Fabio Di Giannantonio, for the first time since 2023, is a MotoGP winner after the Italian emerged victorious following a dramatic Catalan GP. The Pertamina Enduro VR46 star climbed to the front of the field in the closing stages to beat fellow podium finishers Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) and Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP). Later, Mir was then given a time penalty for tyre pressure – promoting Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) to third and Aldeguer u to P2.
Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) were high-profile crashers in the 13-lap restart, as we send our best wishes to Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR), who both suffered tough crashes in separate red-flagged incidents.
THE OPENING 11 LAPS
Before the lights went out for the first time, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had a problem on the grid and was wheeled away for a pit lane start, while teammate Acosta got the launch he would have been looking for. The 37 led from Alex Marquez, but the Sprint winner got a little beaten up around the rest of the lap. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) pounced, and then Martin bullied his way past his compatriot at Turn 7 – and there was contact. It was another fast start from Zarco, but it was almost an early shower for the Frenchman after he had a big moment at Turn 10.
Right, breath caught? No, us neither. Acosta led by 0.7s, with Alex Marquez re-grouping and then attacking Fernandez. However, the attacker then became the hunted. Zarco aggressively shoved his way past Marquez at Turn 5 on Lap 3, and immediately after, Martin carved his way past Marquez to quickly demote the Spaniard to P5.
On the next lap, Martin (at Turn 1) and Marquez (at Turn 5) did then get back past Zarco for P3 and P4, but with the scrapping, Acosta and Fernandez were a second up the road. And on Lap 5, it was those two at the forefront of the action. Fernandez decided he fancied the Grand Prix lead baton, with the 25 making a classic Turn 1 move stick on the KTM star.
Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), the pre-race championship leader, was lapping in P8 before a big mistake arrived at Turn 10 on Lap 5. That dropped the Italian behind compatriot Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), with the duo P11 and P12 in the early stages.
Lap 7 saw Acosta have a bite at leading again, but it was a move that Fernandez responded to immediately. Two laps later, Acosta went for it again at Turn 1 – and this time, there was nothing the Trackhouse rider could do. While thinking about trying to regain the lead, Fernandez also had to give a thought to a menacing Marquez, because the latter had slung himself into the fight for the lead.
P3 became P2 for Marquez down into Turn 1 on Lap 10, and at this stage of the Grand Prix, the most comfortable-looking rider was Saturday’s winner.
Then, a huge incident unfolded on Lap 12. Acosta, coming out of Turn 9, suffered a technical issue on the straight, which left Alex Marquez with nowhere to go as Acosta lost power. The 73 clipped the rear of Acosta, which then caused Marquez to crash out in a dramatic incident. The unavoidable contact between the two meant debris littered the circuit, some of which Fernandez and Di Giannantonio couldn’t avoid. Di Giannantonio ended up crashing at Turn 10 due to being unable to avoid debris from Marquez’s bike. Both got back to pit lane and were eligible for the restart, with Marquez – who was confirmed conscious – taken to the hospital for further medical checks, and then later confirmed to have suffered a broken collarbone and a small fracture in his C7 vertebra, with a miraculous instagram post of a thumbs up from the 73 too.
Di Giannantonio, Fernandez, and Zarco – who was also caught up in the debris from the crash – were all OK to make the restart.
THE FIRST RESTART
MotoGP’s warriors lined up on the grid for a 13-lap race, with the starting positions decided by the standings on the previous completed lap. That meant the front row was Acosta, Fernandez, and Martin.
On the run into Turn 1, Acosta grabbed the holeshot, before three riders crashed at the opening corner. Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol), Bagnaia, and Zarco all went down, and it was an incident that brought out the red flags. Marini and Pecco thankfully walked away, with Zarco unfortunately getting caught up with Pecco’s bike in the gravel. LCR confirmed Zarco was taken to the local hospital for further checks on a left leg injury before the 5 himself posted that he was largely ok, with one small fracture and ligament damage in his knee.
THE SECOND RESTART
12 laps, the grid as you were before the second red flags. Once more, Acosta held onto P1, with Martin slotting into P2. Fernandez was P3 but then, at Turn 5, contact. Fernandez, on the inside of Martin, had to pick up the bike after the duo came together, as both went into the gravel. Martin was on the floor but managed to rejoin; however, the Aprilias were P18 and P19.
At the front, Acosta led from Mir and Pecco, with Di Giannantonio sitting in P4. Bezzecchi was P8, one place behind Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team).
On Lap 4 of 13, Di Giannantonio moved up to P3 ahead of Pecco, as the top three began to stretch clear of the factory Ducati rider. P4 then became P5 for Bagnaia, who was running the medium rear tyre, as Aldeguer pounced at Turn 4 on Lap 7.
With five laps to go, Di Giannantonio decided it was time to pass Mir for P2. And it was a move that stuck. The top three were locked together in Barcelona, with Aldeguer and Ogura reeling in the leaders. Soon enough, you could throw a blanket over the top five.
With three laps to go, the lead changed for the first time. It was Turn 10 again, as Di Giannantonio parked his Ducati up the inside of Acosta and hanging onto the inside line into Turn 12, the pass stuck.
Within half a lap, Di Giannantonio pulled 0.6s on Acosta, Mir, Aldeguer, and Ogura. And it didn’t look like Acosta had anything in response. Instead, he had a tough task of keeping Mir, Aldeguer, and Ogura behind him.
A task that proved too difficult. Mir was P2 at Turn 1 on the last lap, and Aldeguer dived through at Turn 3. Di Giannantonio was away at the front, and with no time left to respond, it looked like Acosta’s rostrum chances were done. And at the final corner, they were.
Ogura, in a 2009 Rossi-esque attempt, made contact with the KTM star, which saw Acosta crash out. A disastrous end to the Grand Prix for Acosta, as he saw a win and podium slip away in dramatic fashion.
Di Giannantonio clinched his first win in VR46 colours, his first 25-point haul since the 2023 Qatar GP, a top job from the Italian who was riding in pain after the first red flag incident, with Mir and Aldeguer crossing the line behind the #49. However, it wasn’t to be as a post-race tyre pressure penalty was given to Mir, subsequently promoting Bagnaia up to third. Ogura’s last corner move meant the Stewards handed the Japanese star a three-second penalty, the equivalent of a Long Lap, which dropped the 79 to P9 but then eighth once Mir’s penalty was applied.
Whilst Pecco got third, other riders investigated for tyre pressure penalties were Toprak Razgatlioglu (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and teammate Jack Miller, Raul Fernandez and Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). P5 became P4 for Bezzecchi and after a tough weekend, plus Martin’s crash, that could prove to be a very fruitful result for the Italian. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Marini, Binder, penalised Ogura, Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) and Morbidelli rounded out the top 10.
The riders closing out the points were Rins, Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), Maverick Vinales (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Miller, and Razgatlioglu.
MUGELLO UP NEXT
A dramatic day draws to a close in Barcelona. We wish Alex Marquez and Zarco all the best again, as we take a breather before heading to Mugello, with Bezzecchi landing on home turf with the championship lead.
