There was hardly a lap without incident as the Spanish GP saw Joan Mir battle through the field, running as high as sixth before recovering to tenth after contact. Marini unharmed after a late fall.
Overnight rain and morning showers gave the MotoGP World Championship grid a brief morning practice session to adjust to the conditions. With this knowledge in hand, the Repsol Honda Team head into Q1.
Starting from 20th on the grid, Mir was able to make a strong start to the race and immediately make forward progress. His march would be immediate and constant as other riders around him hit troubles or fell afoul of the lingering wet patches on track. Running into the top six in the final stages of the race, contact with former teammate Marc Marquez saw the #36 lose multiple positions as he was forced off. Recovering to tenth at the line, Mir missed out on points by a single position.
Luca Marini made an even stronger start to the race than his teammate, flying up into 16th after starting in 22nd position. Maintaining this position would see the #10 on the edge of the top ten in the penultimate laps. Unfortunately, Marini would also count himself as one of the victims of the treacherous conditions as he fell from the race right at the end. Unharmed in the fall, Sunday’s race brings new opportunities.
Both riders will get another chance to show their speed on Sunday in the 25-lap Gran Premio Estrella Galicia 0,0 de España. Dry but cool conditions are predicted, and as today’s Sprint showed – anything can happen in MotoGP.