Bezzecchi Wins in Argentina, Bagnaia Crashes

April 2, 2023Ray Milton
MotoGP

The Argentine Grand Prix took place in wet conditions. Sprint race winner Brad Binder had a lap 1 slide out which effective eliminated his chance at a double podium for the weekend. Pole sitter Alex Marquez could not capitalize on his start from pole but was able to capture a podium finishing in third. Pace on track was significantly impacted by the wet weather conditions on track. One early victim was Monster Energy Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo who was pushed wide at Turn 7 but was able to recover to finish P7.

Mooney VR46 Racing rider Marco Bezzecchi had a commanding leading for the majority of the race. Bezzecchi secured his first win in MotoGP in his second year in the series. Previous championship points leader Francesco Bagnaia suffered from a self induced error that cause a low speed slide out. Bagnaia made a charge up to P2 prior to the incident that eventually saw him finish P16 overall. This crash cost him a chance at the podium and his championship points lead. Bagnaia was visually frustrated with the incident after the race. However, the Ducati dominance continues as Ducatis occupy 4 of the top 5 positions in the championship points standings. No other manufacturer has amounted an answer to their early success in 2023.

With 4 laps to go Prima Pramac Ducati rider Johann Zarco made a late charge to take P2 on the final lap securing his first podium of the year. The result also saw him jump 3 positions in the riders championship points standings. Prima Pramac teammate Jorge Martin was able to finish P5 which the team will see as a very successful weekend after Martin finish 8th in both Q2 and the Sprint Race. Monster Energy Yamaha rider Franco Morbidelli finished P4 in both the sprint race and grand prix which is the best finish for a Yamaha rider thus far in the 2023 campaign.

Based on the number of riders out with injury for this race the grid was reduced to 17 riders. Headed into the weekend there were a number of riders who had suffered injuries in Portugal. Repsol Honda rider Joan Mir also missed out on the Argentine Grand Prix due to an early crash in the Sprint Race that resulted in nausea and dizziness associated with head trauma.

The New Championship Standings :

POS RIDERNATTEAMPOINTS
1^2Marco BezzecchiITAMooney VR46 Ducati 50
2˅1Francesco BagnaiaITADucati Lenovo41
3^3Johann ZarcoFRAPramac Ducati35
4^1Alex MarquezSPAGresini Ducati33
5˅3Maverick ViñalesSPAAprilia Racing 32
6^1Jack MillerAUSRed Bull KTM 25
7^1Jorge MartinSPAPramac Ducati 22
8˅4Brad BinderRSARed Bull KTM 22
9^2Franco MorbidelliITAMonster Yamaha 21
10=Fabio QuartararoFRAMonster Yamaha 18
11^1Luca MariniITAMooney VR46 Ducati15
12^2Alex RinsSPALCR Honda13
13˅4Aleix EspargaroSPAAprilia Racing12
14^3Augusto FernandezSPATech3 GASGAS8
15^1Takaaki NakagamiJPNLCR Honda7
16˅3Marc MarquezSPARepsol Honda7
17NAFabio di GiannantonioITAGresini Ducati6
18˅3Joan MirSPARepsol Honda5
19˅1Miguel OliveiraPORRNF Aprilia 3
20NARaul FernandezSPARNF Aprilia2