It was a thrilling end to Moto3™’s Saturday morning session as half a second split the top 14
Leopard Racing’s Dennis Foggia landed the fastest lap of Moto3™ FP3 at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon to head the field into qualifying this afternoon. The Italian set a 1:58.051 to fend off rookie Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) by just 0.025s, as Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) completed the top three.
A fast and furious end to FP3
The first half of FP3 saw little improvement in terms of the combined times, with Binder and Foggia the only riders to go faster than they did on Friday with just under 20 minutes to go. However, with 15 minutes to go, that all changed. Guevara moved the goalposts to a 1:58.076 to sit 0.2s clear of teammate Sergio Garcia, as the latter suffered a small crash at Turn 9 just after going P2.
World Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was P21 as the riders headed onto their final flying laps, as a flurry of personal best times were slammed in. Foggia went fastest ahead of Guevara with Garcia cementing his place in Q2 as well, before Acosta made sure he was heading straight into Q2 too. A good last lap from the Spaniard handed him P9.
Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) claimed P4 to sit just over a tenth down on Foggia, with Friday pacesetter Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) completing the top five. Garcia sails through in P6 ahead of Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy), as rookie Lorenzo Fellon (SIC58 Squadra Corse) continues to enjoy his time at MotorLand Aragon – P8 for the Frenchman. Acosta got the job done late on to pick up P9, Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) rounded out the leading 10 riders in FP3.
Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Xavier Artigas (Leopard Racing), Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) and Jeremy Alcoba (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) are the final four to gain automatic Q2 entry.
Don’t miss qualifying from Aragon!
So that’s it for Free Practice in the lightweight class, Moto3™ qualifying will get going at 12:35 local time (GMT+2).
Top 10: 1. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) – 1:58.051 2. Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.025 3. Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.101 4. Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) + 0.108 5. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) + 0.173 6. Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.269 7. Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy) + 0.347 8. Lorenzo Fellon (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.364 9. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.381 10. Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) + 0.385
Every practice session, qualifying battle and race, exclusive interviews, historic races and so much more fantastic content: this is VideoPass!
2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship Round 13 – Aragon
Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) topped Day 1 at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon, the Ducati rider putting in a late lunge as the final few minutes decided the combined timesheets. He enjoys nearly three tenths of breathing space at the top by the end of play, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) next up at a venue he and his machine have enjoyed some good success at – carrying that momentum from Silverstone. Third went the way of Cal Crutchlow (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) as the Brit pulled a seriously fast one to complete the top three on Day 1, and the number 35 was top Yamaha to boot. The top 17 were covered by nine tenths on Friday, and from second to 21st it’s just a single second.
FP1 Report
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) started the day with a statement. The eight-time World Champion laid down a 1:48.048, putting him a whopping 0.971 clear of reigning Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar). However, Mir did get within almost half a second on his final flying lap before that was cancelled, so the Suzuki rider seemed to have a little more in the locker initially…
Over a second off the number 93, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was a consistent presence near the top as he ended the session in third, with Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) taking fourth with a late move up the timesheets to within 0.013 of the Italian. Thick and fast thereafter came Miller, Aleix Espargaro, Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing), Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), with gaps ranging from 0.008 between the latter two and up to a maximum of 0.079 between Zarco and Quartararo. Close? Very. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) completed the top ten, 0.130 off Nakagami.
On Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) watch, the Spaniard did 21 laps and got down to a 1:50.187 in his first official session with the Noale factory – about a second off Bagnaia in third.
Iker Lecuona (Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing) crashed early in the session, rider ok, before Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) took a tumble in the latter stages at Turn 5, rider also ok.
FP2 Report
Fortunes changed as Marc Marquez grabbed more headlines but this time for a crash, with number 93 sliding out from behind Alex Marquez. Rider ok but clearly demonstrated his frustration, and he didn’t improve so ended up in P20 on the FP2 timesheets… just ahead of Joan Mir in a real reversal of FP1 for the two.
That was despite the number 93 still leading the combined times with five minutes to go too, but a final flurry of activity in the afternoon saw everything change. Aleix Espargaro and Lecuona charged, then Miller set down his serious marker to beat Marc Marquez’ FP1 best by a margin. Aleix Espargaro did that next, before Crutchlow put in a stunner to slot into second.
Quartararo pipped the FP1 marker next, with Bagnaia – who also crashed earlier in the session – then pipping the Frenchman too and slotting into fourth. Next came Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing), before his team-mate Johann Zarco was the final mover and shaker. Almost literally, as the Frenchman leapt up more than ten places despite a serious front end moment on his final lap.
Combined Times
After the mad dash to the top, the combined timesheets saw everyone improve in the afternoon minus Marc Marquez. So Miller reigns with 0.273 in hand over Aleix Espargaro, with Crutchlow ending the day just 0.011 further back as top Yamaha, seriously impressing as his stand-in duty continues.
Zarco takes fourth ahead of Martin and Bagnaia – that’s four Ducatis in the top six as they show early promise of having moved forward a lot since our last visit to Aragon – and the margins remain tiny. Quartararo is P7, 0.002 off Bagnaia.
Eighth is where Marc Marquez’ FP1 chart-toppper fits in, 0.014 slower than El Diablo’s best from the afternoon, with Nakagami in ninth and Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) completing an impressive day in tenth overall – and therefore the last rider currently on to take a place in Q2.
That leaves Pol Espargaro out as it stands, down in P11, with last year’s Aragon winner Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in P12. The comes Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), with a new chassis for the Austrian factory to explore too.
Mir ends the day in P21, Rossi in P19 and Viñales splits the two, although on a slightly different mission to those around him. The number 12 ended the day 1.142 off Miller after his first two official sessions with Aprilia.
Rider Quotes
Jack Miller – P1
“This is definitely the best way to start the weekend, and it’s a result that instils confidence. We found the track in good conditions right from the start. To be honest, I was surprised; given the rain that fell last night and the dust on the track, I expected a much more slippery asphalt, but the track was fast, and the grip allowed us to push immediately. This morning, I was able to have a good pace with used tyres, but I was not satisfied with it this afternoon. In FP2, we tried a couple of things that maybe took us in the wrong direction, but once we got back to the morning setup, I found my pace again. There are still some areas we can work on, but overall we are doing well. Now the goal is to continue to be fast. There are many competitive riders here at Aragón, so it will be important to improve consistently, to be among the protagonists in Sunday’s race”.
Aleix Espargaro – P2
“I am extremely satisfied with today’s results, both on the time attack front and in terms of our work with used tyres in view of the race. If I’m honest, I still don’t have that perfect feeling. I’m able to be fast, but in terms of feeling, I think there is still room for improvement. This morning, the grip on the asphalt was very poor and then it gradually got better, but thinking ahead to Sunday, when rather high temperatures are expected, we will clearly need to work well on tyre choice and setup.”
Cal Crutchlow – P3
“I wasn‘t surprised by the lap I did after that first sector. I knew that first sector was already a good one for me, so I knew while I was going on with the rest of the lap that I would be okay. The first sector isn‘t always my best sector, and I took it easy because I was a bit scared of Turn 2 with the cold front tyre. But after that I was okay. It was nice to do that lap. I haven‘t pushed and done a lap like that all year, so it was about time to try and do one – and I did. We had a good day today. It was nice to be able to get up there on the timesheets, but I don‘t care about the position. Of course, we want to go fast, but it‘s more about giving information about how I feel with the bike. I tried a few new things today. As a test rider, that‘s my job. It was good to go fast and push the bike to my limit.”
Johann Zarco – P4
“I am happy with today and I have found the right feeling.In FP2, I was able to put out a fast lap and I hope to continue on this path tomorrow.”
Jorge Martín – P5
“I didn’t hope to be competitive today, This is not one of the easiest tracks for the Ducati bike and it require a lot of physical effort. My goal is to be in the top ten tomorrow after FP3 and have a good qualifying session.”
Francesco Bagnaia – P6
“I’m pleased with the result obtained on this first day at the MotorLand Aragón. Last year, we Ducati riders struggled a lot on this track, but today we were able to be fast right from the start, which shows that we did a great job on our Desmosedici GP. We already have a good base setup, and in the two sessions today, we tried different tyres, except the hard front, and we were able to be competitive with all of them. I’m satisfied with the work done on this first day, and I’m confident that we can do well also in qualifying tomorrow”.
Fabio Quartararo – P7
“I feel great. FP1 was tough because I was trying some tyres and didn‘t really feel great on the bike. This afternoon with the hard-hard tyre combination was much better. I tried something on the second run that I didn‘t like, and then during the time attack I ran into some traffic. But I‘m happy because I know I could achieve a time that‘s close to today‘s top time. I‘m quite satisfied and I didn‘t expect to make those fast laps in the first run, so I‘m pretty confident.”
Marc Marquez – P8
“We had a perfect plan; a new tyre in FP1 and then work on the race in FP2 but with the crash we changed our plan a bit. It did give us a chance to test the hard rear so it hasn’t impacted our race weekend a lot. For sure when I fell I was frustrated because I was feeling under control. Yes, I was behind Alex with the slip stream and braking slightly later but I knew I was too fast and I tried to go wide, but then I hit the dirty part of the track and fell. That’s why I was frustrated with the fall. I only pushed for a couple of laps today to save some energy, but so far when I push for race pace the lap time has been coming.”
Takaaki Nakagami – P9
“It was a good start for us today and we had a good feeling on the bike so far. The track condition this morning wasn’t great, but it improved in FP2 as there was more rubber on the track so everyone was able to improve their lap time. So I’m really looking forward to tomorrow in FP3 and the qualifying sessions, we need to stay in the top 10 in FP3 and be ready for Q2.”
Enea Bastianini – P10
“It was a positive day, where I started off on the right foot. I was able to enjoy FP1, but in FP2 I didn’t feel quite comfortable, because I didn’t feel a good grip with the front tyre. Fortunately, the time attack was good and I managed to set a good time that allowed me to save the day. I had a good pace, but as I said, in the afternoon the feeling wasn’t the same as in the morning.”
Pol Espargaro – P11
“Everyone is very close here today, from the top five down to me in 11th is only 0.1s so there’s nothing between us. One small mistake and you go from P4 to P11 which makes our laps in FP3 really important. We need to get a lap with no mistakes because spending just a tiny amount of time off throttle compared to another rider can see you in Q1 instead of Q2. But it’s been a good day, we were focusing on the race today and preparing for Qualifying so there’s speed to come. I’m happy with how it has gone so far and we’ve had a productive day working for the future.”
Alex Rins – P12
“In FP2 I focused on race set-up, I tried hard and medium tyres and I was checking everything ahead of race day. I didn’t do a proper time attack, even if I had some good laps. I feel comfortable so far and my main target now is to get into Q2 tomorrow. I will push in FP3 and see where I can end up. The team and I will analyse which will be the best tyre choice for the race, because at the moment they feel quite similar. But in the end it’s only Friday and we have time to get prepared for Sunday.”
Álex Márquez – P14
“In the morning it was great and I was feeling quite good on the bike, and also in the afternoon. Today the most important thing for us was to try all the tyre options and also to see which set-up we should try to keep working with. So, we are quite clear on all those things and did a good job, just with the soft tyre at the end of FP2 I wasn’t able to push as I wanted, but despite that I’m happy and it’s a positive day. I feel great on the track, tomorrow I need to polish a lot of things and improve, but I’m feeling great on the bike, enjoying it and the most important thing is we keep working like this.”
Danilo Petrucci – P15
“Since this morning I got a very good feeling with the front and could brake a lot later. The weakest points for us are always the long straights, but there are plenty of nice corners here, so I really enjoyed riding my bike today. In FP2 I just couldn’t put everything together, but I think if I can manage this tomorrow morning, I might make the jump to Q2. I’m really happy about this, because we are working a lot on the bike and we are gaining a good feeling. We still miss a bit of maximum speed to be really on top, but I’m still satisfied.”
Luca Marini – P16
“I’m happy with today. We worked well with the team, but it’s a pity I made too many mistakes on my time attack with the new tyre. Aragon is not an easy track and, compared to last year, it was a surprise to see a Ducati so competitive on this track. For tomorrow we will focus on the details, the electronics, the suspension, and then we will try to do a good FP4 to know which tyre to use for the race. For the moment, all three compounds seem to work well.”
Iker Lecuona – P17
“It was definitely not an easy day. I had a huge crash in the third lap of FP1. I felt really good and confident with the bike, but the tyre was too cold, I pushed too much and went down. Then I restarted to work in order to gain my confidence again. I have to say a huge thanks to my guys because they repaired the bike pretty quick to be ready for FP2. We worked hard, I felt good in the second session and I’m not far off the top. We still need to improve for tomorrow’s Qualifying, as I think we can fight for the Q2.”
Valentino Rossi – P19
“Today was difficult, which we expected a little bit because this track isn’t the best for the bike, nor for me. For some reason, I have always struggled here at Aragon. We will still give our maximum here and we will try our best to work better with the rear tyre. We will try to modify the settings a little bit to try to be gentler with it. In the end it wasn’t too bad though and we were better in the afternoon. I’m not the fastest but I’m only one second from pole position and that put me 19th. Normally here the grip improves each day and we will also try to be competitive tomorrow.”
Maverick Vinales – P20
“On this first day, we did what we had set out to do, which was to turn as many laps as possible. Although the sensations were good in any case, there is still the fact that I don’t have that much experience on the RS-GP yet and I need to increase my confidence. We were able to improve consistently, shaving off more than a second between the two sessions, so that is positive. We need to keep working this way. Considering the high level here in MotoGP, it’s the details and especially the rider’s confidence that make all the difference.”
Joan Mir – P21
“Here there’s a huge difference between putting on a new tyre or a used one. I decided to do FP2 with the race tyre and not the soft one, because I wanted to understand the true feeling with the bike and to get prepared for the race. This afternoon it looks like I’m really far from the top, but in reality I’m not worried because I wasn’t pushing for a fast lap. Tomorrow the times will come down further and everything will get faster, so it will be interesting to see what we can do. I will be trying the soft tyres for sure, but of course you can’t just put that tyre on and go fast, it’s more important to work on the overall set-up.”
Jake Dixon – P22
“It’s really good to experience being in MotoGP for a second time. The speed of the bike wasn’t such a shock this time and it was really enjoyable. I struggled a bit in FP1 just to find my reference points, as it’s obviously different to when I rode here in Moto2. In FP2 we found a good direction with both the bike and me, plus the team are all working great. We stayed with the same medium hard tyres throughout the whole day and I felt really good. When everyone else was on the same tyre as us, we weren’t too far off. Tomorrow we’ll put the soft on to try a time attack and I think we could be quite close to the guys at the front. I really enjoy this track and when you have a good feeling somewhere, you tend to do alright. The overall result doesn’t reflect on what we’ve done today, as we didn’t use a new tyre, and I feel like we can do a really good job tomorrow.”
MotoGP Combined Friday Practice Times
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
J.Miller
DUCATI
1m47.613
2
A.Espargaro
APRILIA
+0.273
3
C.Crutchlow
YAMAHA
+0.284
4
J.Zarco
DUCATI
+0.375
5
J.Martin
DUCATI
+0.410
6
F.Bagnaia
DUCATI
+0.419
7
F.Quartararo
YAMAHA
+0.421
8
M.Marquez
HONDA
+0.435
9
T.Nakagami
HONDA
+0.444
10
E.Bastianini
DUCATI
+0.473
11
P.Espargaro
HONDA
+0.553
12
A.Rins
SUZUKI
+0.654
13
B.Binder
KTM
+0.665
14
A.Marquez
HONDA
+0.701
15
D.Petrucci
KTM
+0.738
16
L.Marini
DUCATI
+0.843
17
I.Lecuona
KTM
+0.913
18
M.Oliveira
KTM
+1.010
19
V.Rossi
YAMAHA
+1.036
20
M.Viñales
APRILIA
+1.142
21
J.Mir
SUZUKI
+1.273
22
J.Dixon
YAMAHA
+2.374
2021 MotoGP Standings
Pos
Rider
Bike
Nation
Points
1
Fabio QUARTARARO
Yamaha
FRA
206
2
Joan MIR
Suzuki
SPA
141
3
Johann ZARCO
Ducati
FRA
137
4
Francesco BAGNAIA
Ducati
ITA
136
5
Jack MILLER
Ducati
AUS
118
6
Brad BINDER
KTM
RSA
108
7
Maverick VIÑALES
Yamaha
SPA
95
8
Miguel OLIVEIRA
KTM
POR
85
9
Aleix ESPARGARO
Aprilia
SPA
83
10
Jorge MARTIN
Ducati
SPA
64
11
Alex RINS
Suzuki
SPA
64
12
Marc MARQUEZ
Honda
SPA
59
13
Takaaki NAKAGAMI
Honda
JPN
58
14
Pol ESPARGARO
Honda
SPA
52
15
Alex MARQUEZ
Honda
SPA
49
16
Franco MORBIDELLI
Yamaha
ITA
40
17
Danilo PETRUCCI
KTM
ITA
36
18
Enea BASTIANINI
Ducati
ITA
35
19
Iker LECUONA
KTM
SPA
33
20
Luca MARINI
Ducati
ITA
28
21
Valentino ROSSI
Yamaha
ITA
28
22
Stefan BRADL
Honda
GER
11
23
Dani PEDROSA
KTM
SPA
6
24
Lorenzo SAVADORI
Aprilia
ITA
4
25
Michele PIRRO
Ducati
ITA
3
26
Tito RABAT
Ducati
SPA
1
27
Cal CRUTCHLOW
Yamaha
GBR
0
28
Garrett GERLOFF
Yamaha
USA
0
29
Jake DIXON
Yamaha
GBR
0
Moto2
Moto2 Championship leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) ends Day 1 at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon as the fastest man in the intermediate class, but the Spaniard had some seriously close company as Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) got within just 0.007. Completing the top three it was rookie sensation Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) despite recent surgery for a small metacarpal fracture, but he had even closer company as Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) was just 0.003 in further arrears in fourth.
Moto2 Combined Friday Practice
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
R.Gardner
KALEX
1m52.743
2
A.Fernandez
KALEX
+0.007
3
R.Fernandez
KALEX
+0.102
4
F.Di Giannanto
KALEX
+0.105
5
S.Lowes
KALEX
+0.228
6
A.Arenas
BOSCOSCURO
+0.280
7
M.Bezzecchi
KALEX
+0.283
8
N.Bulega
KALEX
+0.300
9
J.Navarro
BOSCOSCURO
+0.357
10
F.Aldeguer
BOSCOSCURO
+0.458
11
M.Ramirez
KALEX
+0.604
12
A.Canet
BOSCOSCURO
+0.618
13
H.Garzo
KALEX
+0.640
14
M.Schrotter
KALEX
+0.709
15
B.Bendsneyde
KALEX
+0.830
16
S.Corsi
MV AGUSTA
+0.927
17
A.Ogura
KALEX
+0.944
18
X.Vierge
KALEX
+1.090
19
J.Roberts
KALEX
+1.135
20
M.Gonzalez
MV AGUSTA
+1.217
21
S.Manzi
KALEX
+1.252
22
L.Dalla Porta
KALEX
+1.316
23
S.Chantra
KALEX
+1.483
24
T.Luthi
KALEX
+1.498
25
C.Vietti
KALEX
+1.502
26
C.Beaubier
KALEX
+1.508
27
T.Arbolino
KALEX
+1.521
28
H.Syahrin
NTS
1.657
29
B.Baltus
NTS
+1.950
30
X.Cardelus
KALEX
+2.186
31
J.Mcphee
KALEX
+2.531
32
P.Biesiekirski
KALEX
+2.619
Moto2 Championship Points Standings
Pos
Rider
Bike
Nation
Points
1
Remy GARDNER
Kalex
AUS
231
2
Raul FERNANDEZ
Kalex
SPA
187
3
Marco BEZZECCHI
Kalex
ITA
179
4
Sam LOWES
Kalex
GBR
127
5
Aron CANET
Boscoscuro
SPA
92
6
Augusto FERNANDEZ
Kalex
SPA
92
7
Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO
Kalex
ITA
91
8
Ai OGURA
Kalex
JPN
87
9
Marcel SCHROTTER
Kalex
GER
75
10
Xavi VIERGE
Kalex
SPA
67
11
Jorge NAVARRO
Boscoscuro
SPA
58
12
Joe ROBERTS
Kalex
USA
56
13
Celestino VIETTI
Kalex
ITA
46
14
Bo BENDSNEYDER
Kalex
NED
40
15
Somkiat CHANTRA
Kalex
THA
35
16
Tony ARBOLINO
Kalex
ITA
33
17
Cameron BEAUBIER
Kalex
USA
26
18
Albert ARENAS
Boscoscuro
SPA
23
19
Jake DIXON
Kalex
GBR
21
20
Stefano MANZI
Kalex
ITA
20
21
Marcos RAMIREZ
Kalex
SPA
16
22
Thomas LUTHI
Kalex
SWI
16
23
Hector GARZO
Kalex
SPA
12
24
Nicolò BULEGA
Kalex
ITA
12
25
Lorenzo DALLA PORTA
Kalex
ITA
10
26
Hafizh SYAHRIN
NTS
MAL
8
27
Simone CORSI
MV Agusta
ITA
7
28
Fermín ALDEGUER
Boscoscuro
SPA
4
29
Alonso LOPEZ
Boscoscuro
SPA
4
30
Lorenzo BALDASSARRI
MV Agusta
ITA
3
31
Barry BALTUS
NTS
BEL
2
32
Yari MONTELLA
Boscoscuro
ITA
0
33
Tommaso MARCON
MV Agusta
ITA
0
34
Miquel PONS
MV Agusta
SPA
0
35
Fraser ROGERS
NTS
GBR
0
36
Taiga HADA
/
JPN
0
36
Taiga HADA
Kalex
JPN
0
37
Manuel GONZALEZ
MV Agusta
SPA
0
38
Piotr BIESIEKIRSKI
Kalex
POL
0
40
Keminth KUBO
Kalex
THA
0
40
Keminth KUBO
Kalex
THA
0
Moto3
Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) struck late on Day 1 at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon to take over on top, the Turk’s advantage just half a tenth after a close first day on the Moto3 time-sheets. Rookie Izan Guevara’s (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) incredible form at MotorLand continued in second, this time in the Grand Prix paddock, with Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) completing a top three split by just 0.076. Even more incredibly, the top 21 are all covered by just 0.999 after Day 1 at MotorLand.
“As soon as I rolled out of pitlane, I was pleasantly surprised. The grip was there immediately and we were able to push from the get-go,” said Miller, debriefing after his fine Friday efforts. “It’s a lot nicer riding here in these temperatures that what we had last year and no, just enjoying it. The bike, like I said to the boys in the debrief, in the last two corners with the double apex, you can pick up the gas and let’s say in the past we had to manage it quite a lot, whereas now we have a nice consistent gas all the way through and it will keep turning, and it’s not rolling off the edge of the tyre.
The World Championship leader is fastest so far in Aragon, but 0.4s covers the top 10…
World Championship leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is in a familiar position at the top of the timesheets after the opening day of Moto2™ action at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon, but it’s tight. Second place Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) is just 0.007s off Gardner, with injured Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) fighting through the pain to finish a close P3.
0.4s covers top 10 – it’s close!
Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) was the first rider to venture into the 1:52s bracket in FP2 as he and Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) improved their morning times early doors. They were the top two riders until the clocked ticked down towards 10 minutes to go, as Augusto Fernandez and then Gardner exchanged P1. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) then climbed to P3 as riders started to find some decent pace in the latter stages of FP2.
Raul Fernandez, nursing a fractured metacarpal in his right hand, was able to slot into P3 in the closing stages to sit less than a tenth away from second place Augusto Fernandez. That meant Diggia dropped to P4 by the end of the session, a good day for the Italian nonetheless after his P6 in FP1, as Lowes completed the top five.
Reigning Moto3™ World Champion Albert Arenas (Kipin Energy Aspar Team) is sixth and is enjoying his first visit to MotorLand on a Moto2™ machine, the Spaniard is 0.003s ahead of seventh place Bezzecchi. Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), Jorge Navarro (+EGO Speed Up) – a crasher at Turn 14 in FP2 – and newly crowned Moto2™ European Champion Fermin Aldeguer (+EGO Speed Up) rounded out the top 10.
Just 0.4s covers the aforementioned riders, so the battle for FP3 honours and pole position looks set to be a very good one. Tune into Moto2™ FP3 at 10:55 local time (GMT+2) on Saturday morning to see who will be heading straight into Q2.
Top 10: 1. Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 1:53.988 2. Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.007 3. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.102 4. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) + 0.105 5. Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.228 6. Albert Arenas (Kipin Energy Aspar Team) + 0.280 7. Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.283 8. Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) + 0.300 9. Jorge Navarro (+EGO Speed Up) + 0.357 10. Fermin Aldeguer (+EGO Speed Up) + 0.458
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It was a dramatic start to the session for pacesetter Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). Tucked right in the slipstream of Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) heading into Turn 16, the Repsol Honda rider had to go off-line, which caused him to lose the front. Marc Marquez was straight up on his feet and uninjured, but the eight-time World Champion was visibly frustrated with the crash. Not long later, second fastest Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was down unhurt at Turn 5.
The Turkish rider beats the reigning Moto3™ Junior World Champion by less than a tenth in a closely fought FP2
Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) leads the way after the opening two Moto3™ Free Practice sessions at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon after laying down a 1:58.929 in FP2. It was a time good enough to pip Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) by just 0.045s, as Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) completed a top three split by 0.076s.
Leaving it late to improve…
For most of FP2, it was relatively quiet as the riders tackled the increased temperatures in the afternoon heat. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) was the first real mover on the combined times before Guevara went P1 heading into the final 10 minutes of action. However, as we often see in the lightweight class, plenty of action came in the closing minutes. Red and orange sector times lit up as the riders piled out for the last couple of laps dash, with Öncü coming out on top.
Guevara, a triple winner at MotorLand Aragon in the 2020 Moto3™ Junior World Championship, enjoyed a successful day at the office, with Binder climbing up to third on his final flying lap. Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) was another rider to improve on his last lap, the Spaniard sits P4 on Friday, 0.023s ahead of fifth place Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo).
Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) was the pacesetter in FP1 but failed to improve his 1:59.131 in the afternoon, meaning the Argentine slips to P6 on the combined times. Filip Salač (CarXpert PrüstelGP) ends Day 1 in P7 after two strong sessions, the Czech rider leads Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy), Silverstone winner Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) and rookie Lorenzo Fellon (SIC58 Squadra Corse) – the Italians and Frenchman close out the top 10.
A crucial FP3 coming up
World Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is P14 after two Free Practice sessions on Friday, can the title favourite cement a place in Q2 when the riders head out for FP3 on Saturday morning? Tune in a 09:00 local time (GMT+2) to find out.
Top 10: 1. Deniz Oncu (Red Bull KTM Tech3) – 1:58.929 2. Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.045 3. Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.076 4. Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.081 5. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.104 6. Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) + 0.202 7. Filip Salač (CarXpert PrüstelGP) + 0.227 8. Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy) + 0.289 9. Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 0.306 10. Lorenzo Fellon (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.343
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Jorge Navarro (+EGO Speed Up) is the rider to beat after Moto2™ FP1 at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon, as the Spaniard sits 0.473s clear of Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) thanks to a 1:53.100. Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) is just over half a second down on Navarro’s superior pace on Friday morning, the Italian claimed P3 on the timesheets.
Six-time MotorLand Aragon winner Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) has come out the blocks flying at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon, the Spaniard set a 1:48.048 to sit 0.971s clear of second fastest Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in FP1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) led the Desmosedici charge in P3, but the Italian was 1.145s off Marquez’ pace.
Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) set a 1:59.131 on his final flying lap to top the opening Moto3™ session of the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon. The Argentine rider beat Filip Salač (CarXpert PrüstelGP) by just 0.064s, with Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy) completing the top three – the Italian 0.099s adrift of P1.
2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship Round 13 – Aragon
Most successful current riders at Aragon
Marc Marquez – 6 wins (5 x MotoGP, 1 x Moto2)
Sam Lowes – 3 (3 x Moto2)
Jaume Masia – 2 (2 x Moto2)
Franco Morbidelli – 2 (1 x MotoGP, 1 x Moto2)
Alex Rins – 2 (1 x MotoGP, 1 x Moto3)
Brad Binder – 2 (2 x Moto2)
Pol Espargaro – 2 (1 x Moto2, 1 x 125cc)
Honda most successful manufacturer at Aragon
Honda’s last MotoGP win here: Marc Marquez in 2019 from pole. Honda is the most successful manufacturer here with seven MotoGP wins: Casey Stoner in 2011, Dani Pedrosa in 2012 and Marc Marquez in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.
Yamaha have three wins in MotoGP at MotorLand with Jorge Lorenzo in 2014 and 2015, and Franco Morbidelli in 2020/2 (Teruel).
Ducati’s only MotoGP win at Aragon: Casey Stoner won the first race at Aragon in 2010 from pole.
Since Stoner’s win in 2010, with Nicky Hayden also on the podium, Ducati have had five podiums: Cal Crutchlow (third in 2014), Jorge Lorenzo (third in 2017), Andrea Dovizioso (second in 2018 and ’19), and Jack Miller third in 2019.
Suzuki’s only MotoGP win at Aragon: Alex Rins at the 2020 Aragon GP.
Aprilia’s best result at MotorLand: sixth for Aleix Espargaro in 2017 and 2018. A sixth-place finish was Aprilia’s best result in MotoGP (since 2002) until Aleix Espargaro finished third at the 2021 British GP.
KTM’s best result at MotorLand: fourth for Pol Espargaro in 2020/2 (Teruel).
Spain dominates at Aragon
Spanish riders are very successful across all classes at Aragon, winning 24 of the 36 races so far. The only non-Spanish riders with a win at the circuit are Casey Stoner (MotoGP in 2010, 2011), Andrea Iannone (Moto2 in 2010), Romano Fenati (Moto3 in 2014), Miguel Oliveira (Moto3 in 2015), Sam Lowes (Moto2 in 2016, 2020/1, 2020/2), Franco Morbidelli (Moto2 in 2017 and MotoGP in 2020/2) and Brad Binder (Moto2 in 2018, 2019).
Casey Stoner’s victories, Andrea Dovizioso’s second place finishes in 2018 and 2019 and Franco Morbidelli’s win in 2020 the only times a non-Spanish rider has stood on the top two steps of the podium in MotoGP at Aragon.
Since 2010, only two riders have won the MotoGP race from pole at Aragon: Casey Stoner (2010, 2011) and Marc Marquez (2013, 2016, 2019). Marquez has been on pole five out of seven times he’s raced in MotoGP at Aragon.
MotorLand Aragon is one of just five circuits where Valentino Rossi has raced in the premier class and not had a victory along with Austin, the Red Bull Ring, Buriram and Istanbul.
Record-breaking premier class race at the British Grand Prix
Luca Marini finished the British GP in 15th place crossing the line just 21.018 seconds behind race winner Fabio Quartararo, which is the 8 th closest top 15 of all-time in a full length premier class Grand Prix.
The following list shows the ten closest top 15 finishes of all time in the premier class of Grand Prix racing. Four of them have already occurred in 2021 (only races that have completed full race distance):
Year
Race Winner
Time covering top 15 (s)
1
2021
Losail/2 Fabio Quartararo
8.928
2
2019
Losail Andrea Dovizioso
15.093
3
2020
Aragon/1 Alex Rins
15.941
4
2018
Assen Marc Marquez
16.043
5
2021
Losail/1 Maverick Viñales
16.422
6
2020
Misano/1 Franco Morbidelli
20.152
7
2021
Jerez Jack Miller
20.277
8
2021
Silverstone Fabio Quartararo
21.018
9
2018
Brno Andrea Dovizioso
23.159
10
2018
Losail Andrea Dovizioso
23.287
MotoGP Facts and Stats
At the British GP, Fabio Quartararo won for the fifth time so far this year, becoming the first Yamaha rider to win five times or more in a single MotoGP season since Jorge Lorenzo who did it seven times on his way to the title in 2015.
This is Fabio Quartararo’s eighth win in MotoGP, equalling Maverick Viñales and Max Biaggi in sixth place on the list of Yamaha riders with most premier class wins. In addition, this is Fabio Quartararo’s ninth win in GP racing. He still in second place in the list of French riders with most GP wins, behind Johann Zarco who is leading with 16 victories.
This is the 11th win for France in the premier class, one less than Japan and Rhodesia, tied in seventh place on the list of the most successful nations in the premier class. This is Fabio Quartararo’s 18th podium, equalling Christian Sarron as the two French riders with the most podiums in the class. Johann Zarco is his closest rival in third with 11 podiums.
Fabio Quartararo is still leading the MotoGP classification with 206 points ahead of Joan Mir (141), which is the highest margin in the MotoGP classification after the opening 12 races since 2019 when Marc Marquez had a 78-point advantage over Andrea Dovizioso after the British GP.
Fabio Quartararo
“It’s a totally different situation compared to last year. In 2019 I didn’t do a bad race but now I have a totally different feeling on the bike, I’m in a different situation and I feel much better. Of course it’s not my favourite track but at some tracks I didn’t like I was pretty fast this year, so it’s not so important. It’s not my favourite place here but of course I will do the same work as always and try to fight for the best position. I think what I didn’t have last year… the consistency. We were fast in Jerez, Barcelona and even Misano, it was just up and down. This year I’m really consistent and it’s changed a lot and I think to fight for the championship it’s the main key, so if I need to say something I would say the consistency I could maintain this year.”
At the British GP, Alex Rins finished second to take his first podium since he was also second at the European GP last year. This is his 13th podium overall in MotoGP.
Alex Rins
“As what we did in the first part of the season, all the ups and downs, we deserved that podium, myself and the team. We’ve arrived at this track with a lot of confidence. It’s a track I really enjoy, the layout is unbelievable but you know, all the riders are super fast, and the level in MotoGP is super high. Let’s see where we are, we will give our 100%. It was hard to accept, but in the end we worked hard with the team, my personal team and race team, and after the summer break we arrived in Austria with a different mentality, trying to go race by race and trying to learn and enjoy the ride and in the end I think it is the best idea. We suffered a little bit in Austria for the layout but in Silverstone we were able to show our real potential and yeah, let’s see how we go here.”
Aleix Espargaro crossed the line in third place to take his second podium in the premier class along with Aragon back in 2014 (on a Forward Yamaha).
With his podium at the British GP, Aleix Espargaro gave Aprilia their first podium in the MotoGP era (since 2002) and their first podium in the premier class since Jeremy McWilliams was also third at the 2000 British GP. Each of the six Aprilia’s premier class podiums is a third place.
With Aleix Espargaro crossing the line in third 4.105s off the race winner Fabio Quartararo at the British GP, this is the closest gap to the winner for an Aprilia in the MotoGP era since 2002.
Aleix Espargaro
“I have a little more confidence after the Silverstone result. Obviously the podium was very important but the most important thing for me was the level we have showed at every GP, in different conditions we’re always close to the top guys so obviously now after the podium I feel a bit more relaxed. Now let’s try to do better, to keep fighting for the podium. This is a circuit that I really like, where the bike has worked quite well in the past. The weather looks better than last season, where we struggled a lot because it was cold so I can’t wait to ride the new bike here. I’m very happy Maverick joined our team. I think he arrived in the best moment of Aprilia’s racing story. We’ve been talking for a long time with Maverick about Aprilia, about joining us in the future, but after the thing in Austria, I’m super happy he can be racing again with us. As my teammate I think we have a very strong team also with Sava in the test team role. I think the future is bright for us, obviously to improve from where we are now is not going to be easy, the level is very high, the riders ahead of me are very strong and also their machines, but the challenge is very beautiful so Maverick and I are ready to go for it!”
Jack Miller finished fourth as first Ducati, which is his best result since he was third at the Catalan GP earlier this year.
Jack Miller
“It was really nice to be strong at the end of the race, it’s been a while. Being able to show I was able to maintain the tyres, especially at Silverstone which is one of the most brutal tracks on tyres, maintain them and put in a solid second half of the race was key. I enjoyed it a lot. I had to have a lunge on the last lap on Aleix, it was one of those things, you don’t just roll over and give it to him. And I think it would have made his podium a bit more special for sure, it was a lot of fun and hopefully we can do it all again on Sunday here in Aragon. We have a more consistent bike underneath us this year if we look at performance on every track. I think we’re in a good position but we won’t know until we go out for FP1 tomorrow. As you said the weather is a lot warmer than when we were here last year and it feels more like an Aragon GP now. We were on the podium here in 2019, last year both races were shocking, in the second one I only made it to Turn 2, so hopefully his year we will be able to turn the luck around. Six races left, we’re sitting fifth in the championship and yeah we need to get some more points on the board.”
At the British GP, Pol Espargaro finished fifth which is his best result since he joined Honda this season.
Pol Espargaro
“Well… I don’t trust so much in these kinds of steps, like you work good during one weekend after a tough season and everything changes. I trust in the hard work, for sure the season hasn’t been what we wanted, at the end we were working hugely to make it in one weekend, ok it was Silverstone, but our goal isn’t to make one weekend for the season. We want to keep this pace for the rest of the season, or if it’s not possible this year, do a good pre-season next year and hammer next year. For us, all of Honda’s goal, we are so far back in the Championship that we don’t have a chance to fight for something, let’s say, interesting. We’ll keep our heads down, maybe it’s going to happen that we arrive here and we suffer again. Trust me when I tell you that I’m working hugely, Honda too, to try to be the best package possible in the second half of the season or at the start of the next one. I’ve been in the last races, last year I was fighting with some of them, but last year I was fighting with different riders, not the ones I was facing at Silverstone. For sure the way they approach the overtake, and the way they overtake you, is much different. It allows you to ride in a different way, much smoother, relaxed, no one is going to come overtake you in a crazy way when you are in first or second. They are smoother in their overtakes and everything is much easier when you are in front and you don’t need to be stressed and recovering positions, just trying to overtake the other guy and protecting the inside every lap. So the race was much easier, even if I finished in the top five. As you say this place is good for Honda, at least last year, but as Jack said this year the temperature has changed a lot. We face sometimes, from one week to another the track changes so much, so from one year to another we don’t know, especially with the temperature we’re going to face for the weekend.”
With Yamaha, Suzuki, Aprilia, Ducati, Honda and KTM within the top six, this is the first time there are six different manufacturers in the top six of a premier class race since the Yugoslavian GP back in 1972.
Maverick Viñales will be racing with Aprilia from the Aragon GP. If he wins before the end of the season, he will become only the second rider to take two wins on bike from two different manufacturers in a single premier class season along with Mike Hailwood in 1961 (TT/Norton, Nations/MV Agusta).
Maverick Viñales
“I’m more than excited, I’m very hungry and motivated to start this story with Aprilia. The six races ahead are just a present to prepare better for next year. Our priority is trying to learn, for sure it is very different, I need to learn a lot and learn quick. For sure, this year set up a lot of fire inside of myself. All we want is to push. I’ve been away for a while, but I think we come back in a good way. After the two tests I feel positive to be here and get experience on a weekend and we just need to learn.”
At the Aragon GP, Takaaki Nakagami, who finished 13th at the British GP, will be scheduled to start his 200th GP race, becoming the first Japanese rider to reach that milestone in GP racing.
Only one of the four rookies in MotoGP™ this year has previously won at Aragon in any of the smaller classes: Jorge Martin in 2018 from pole position. He also finished third last year in Moto2™ (Aragon GP). However, Enea Bastianini has had five podium finishes at Aragon in any classes: third in 2016, 2017 and 2018 in Moto3™, second in 2021/1 and third 2021/2.