Espargaro defeats Bagnaia in Barcelona MotoGP sprint

Aleix Espargaro overtook MotoGP points leader Pecco Bagnaia to give himself and his Aprilia team their first-ever sprint win at Barcelona.

Second-place qualifier Espargaro was down to fourth at the start, but recovered swiftly and, once in the lead, streaked away to a dominant win on home soil.

Having kept the lead from pole in both of his Red Bull Ring starts a fortnight ago, Bagnaia was again the clear leader off the line here, and he very briefly headed a Ducati 1-2 as Jorge Martin’s great getaway launched him up to second.

Yet Maverick Vinales, getting an uncharacteristically good getaway of his own, worked his way around the outside of Martin at Turn 1 to break that up, and Espargaro then threw it down Martin’s inside at Turn 4.

Espargaro then needed just a handful more corners to get back to his starting place, picking off Vinales at Turn 1 on the second tour, and while Bagnaia initially looked like building a buffer, it was not long before Espargaro properly latched himself onto the back of the race-leading factory Desmosedici.

And just as the 12-lap race passed its halfway point, with riders closing in behind, Espargaro executed his move, drawing alongside Bagnaia on the main straight and outbraking him into Turn 1.

🚨 APRILIA ALERT 🚨@AleixEspargaro got a SUPER drive out the last corner but he still can't get through! ⚔️#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/YBkW9hJOJ9

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 2, 2023

Bagnaia had absolutely no answer to Espargaro from there, and was soon busy having to fight off Vinales who had himself rebuffed attacks from KTM rider Brad Binder.

Vinales shadowed Bagnaia all through the final lap but could only follow him to the chequered flag, 0.051s behind.

Binder took fourth ahead of Martin, who had had to recover from going into the long-lap loop after a failed overtaking attempt on Vinales earlier in the race.

BIG mistake from @88jorgemartin! 💨

He couldn't get it stopped on the brakes! 🛑

Watch out for @_moliveira88, he's on the move! 🚨#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/0172wifWpu

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 2, 2023

Miguel Oliveira scored a sixth place for RNF Aprilia, followed by Ducati trio Johann Zarco, Marco Bezzecchi and Enea Bastianini – Zarco having overtaken Bezzecchi on the final lap.

Marc Marquez ran as high as seventh on the race after an early overtake on Oliveira, but couldn’t quite keep his Honda in the fight for points – which are awarded to the top nine – for too long.

He eventually finished 11th behind brother Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) – but was still clear of all the rival Japanese bikes, with the rest of the contingent led by Franco Morbidelli in 15th.

That's a shame for @polespargaro! 😢

He's out of this one! 💥#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/IHZituODif

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 2, 2023

The only retirement in the race was Tech3 Gas Gas rider Pol Espargaro, crashing out of 15th during a battle with KTM’s Jack Miller.

Sprint Qualifying Results