MotoGP: Bagnaia outduels Marquez at Aragon

Pecco vs Marc Marquez – a battle for the ages

As the lights went out for the main event in Aragon, polesitter Bagnaia got away well and held P1 into Turn 1, with Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) going in a bit deep up the inside. This allowed Marc Marquez to grab P2 from fourth on the grid, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was up to P4 with Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) 5th. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) was down at Turn 5 on the opening lap, the 2020 podium finisher gingerly walked away, as the rest of the riders completed Lap 1.

In the early stages, Quartararo was struggling. Mir and Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) passed the Frenchman as Quartararo slipped into the clutches of eighth place Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Up front, Bagnaia and Marc Marquez had opened up a 0.5s advantage over Miller at the beginning of Lap 4.

Every rider was running the soft Michelin rear tire, and tire management was key. Nobody in the early stages was showing their cards, with 2.2s covering the top six. Quartararo was seventh and had the rapid starting Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) climbing all over him, and at the end of Lap 6, Lecuona was through. A couple of laps later, another KTM was ahead – Binder following Lecuona through, Quartararo was down to P9.

Five laps to go!!! 👀

6⃣3⃣ vs 9⃣3⃣#AragonGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/UY6LWtjmaK

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 12, 2021

With eight laps gone, Bagnaia and Marc Marquez were now 1.2s clear of Miller. That advantage was soon up to 1.9s with 13 laps to go, as Miller then took the car park route around Turn 16. The Aussie was wide which allowed Aleix Espargaro and Mir to cut through, the reigning World Champion then soon got the better of Espargaro for P3. The gap to Pecco and Marquez was now 3.3s, the top two showing superior pace as the race approached half distance.