Here’s Who Won And Who Lost At 2021 MotoGP At Aragon

MotoGP returned to the Aragon circuit in Spain, a home race for Marc Marquez, Joan Mir, Alex Rins and others. With such riders looking for home glory, an action-packed weekend was properly on the charts. However, in typical MotoGP fashion, there was a twist in the tale. Missed the action? Fret not, as here’s a quick summary of the winners and losers from Round 13 of the 2021 MotoGP world championship:

Winners

Biggest Winner: Francesco Bagnaia

After throwing down a race win on numerous occasions in the past, it was finally redemption day for Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia as he converted a phenomenal pole position-earning qualifying lap into a hard-fought race victory. From the get go, Marc Marquez was right on Pecco’s tail, waiting to pounce at the right moment. And so he did. But the ice-cool Italian fended off all attacks (seven in total). Pecco made sure to reclaim the top spot everytime Marc lunged ahead, ultimately forcing the Honda star into a mistake and taking the top spot.

All in all, it was certainly a dream weekend for Bagnaia, as not only did he win his first MotoGP race but also clawed back valuable ground on Fabio in the championship. With his home race in Misano next, we expect Pecco to be fighting for the win once again. 

Other Winners

Marc Marquez 

While it wasn’t home glory for Marquez, it was a welcome return to the podium as he took second place. Thanks to the anti-clockwise track layout, which Marquez quite likes and doesn’t hurt his recovering right arm as much, suits him well, he was among the top runners in every session. He stalked Bagnaia for the entirety of the race, and would’ve also made the successful overtake on the Ducati rider had he closed  up on him sooner. Nevertheless, the factory Honda rider seemed quite elated in the post race interview as he said that this weekend was proof that he’s returning to be the same old Marc Marquez. 

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Joan Mir

Rounding off the podium positions was defending champion Joan Mir. Even so, Mir wasn’t too satisfied as he suffered from grip issues in the opening laps which robbed him of the chance to fight for the win. Additionally, the factory Suzuki man’s qualifying woes once again gave him extra traffic and work at the beginning, which didn’t help the case either. In the final laps, Mir was matching the lap times of Pecco and Marc which was an indication that he had the pace to go with them, had he qualified better and stuck behind them from the start.

 

Aleix Espargaro & Enea Bastianini

Coming on the back of his first podium finish in Silverstone for Aprilia, Aleix Espargaro finished an impressive fourth at Aragon. The Spanish rider, once again, proved the potential of the new Aprilia RS-GP as he fought for the podium positions throughout the race. 

Another impressive rider at Aragon was Enea Bastianini. The Italian rider seemed competitive throughout the weekend and finally ended up taking his best-ever finish in sixth place. And he did this aboard the Ducati GP19 and not the current-spec GP21, which makes the result even more impressive.

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Losers

Biggest Losers: Jack Miller And Johann Zarco

With Bagnaia winning, it was evident that the Ducati was working well at Aragon. However, it wasn’t the case for the two title contenders, Jack Miller and Johann Zarco, who finished in fifth and seventeenth, respectively. While Miller’s weekend still had some positives like the front row start, it was a dismal sight for Zarco who suffered all weekend. After this round, Zarco and Miller sit 77 and 85 points adrift of championship leader Fabio Quartararo. 

Other Losers

Yamaha 

Speaking of Quartararo, Aragon was arguably the biggest blow to his championship prospect yet. He only managed eighth place in the race which came as a surprise for many as he showed good speed in the practice sessions and even ended up qualifying on the front row. However, it was the baking hot temperatures that led to grip issues for all Yamaha riders, as no other Yamaha rider even ended up in the points. After round 13, Fabio’s championship lead has now been cut to 53 points with just 5 races to go. 

Honda

Aragon suits the Honda well and it has been proven in the past. However, it seems with the #93 back in the picture, Honda has once again forgotten about its other riders. Except for Marquez’s podium, there wasn’t any positive sight for Honda as Taka Nakagami finished in tenth, Pol Espargaro in 13th while Alex Marquez crashed on the opening lap. This is quite shocking as both the younger Marquez and Nakagami were pretty fast here in 2020, when Marc wasn’t Honda’s ‘key’ focus.  

After Aragon, the MotoGP paddock will head to Misano. It promises to be another action-packed weekend as we’re sure Bagnaia would be gunning for some home glory for himself and Ducati. Moreover, Misano will also see the return of Franco Morbidelli and Andrea Dovizioso, the latter coming out of his sabbatical to race for the Petronas SRT Yamaha team.