A dramatic and complicated Aragon GP saw Marc Marquez’s first race back cut short after a promising start while Pol Espargaro worked hard to overcome adversity and end in the points.
A lightning start from Marc Marquez saw the Repsol Honda Team rider jump from 13th on the grid to sixth within the opening corners. His race would sadly not go much further as a rear end slide at Turn 3 caused contact with Fabio Quartararo. This in turn left a piece of Quartararo’s bike lodged in the rear end of Marquez’s Honda which caused a subsequent mechanical issue and contact with LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami. As a result, Marquez pulled into the pits at the end of the first lap – ending his return race early.
Pol Espargaro walked away from a complicated weekend in Aragon with a single point for 15th place. Taking evasive action to avoid Nakagami on the first lap left the Repsol Honda Team rider playing catchup for the rest of the race. Working to set a steady and consistent pace, Espargaro battled inside the group and reclaimed 15th place with just a few laps to go. Now that the Aragon weekend behind him, Espargaro is aiming to rally at Honda’s home race in Motegi.
For the first time since 2019, the MotoGP World Championship is set to race at the Japanese Grand Prix. It is a welcome return to home turf for the Repsol Honda Team as the Honda RC213V gets ready to delight Honda’s home crowd. The MotoGP paddock will immediately head for Japan, the middle race in this triple-header as they power towards the end of the season.