“You really expected someone else?”
Hey gang, welcome back to another edition of Dre’s Race Review. In this week’s double header, we start with MotoGP’s third trip back home for the Grand Prix of Aragon. And with it, Marc Marquez cashes in on another one of his banker weekends with all 37 points, but with some interesting surprises along the way. Let’s talk about it.
The Journey, Not The Destination
To Marc Marquez, Aragon might as well be his Mum’s home cooking. It’s an anti-clockwise track, which Marc always loves because of his dirt-track training and background. He’s won 56% of the MotoGP races he’s ever entered that move that way (Aragon, Philip Island, Balaton, Valencia, etc.), and given the struggles with his right arm, welcome relief from over physical exertion we saw at Silverstone. If you watched Inside Ducati on YouTube last time out, he openly complained to his team that his arm went numb during the race and he didn’t push as a result, trying to get the bike home for whatever points he could get. Amazing how that didn’t come up this weekend…
Anyway, the biggest story of the weekend going in was a lucky break for Marquez’s title aspirations. Literally. Ai Ogura suffered a fracture in his hand after a training crash and he had to fly back home for surgery on it. He’s out of the weekend and maybe out for Misano too in two weeks time. A disastrous outcome coming off his first real mistake of the season in Britain. One less Aprilia contender out of the picture at least for now.
Which leads you to the other reason Marc loves Aragon so much. Due to its recent resurfacing, it’s now one of the grippiest tracks on the calendar once it’s rubbered in. This weekend was one of the few where lap records weren’t being touched due to 2024 times being off the charts. With it, Ducati can make their lap time as they usually do, rear grip and acceleration, without having to butcher a tyre in the process. It also nullifies some of that aero advantage on the Aprilia.
Don’t tell that to Marco Bezzecchi though, who shocked everyone when he put it on pole with a pair of the first ever 1:44’s in Aragon history, narrowly ahead of the Marquez brothers. Marc had to hold his hands up and say he had nothing more to give, but I think with the mind games he played, he knew he still had a very good chance. Let’s price it up here:
- Alex Marquez was losing three tenths of a second a lap in Sector 3, Marc’s money split
- Alex is still struggling with his broken collarbone, due to fluid build-up (Remember, it was a really complicated break in four places)
- Marco Bezzecchi is still struggling with his German injuries (His own busted collarbone, fluid in his knee, etc.)
A clean start and Marc’s going to be hard to topple. And he proved it in the Sprint when he dived deep on Bez at Turn 1, Alex coming over the top of the outside to take second, and then not looking back. Marc won a really straight-forward Sprint in that order, and never really looked under any significant pressure.
The Grand Prix was a slightly different story. Marc tried the same move a second time and hit it, but this time his rear ride-height device jammed on and led Marc to running wide. Bez got the holeshot, Jorge Martin made a shock dive of his own to take second, and there was nearly a dreadful stack-up behind Marc as Pedro Acosta snuck into fourth.
Jorge Martin got hit with a metaphorical shotgun blast to the chest at the back chicane as Marc retook second, and then started working on Bez.
After about half a dozen laps of sizing each other up, we got one of the all-time amazing MotoGP sequences. Marquez goes for the Switchback at the chicane again, Bez takes the wider line to come back and counter, and they’re going down the one kilometer back straight side-by-side. Banging shoulders at 195 miles per hour. Marquez brakes later and takes the lead into the final double left-hander sequence, but then Pedro Acosta sweeps in from the right-hand side, goes around the outside of Bez and slots into second. One of the passes of the year and an all-time ridiculous MotoGP moment.
And if nothing else, this may have been Pedro Acosta’s greatest MotoGP race yet. Yes, he didn’t win, but to match Marquez’s pace in the middle portion of this race on a KTM is astonishing. Now I am taking into account that KTM has typically gone well at Aragon in the past, but compared to his teammates, Acosta destroyed everyone else in orange. The next nearest KTM? Enea Bastianini, 25 seconds behind him. Astonishing riding and it’s going to be fascinating to see what he can do in red next year.
Acosta hassled Marquez for a good few laps to ramp up the pressure, but Marquez counter-attacked in astonishing fashion. Just when Pedro was within a bike length, Marquez ran off four 1:46 laps in a row. 46.9, 46.7, 46.9, 46.8. The gap was two tenths of a second at Lap 12. By Lap 16, it was a second and a half. Classic Marquez, finding that extra gear and extra pace when it mattered most, and slamming the door shut. Game over.
With it, Marc took his eighth win at Aragon, meaning he now has two entries in the Top 5 (alongside the Sachsenring), for most wins at a single track. And with Martin down in fifth, Marquez is back up to second in the standings and 19 points from the title. Now, before you get too excited, there are tougher tests coming.
Last year, the upcoming Misano had Marc pushed beyond his limit when he crashed in the sprint and barely held on from Bezzecchi to win the Grand Prix. Marc’s next true banker race might not be until Philip Island in October. And who knows how many more rounds Marc has to face where he has to limit the damage and sixth or seventh place is the more reasonable target. But if Marc keeps winning his races where he knows he can attack, he has a chance. It’s going to be a fascinating final nine races of the season…
The Lightning Round
Sorry, did I say nine? More like eight. Simon Patterson of The Race reported over the weekend that Qatar’s Grand Prix isn’t happening and will not be replaced due to America still thinking they can bully Iran into submission (Unsuccessfully). We’re down to 21 Grand Prix for the season, and Qatar was a pretty neutral round in terms of biking quality, so I think we’re pretty even here.
For those keeping score at home – It’s the eighth time that Pedro Acosta has finished a MotoGP race in second, and his 14th podium without the first win.
With Trackhouse missing AI Ogura, and Raul Fernandez having a gearbox failure, their double title aspirations crashed and burned real fast there didn’t it?
Superb weekend from Fermin Aldeguer to get to sixth place (I had him as a genuine threat for the win at one point from his Saturday sprint), and Johann Zarco, who made Q2, took his Catalunya Double Long Lap, and still finished in the points. Diogo Moreira is also making a very strong case for the factory seat for 2027 with another really strong, double Top 10 weekend.
Fabio Quartararo riding on autopilot right now with a Yamaha he’s given up on is genuinely saddening. And I’m not even sure how much of a silver lining 2027 Honda is going to be. *sigh*
Alonso Lopez wins his first Moto2 race in 902 days (Qatar 2024). He’s always had pace at his best, but has had a nightmare managing his tyres in race trim. He nearly blew it at the end but fair play to him for a great ride. In fact, the entire podium rode brilliantly, Izan Guevara did well to hold off a rampant David Alonso at the end, who had to fight to get some confidence back in himself after a rough couple of races. I’ve defended Manu Gonzalez till the cows come home, but if he blows a second major Moto2 Championship lead, I swear to god…
Max Quiles has 10 wins and 20 podiums in 30 Moto3 starts. I have nothing more to add.
The Verdict: 6/10 (Decent) – A whole bonus point to THAT sequence in the middle of the race, that will be replayed for years to come. Added a little spice to an otherwise, pretty bog standard race. I love Aragon, it typically produces excellent races, but on these bikes, it’s still a bit too tricky to pass in most places. See you in Misano…
