MotoGP: Marquez wins Aragon thriller as Lorenzo crashes out early on

It was a dramatic encounter at Aragon for the premier class GP, with Jorge Lorenzo going into the race as favourite on the Ducati and Marc Marquez looking to continue his excellent run at Aragon. Marquez would go on to win ahead of Andrea Dovizioso, whilst Jorge Lorenzo barely completed one corner as he high-sided out of turn one on the very first lap. Andrea Iannone had a splendid race in 3rd, momentarily leading whilst teammate Alex Rins made it Suzuki’s best points haulage of the year.

The race began and both Ducatis got good starts, launching from 1st and 2nd on the grid. Lorenzo looked to have the job done before a wayward Marc Marquez steamed up the inside into the lead, running wide and taking Lorenzo with him. Lorenzo tapped in the power a bit too soon and high-sided massively out of turn one, ending his race before it really ever began. Cal Crutchlow was caught up in the turn one shenanigans and was forced back to 8th whilst a fast-starting Alvaro Bautista rocketed to 6th.

Dovizioso was the race leader, ahead of Marquez, Rins, Iannone and Pedrosa, whilst Aleix Espargaro muscled ahead of Bautista by the end of lap one, coming up from 15th on the grid to a heroic 6th place. Crutchlow was 8th whilst Zarco and Petrucci completed the top ten. Valentino Rossi was 13th after lap one from his 17th place start.

The Ducati ace led for the majority of the race – a race which was consumed by tyre life yet again, similar to Brno in pace and strategy. Alvaro Bautista’s stunning run of top tens came to an end as he crashed out at turn 14; his first ever retirement from the Aragon Grand Prix. He wouldn’t be the last crasher though, as on lap five it would Cal Crutchlow crashing out unceremoniously, his third retirement of the year.

Back at the front and the two Suzukis started to look like they were in the race for the long run, whereas before we would see them drop away. Dovi’s pace was still rather slow and Marquez – who went for soft tyres in an uncharacteristic choice – was happy to sit behind the Italian.

At Yamaha, Valentino Rossi was in the top ten by lap five whilst Maverick Vinales was recovering from his traditional bad start, from 19th and was now 15th. Johann Zarco was running in 10th although he would slip to 14th and finish there.

On lap 14, Marquez made his move and led for a while, trying to slow the pace up so that his soft tyre-shod Honda would last the distance at a good pace. Dovizioso had other ideas and took the lead back on lap 16; their squabbling allowing Iannone to get back in the mix.

On lap 18, the gloves came off as Marquez tried his usual audacious effort at turn 12, only for Dovizioso to barge him off track at turn 14. With both leaders running wide, Iannone came into play, zipping around the outside of both of them and going head to head with the two championship leaders down the back straight. Three abreast, Dovizioso held on once more, whilst Marquez disposed of Iannone at the final corner. All of this led to Alex Rins closing back in, with a four-way scrap for the lead with a handful of laps to go.

Marquez finally made a move stick at turn one, moving Dovizioso aside. Despite Dovi fighting back at turn five, Marquez retaliated and just about held on to the lead; MotorLand Aragon once more providing spectacular racing late on. Valentino Rossi was a late mover and shaker, moving into 8th place ahead of Jack Miller, for a result that seemed unthinkable after qualifying.

Despite Dovizioso’s best efforts late on in the race, Marc Marquez was winner once again at Aragon. ‘DesmoDovi’ was 2nd and Andrea Iannone return to the podium for the third time this season and the first time since Jerez. Alex Rins took his second 4th-place on the bounce and Dani Pedrosa was 5th. Aleix Espargaro said prior to the event that a repeat of 2017 would be a challenge but it was a challenge that he was able to accomplish, as Aprilia took their joint best result of their MotoGP history. Danilo Petrucci was a hearty 7th whilst a valiant Valentino Rossi took 8th. Jack Miler and Maverick Vinales completed the top ten.

Marquez now has a 72 point lead in the title, which means he can’t mathematically seal the title at the Chang International Circuit. Dovi is 2nd and 15 points ahead of Valentino Rossi, whilst Jorge Lorenzo is 4th. Maverick Vinales is tied on points with Lorenzo but by virtue of the Ducati rider’s victories, places behind him in 5th. Crutchlow and Petrucci are also tied on points in 6th and 7th with 119 each and can now no longer win the championship on mathematical grounds.