MotoGP news: Espargaro wins MotoGP Sprint after three leaders crash

Aleix Espargaro (#41) won a chaotic Catalunya MotoGP Sprint. Image: Supplied

It was four laps in when the lead was given away for a first time due to a front-end washout, with Trackhouse Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez crashing at Turn 10 after he had only taken the lead on the previous lap.

Running at qualifying pace had given him the lead but it was to prove unsustainable and his sensational start ended in the gravel.

Red Bull KTM’s Brad Binder then worked his way to the front of Espargaro, the Ducati Team’s Francesco Bagnaia, Gresini Ducati’s Marc Marquez, GasGas Tech3’s Pedro Acosta, and Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin.

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On Lap 7, Binder crashed at Turn 5 and the beneficiary that time around was Bagnaia.

The world champion then decided that he would make the most being in front by trying to break away from his rivals.

Espargaro was the closest contender to Bagnaia with Marquez battling Acosta for the final podium place.

That status quo would hold until the final lap of the race, when there was a final twist to the tale.

It was again Turn 5 that was the heartbreaker, with Bagnaia squandering a 0.7s advantage and his chance at a win.

Assuming the lead with only nine corners remaining was the home hero, Espargaro.

Days after announcement his retirement from MotoGP, he safely guided his Aprilia to the chequered flag for his first win since the Grand Prix race at the same venue, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last season.

Marquez would hold Acosta at bay for second place by three tenths after crossing the line nine tenths behind the winner.

Martin finished fourth and Red Bull KTM’s Jack Miller collected two points from the Sprint for his seventh place finish.

The 24-lap Grand Prix race goes lights-out on Sunday at 22:00 AEST.

Race results: Sprint race

Pos	Num	Rider	Nat	Team	Bike	Time/Gap
1	41	A. Espargaro	ESP	Aprilia Racing	Aprilia	20:01.478
2	93	M. Marquez	ESP	Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati	+0.892
3	31	P. Acosta	ESP	Red Bull GASGAS Tech3	GasGas	+1.169
4	89	J. Martin	ESP	Prima Pramac Racing	Ducati	+2.147
5	23	E. Bastianini	ITA	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	+2.980
6	49	F. Di Giannantonio	ITA	Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team	Ducati	+4.623
7	43	J. Miller	AUS	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	+8.084
8	12	M. Viñales	ESP	Aprilia Racing	Aprilia	+8.245
9	72	M. Bezzecchi	ITA	Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team	Ducati	+8.643
10	20	F. Quartararo	FRA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team	Yamaha	+9.241
11	21	F. Morbidelli	ITA	Prima Pramac Racing	Ducati	+9.537
12	42	A. Rins	ESP	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team	Yamaha	+13.045
13	30	T. Nakagami	JPN	IDEMITSU Honda LCR	Honda	+13.199
14	73	A. Marquez	ESP	Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati	+13.378
15	36	J. Mir	ESP	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	+16.438
16	10	L. Marini	ITA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	+18.000
17	37	A. Fernandez	ESP	Red Bull GASGAS Tech3	GasGas	+25.262
18	6	S. Bradl	GER	HRC Test Team	Honda	+33.751
DNF	1	F. Bagnaia	ITA	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	11 laps
DNF	88	M. Oliveira	POR	Trackhouse Racing	Aprilia	9 laps
DNF	5	J. Zarco	FRA	CASTROL Honda LCR	Honda	7 laps
DNF	33	B. Binder	RSA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	6 laps
DNF	25	R. Fernandez	ESP	Trackhouse Racing	Aprilia	4 laps

Race winner: 12 laps

Riders’ championship

Pos	Rider	Nat	Pts
1	J. Martin	ESP	135
2	M. Marquez	ESP	98
3	E. Bastianini	ITA	94
4	F. Bagnaia	ITA	91
5	M. Viñales	ESP	83
6	P. Acosta	ESP	80
7	B. Binder	RSA	67
8	A. Espargaro	ESP	63
9	F. Di Giannantonio	ITA	51
10	M. Bezzecchi	ITA	37
11	A. Marquez	ESP	33
12	J. Miller	AUS	27
13	F. Quartararo	FRA	25
14	M. Oliveira	POR	23
15	R. Fernandez	ESP	18
16	F. Morbidelli	ITA	15
17	A. Fernandez	ESP	13
18	J. Mir	ESP	12
19	J. Zarco	FRA	9
20	A. Rins	ESP	7
21	D. Pedrosa	ESP	7
22	T. Nakagami	JPN	6
23	L. Marini	ITA	0
24	S. Bradl	GER	0
25	L. Savadori	ITA	0