Bagnaia Seemingly Untouchable with Spring Race Win at COTA

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 :

South African rider Brad Binder secured his first sprint race win of the 2023 season in dramatic fashion after starting P15. Binder moved up 12 positions on the first lap in a stunning effort to pass the majority of the pack. By lap three Binder had taken the lead and started to put space between him and the pack. After a late charge Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini completed the podium, finishing +0.072s and +0.877s behind Binder respectively. Bezzecchi had a minor incident early on in the race at turn 5 where he was forced wide and rejoined the track in 8th place.

Championship leader, Francesco Bagnaia, whom started in 3rd could only secure a 6th place finish after struggling to find pace in the late sprint race stages. Luckily for Bagnaia, his championship lead was not relinquished and he will go into the grand prix race with the championship lead. His finish saw him extend his championship lead by 1 point over Maverick Viñales.

Disaster struck for Aleix Espargaro after early success in free practice and qualifying. Espargaro ended up suffering from a low side crash which eliminated him from the race. Joan Mir did not complete the first lap leaving him out of sports scoring contention. Espargaro was not injured in the crash, and should be good to go for the grand prix race. Pole sitter Alex Marquez was not able to capitalize on his P1 start. After an early mistake Marquez salvaged a P5 finish.

After running fastest in Q1 Alex Marquez was able to cut another 4 seconds off of his fastest lap time to complete a 1:43.881. The rain had an impact on others ability to bounce back in terms of final qualifying position for the Sprint race. Marquez had some early drama in qualifying after falling off of his Gresini Racing Ducati but was able to bounce back and take pole. He stated “I’m super happy. Q1 was so difficult with the wet tyres, I wasn’t really convinced to be on dries, it was too wet,” Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia set a 1:44.739 only earning P3 behind the of Marco Bezzecchi. After being fastest in FP2 Aleix Espargaro was only able to salvage P9 which will be disappointing for the Spaniard. Teammate Maverick Viñales will also be disappointed after finishing second fastest in FP2 and 4th fastest in FP3. The sprint race is in a few hours so we will see which riders can capitalize on their qualifying success.
Top 12 Argentina Qualifying Results

The controversy in the MotoGP paddock continues. The Honda Racing Corporation has issued an official press release regarding their intent to challenge the FIM stewards decision to issue Marc Marquez a double long lap penalty for the next race he participates in. Marc Marquez was issued a penalty for a late move during the Portugal Grand Prix that resulted in Jorge Martin suffering an ankle injury and a broken toe. Miguel Oliveira was the second rider involved and later reported tendon damage that will cause him to miss the Argentina Grand Prix. It’s clear HRC has some concerns with how the penalty will be applied. The team is well within their rights to challenge the decision because they believe the FIM did not follow their own processes when issuing this penalty.

Their statement was as follows.

“In relation to the sanction imposed by the FIM on Marc Marquez for the race incident that occurred at the Portuguese Grand Prix, the Repsol Honda Team considers that the modification of the penalty consisted of a change of criteria on when the penalty should be applied, and that this modification was issued by the FIM two days after the initial sanction was final and definitive, is not in line with the current regulations of the FIM for the MotoGP World Championship. For this reason, the Repsol Honda Team intends to use all the means of recourse offered by the regulations in force to defend its rights and legitimate interests, which it considers violated as a result of the latest resolution adopted, and in particular has duly submitted an Appeal before the FIM Appeal Stewards.”

We will keep you updated on any official decisions by the FIM stewards. Marquez has already apologized to the involved riders.

Check out our original coverage on the Portugal Grand Prix here.

During the Portugal Grand Prix weekend there were a number of riders who were involved in on track incidents. A few of these incidents ended in hospitalizations. Riders have had a few days to be evaluated, and we have updates on who will be missing the Argentina Grand Prix.

Marc Marquez

Marquez was the subject of discussion all over social media and the news after a risky late lunge up the inside of Jorge Martin and Miguel Oliveira during the Portugal Grand Prix ended in all three riders being injured. He was evaluated and found to have a broken thumb which will keep him out of the Argentina Grand Prix. Marquez was handed a double long lap penalty for his late move that caused the crash.

Miguel Oliveira

Oliveira was one of the two riders taken out in the Marquez incident. The specific injuries to Oliveira have not been revealed publicly. The team has commented stating there was much “further damage” than originally observed. Oliveira will be sitting out of the Argentina Grand Prix. After the race he stated, “Today was a shame, obviously to end my home Grand Prix in just two laps was not something I expected. However, we can still be proud on the progress we made throughout this week. We had a difficult day on Friday and then to do qualifying like how we did it yesterday and to almost have the podium in hand on the last lap in the Sprint Race was amazing. We had a good start today, to lead and then coming second, I think there was a clear opportunity for us to score a podium. I’m still very bruised on the right side of my hip from the crash, hopefully I can do everything I can do be fully fit for Argentina next weekend.”

Statements from the Team

Razlan Razali, Founder and Team Principal CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team said the following in a press release, “That hasn’t been a good result of the first race, for obvious reason. I will push for tougher penalties for riders who recklessly endangered other riders in this incident. MotoGP riders need to be made an example for the younger Moto2 and Moto3 riders and reckless racing like this need to be severely punished so that riders are aware of what not to do. After all, it’s a 25 laps race not a sprint race and this happened to Miguel on the third lap. Fortunately, Miguel is okay with no broken bones and we wish him a good recovery in the next couple of days before flying off to Argentina. For Raul, he showed a good progress during the Sprint Race yesterday, unfortunately for the main race today, he suffered some issues with his right arm. We will have to evaluate the situation and find a solution for the next race.” 

The CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team is pushing for harsher and severe penalties from the FIM Stewards releasing the following statement.

“MotoGP races whether it be a sprint or main races, are high-speed and high-intensity, where every rider wants to win at all costs. However, such aggressive behavior can often lead to dire consequences, not only for the riders themselves but also for their fellow competitors.

The incident at the recent race between Marc Marquez and Miguel Olivera should serve as a wake-up call for riders in MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3. Thus, it is imperative that they are reminded of the severity of the punishment for any kind of reckless and irresponsible racing.

CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team condemns such behavior and strongly advocates for stricter penalties to deter future offenders including the team own riders. We urge the FIM Stewards to take quick and decisive action against such reckless riding, setting examples for the younger and upcoming riders in Moto3 and Moto2.

We believe that safety is the top priority in any sport, and MotoGP must take necessary actions to ensure the safety of all its riders. We look forward to supporting the FIM Stewards in their ongoing efforts to develop a safer and more responsible racing environment.”

Jorge Martin

After Marquez collided with Jorge Martin’s right leg while attempting a pass. Martin was forced wide and off track to avoid a major incident. He suffered an injured ankle and broken toe, but will be participating in this weekend’s races in Argentina. Martin was visually and verbally furious regarding the incident stating, “It’s not the first time he has destroyed my race. Maybe in the future he can manage to avoid me. Or Race Direction can do something.”

Pol Espargaro

Pol had a high side crash that sent him tumbling across the track into the barrier at high speed. Espargaro was diagnosed with a pulmonary contusion, jaw fracture and a fractured dorsal vertebra earlier this week. He is expected to make a recovery, but the process will be a long one. He will need surgery on his jaw in the coming week. More tests are required to determine the extent of his back injury. We will keep you updated as more information is released.

Enea Bastianini

Bastianini was involved in a collision with Luca Martini during the first ever MotoGP Sprint race at the Portugal Grand Prix. Luca Martini lost the front end of his bike and crashed into Bastianini. Bastianini went down and suffered a broken shoulder blade. The FIM stewards have chalked the incident up to a racing incident and no penalties were issued. Bastianini is expected to miss the Argentina Grand Prix this coming weekend.

Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia finishes in first place to solidify his place at the top of the drivers championship. After an ill advised move by Marquez which ended in Marquez crashing and wiping out Miguel Oliveira. Bagnaia did not see much threat to his lead in this victory. Pecco will walk away from the Portugal Grand Prix weekend with maximum points. A self stated “great start” to the 2023 campaign.

Marquez will be disappointed with a DNF after securing a surprise pole position in qualifying. The incident with Marquez and Oliveira is currently under review by the stewards. Marquez received a double long lap penalty for the next grand prix in Argentina. Both riders have been examined and Oliveira appears to have no broken bones or major injuries. However, after an update was received from his hometown hospital it was revealed that “further damage” was revealed. Oliveira will miss the Argentina Grand Prix. Marquez suffered a broken thumb and will likely miss the Argentina Grand Prix. Marquez will serve his double long lap penalty at Circuit of the America if he is not able to race in Argentina. Jorge Martin who was also a victim involved in the scuffle suffered a minor ankle injury and a broken toe. Martin plans to be race ready for Argentina next weekend.

The grand prix did not serve Fabio Quartararo well. Quartararo had another catastrophic start on the opening lap dropping from 10th to 15th on lap 1. Quartararo was able to fight through the grid, and finish 8th. This finish is no consolation for the Monster Energy Yamaha rider as he will look forward after an unsuccessful weekend seeing him only securing 8 Riders championship points; 29 points behind Bagnaia.

Rounding out the top of the table. Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Viñales finishes the weekend with 25 points followed by Mooney VR46 Racing Team’s Marco Bezzecchi finishing in 3rd with 16 points. There were 17 different overall points scorers in the riders championship. Complete standings for the Portugal Grand Prix can be found below: