rider Iker Lecuona. Jonas Folger was the last of the finishers on the KTM in 17th place.
It was a last lap retirement for Maverick Vinales as the chain on his Aprilia snapped meaning he was unable to finish the race.
The next round of the championship kicks off at Le Mans in just under two weeks! Will Bagnaia pull off another win or will the flying Frenchman Fabio Quartararo bring himself back into the fight in front of his home crowd?
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