MotoGP: Aprilia Racing on Fire in FP2

FP2 is complete at the Spanish GP and Aprilia Racing is on top. Both riders Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales set fastest laps throughout the session with the margin between their best laps being only 0.002s. Jack Miller who was 3rd fastest was just over a tenth of a second behind Viñales.

The session halted briefly due to Marc Marquez’s injury substitute Iker Lecuona crashing in turn 12; causing a red flag. The session restarted but riders did not start to break FP1 times until the final 15 minutes. Francesco Bagnaia seemingly is well off pace today given he ran 8th fastest. There did not seem to be an obvious reason why he was so behind on pace. Similarly Marco Bezzecchi could only amount a response to finish 7th fastest raising questions as to whether there are new factors impacting the pace of these riders. Fabio Quartararo had an FP2 to forget finishing 15th fastest. With each grand prix round Quartararo’s likelihood of making another title run seems to dwindle as his has not consistently been able to remain in the top 5 for lap times in any of the previous practices or races for the 2023 campaign. While we wait for qualifying be sure to check out MotoGP.com for exclusive content and interviews from this weekend.

Free Practice 2 Results

Honda Racing Corporation Press Release: This article was not authored by Speed Trap Magazine Staff

A still recovering Marc Marquez will be replaced by Honda WorldSBK’s Iker Lecuona, the young Valencia rider making his MotoGP return alongside Joan Mir inside the Repsol Honda Team box for his first home race as a Honda rider.

Returning to one of the most familiar tracks on the MotoGP World Championship calendar, the paddock arrives at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. First hosting a Grand Prix in 1987, the 4.42-kilometer-long circuit has seen Honda take 22 premier class Grands Prix victories, the most recent coming in 2019 when Marc Marquez won the race. The entirety of HRC arrives buoyed by Alex Rins’ victory in Austin, Texas and all are eager to continue the form and make further improvements.

Marc Marquez will continue recovering from the broken first metacarpal of the right hand sustained at the Portuguese Grand Prix. The French GP, May 12 – 14, has been set as the target for the #93 to return to competition. For the Spanish Grand Prix, he will be replaced by Iker Lecuona.

Focusing on the positives of Austin and the improvements made, Joan Mir lands back on home turf with a clear path to follow. The Jerez circuit has seen the #36 produce a string of his trademark consistent results in the premier class, sixth place in 2022 his worst finish at the venue since arriving in MotoGP in 2019. Having made a step with the ergonomics of the Repsol Honda Team RC213V in Austin, confirming this improved feeling will be the first objective of the weekend for the double World Champion.

2022 and 2023 have seen Iker Lecuona competing with Team HRC in WorldSBK, the 23-year-old from Valencia consistently fighting for the top five in his rookie season. This included a podium finish at the Dutch round in 2022, just his second weekend of competition on the Honda CBR1000RR-R. His 2023 WorldSBK season started with a string of top-ten finished in Phillip Island with more speed shown in Mandalika and Assen. Lecuona is no stranger to the premier class, having competed full time from 2020 to the end of 2021. He achieved a best result of sixth place at the Austrian Grand Prix in 2021 during this time.

Stefan Bradl will contest the Spanish Grand Prix aboard a fifth Honda RC213V with the Honda HRC Test Team.

IKER Lecuona foffered his thoughts:

“First I want to wish Marc all the best in his recovery, he is the reference in MotoGP and I think not only the fans, but also the riders miss him a lot. For me, of course it’s an incredible opportunity to return to MotoGP and ride with the team of my dreams. Doing it in front of the Spanish crowd is extra special. But we have to be realistic, it will be a very tough and demanding weekend. I have spent this year and last year fully focused on WorldSBK with Team HRC and now I need to get used to everything that is different in MotoGP as well as learn a brand-new bike – the Honda RC213V. No matter what, I will do my best and let’s see what the outcome is.”

Honda Racing Corporation Press Release: This article was not authored by Speed Trap Magazine Staff

Tuesday, April 25, Marc Marquez underwent a medical check at the Ruber Internacional Hospital after having been successfully operated on four weeks ago for an intra-articular fracture of the first metacarpal on the right hand.

The clinical and radiological progression was deemed satisfactory, however, due to the nature of the fracture and the time elapsed, the medical team led by Dr. Roger de Oña together with Marquez, have decided to continue with his recovery and preparation during the coming weeks and focus his possible return on the French GP, May 12 – 14.

Iker Lecuona from Team HRC in WorldSBK will replace Marc Marquez for the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix.
Marquez had the following comments, “Yesterday we did another CT scan and it has been confirmed that, despite the fact that the injury is progressing favourably, the bone has not yet finished healing and racing in Jerez was risky. Together with the medical team, we decided not to take any risks, to wait two more weeks and return in Le Mans. I am very sorry to miss the Spanish Grand Prix because it is always special, because of the atmosphere, racing at home and above all, seeing and enjoying the fans. I will continue with the rehabilitation and work to be back as soon as possible. Thank you for your messages of support!”

The MotoGP table was turned on its head after today’s Grand Prix of the Americas at Circuit of the Americas. Francesco Bagnaia crashed from the lead on Lap 8 of the grand prix. This saw his then championship lead erased as Alex Rins maintained his track position and took the victory for LCR Honda Castrol. In surprising fashion, Fabio Quartararo was able to amount a P3 finish after the Frenchman has struggled to find a podium in 2023 prior to this weekend. Luca Marini who was fastest in FP1 claimed P2 in the Grand Prix bouncing back from his P7 finish in the sprint.

The race lost three riders on the first lap. Aleix Espargaro, Alex Marquez and Jorge Martin all crash out on cold tires and incidental contact. Six others crashed later in the race. Those riders are listed below.

6 Stefan Bradl; Repsol Honda Team Honda
30 Takaaki Nakagami; LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda
36 Joan Mir; Repsol Honda Team Honda
1 Francesco Bagnaia ; Ducati Lenovo Team
43 Jack Miller AUS Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
25 Raul Fernandez SPA CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia

With the crashes and Marco Bezzecchi finishing the race in the points. Bezzecchi overtook Bagnaia in the championship standings. Alex Rins moves up to 3rd place over 4th place Maverick Viñales. Stefan Brandl, stand in for Marc Marquez, was not able to secure points for Repsol Honda. You can check out the race results here.

Championship Standings

You can watch the exclusive interviews at MotoGP.

Reigning world champion and championship leader Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia shattered the MotoGP track record at the Circuit of the Americas. Pecco set a 2m1.892s lap time; first sub 2m:02 lap time at COTA in MotoGP history. He secured pole on his final lap. Alex Rins on the LCR Honda finished second fatsest setting a 2m02.052 and Luca Marini who was fastest in FP1 ran 3rd third fastest with a 2m02.181.

Second place championship standing sitter Marco Bezzecchi was able to fight back to P5 after an earlier crash in FP2. Jack Miller who looked to be on pace for a successful qualifying crashed at turn 11 resulting in his 5th crash of the weekend. The KTM rider will start 10th. Marc Marquez’s Repsol Honda substitute Stefan Bradl will start 21st. Pol Espargaro’s who will be out with a spinal injury indefinitely was replaced by Jonas Folger who finished 22nd.

Qualifying 2 Results

Francesco Bagnaia secured yet another win with Ducati Lenovo. Alex Rins and Aleix Espargaro gave Bagnaia some early challenges but they proved to not be enough to take the win. Bagnaia won the race by 2.5 seconds which speaks to how much he is dominating the field right now. Bagnaia stated, “It was one of the best days I ever had in MotoGP.”
LCR Honda Castrol rider Alex Rins secured a hard fought second place finish. Rins had a few charges at Bagnaia throughout the races but ultimately had to settle for P2. In third was Jorge Martin or charge from his start in 12th place to beat out Aleix Espargaro for P3.

Fabio Quartararo started in the middle of the pack and had charged his way up to 4th place. However, his progress all came crashing down after a crash on turn 12. Quartararo was able to continue but finished on 19th which is another disappointing result for the Frenchman.

Bezzecchi finished P6 which did not help his championship hopes with Bagnaia continuing to dominate. He has one more opportunity for redemption in the Grand Prix at COTA.

The Sprint Race Top 10

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team)
2. Alex Rins (LCR Honda Castrol) – +2.545
3. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) – +4.706
4. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) – +5.052
5. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – +8.175
6. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) – +8.877
7. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) – +9.453
8. Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team) – +10.768
9. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – +12.448
10. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) – +12.739

Full Sprint Race results are below

After a blazing FP1 that saw Mooney VR46 rider Luca Marini top the table. Jorge Martin came back and nearly broke the MotoGP lap record at Circuit of the Americas. Martin logged a 2m02.178s. Just shy of the current All-Time Lap Record of 2:02.039. Francesco Bagnaia bounced back after FP1 to run second fastest. FP2 was full of drama and on track incidents. The session started with uncertainty related to the weather. Luckily the rain stayed away. However, the session ended with 6 crashes which shook up the field.

Second place championship standing sitter Marco Bezzecchi was one of those unlucky riders. Miguel Oliveira was also one of the unlucky after missing the race in Argentina due to injury. He came back strong, but shortly after finding pace he had a mid speed low side slide out. After the first incident he still was 3rd fastest but ended up crashing a second time and ended the session 15th fastest. He appears to be unharmed by the incident and should be good to go for tomorrows activities.

In a great effort for Honda, LCR Honda Castrol rider Alex Rins went 3rd fastest 2 tenths behind the FP2 leader. Monster Energy Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo found some redemption with his pace this season running 7th fastest but still will be looking to improve to return the the top 5 running as was the case in his championship year.

2023 COTA Practice 2 Results are Below.

MotoGP just announced that Ducati Lenovo rider Enea Bastianini will be sitting out of the Grand Prix this wekeend at Circuit of the Americas (COTA). There was speculation that he may have been able to return this weekend in Austin, Texas. However, the team confirmed this was not to be so. This news comes shortly after Honda announced that Marc Marquez will not be competing at COTA. Bastianini suffered from a broken shoulder blade after being involved in a crash caused by Luca Martini.

Today, Bastianini under went fitness testing to determine if he could compete in this weekend’s race at COTA. Unfortunately, it does not sound like those tests moved forward positively. After missing this coming weekend Bastianini will stay at the bottom of the championship standings with zero points. He will have missed 5 races including the Portugal Grand Prix, the Argentina Sprint and Grand Prix and the COTA Sprint and Grand Prix. Bastianini joins Pol Espargaro who will be out for an extended period with a spine injury and Marc Marquez who also has a lingering injury keeping him out of the races this weekend at COTA. It is expected that Bastianini’s return will be much quicker because he did not require surgery for his shoulder injury. Ducati Lenovo has not released a specific timeline for when we can see Bastianini back on grid.

From Ducati Lenovo

“After completing a few laps at Misano with the Panigale V4S, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider underwent a further check-up in Forli at Dr Porcellini’s clinic, who confirmed that Bastianini will need a few more weeks to fully recover from the right shoulder injury sustained in the Portuguese GP. Enea will therefore continue his rehabilitation with the aim of returning to the track in Jerez and will be replaced in Texas by Michele Pirro.”

Enter Michele Pirro

In the meantime, he will be replaced by Michele Pirro Lenovo Ducati test rider. Michele Pirro is no stranger to MotoGP as he has been active in the competition in various capacities since 2012. Ducati Lenovo will look to Pirro to fill Bastianini’s shoes as he recovers from injury. It is not yet determine if this appointment will be permanent until Bastianini can return. However, this may be the opportunity that Pirro has been waiting for to get back on the grid.

Today we received report that Marc Marquez will not be competing in MotoGP round 3 this weekend at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. Marquez was injured in a late pass attempt at the Portugal Grand Prix which say him and a few other riders injured. You can read more about our post Portugal MotoGP injury report here.

Honda Racing Corporation released the following statement:

“Following a final CAT scan, Marc Marquez and his medical team, led by Dr. Ignacio Roger de Oña, at the Ruber Internacional Hospital in Madrid have confirmed the first metacarpal is still in the healing process. After close collaboration with the Repsol Honda Team and HRC, all involved have elected to let the injury fully heal and avoid any unnecessary risks.

Marquez will continue to work through his rehabilitation program at home in order to return at full fitness as soon as possible.”

This is more heart breaking news for the Honda side as Marquez has yet to receive a verdict on his appeal. The FIM stewards have not responded regarding his challenge against the double long lap penalty he was issued in the Portugal Grand Prix. Marquez is 43 points behind the championship leader. After missing 2 Grand Prix (Argentina and now COTA and their Sprint Races) coupled with the outstanding penalty; it will be an uphill battle for Marquez to have any chance at Championship contention.

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 :