Clear blue skies had returned to Jerez after rain spiced things up in qualifying and the temperatures hotted up in line with the enthusiasm of a sprint race. And there was a bit too much of that enthusiasm, as contact between Alex Marquez and Franco Morbidelli at turn two immediately red flagged the race on the opening lap, to allow for the smoky Ducati of an unlucky Marco Bezzecchi to be removed. The championship leader was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got tangled in the incident but was able to restart the new 11-lap race.
Once again, the factory KTMs were rockets off the line, this time with Brad Binder jumping ahead of Jack Miller, while Jorge Martin kept third and Pecco Bagnaia snuck ahead of poleman Aleix Espargaro, who struggled with both starts. Johann Zarco and Miguel Oliveira got ahead of Dani Pedrosa, but early mistakes from the Frenchman soon dropped him out of the leaders’ group. The Mooney VR46 duo completed the top 10 early on, while Alex Marquez lost one position to 13th and Fabio Quartararo gained one up to 15 – the Yamaha man struggling to replicate his initial start, that saw him immediately joining the top 10.
Back at the front, Binder kept control of proceedings, while Miller got challenged by Martin at turn nine and the exchanges between the two continued on the second lap, allowing Bagnaia to get into the mix for the top three. A few tenths back, Oliveira was keeping Espargaro busy in the battle for fifth, with Pedrosa in tow and Zarco leading the next group one second down the road, including Maverick Viñales, Alex Marquez, Takaaki Nakagami, the Mooney VR46 duo and the two Fabios. However, the group soon lost Marquez at turn two and Nakagami at turn nine, helping Quartararo pick up a couple of positions.
After disposing of Martin, Miller finally attacked his teammate at the final corner to take control of proceedings by the start of lap four and went on to lead a group of seven podium contenders. That group was also reduced slightly when Espargaro crashed out of fifth position a couple of laps later. Meanwhile, Miller and Binder had managed to extend half a second of advantage over Bagnaia and Martin, while brief exchanges between Oliveira and Pedrosa dropped them a second behind the four leaders. It also allowed Zarco to steadily bridge the gap, the Frenchman bringing Viñales with him and dropping Bezzecchi and Marini over two seconds back, in the company of Di Giannantonio and Quartararo.
Friendly fire soon started amongst the lead KTMs but Miller was able to hold onto top spot going into the final three laps, with Binder glued to his rear wheel. The South African gave it another go one lap later at Pedrosa corner and this time held onto the lead, but the squabble brought the Ducatis back into contention.
Binder started the final lap still in the lead, while Miller lost second to Bagnaia after running wide at turn six, but it was too late for the world champion to attack the leader and Binder secured a second sprint victory of the season. Miller held onto the final podium position, while Martin settled for fourth and Oliveira secured fifth. Pedrosa successfully survived his first sprint battle to take sixth, while the late exchanges between Zarco and Viñales halted their progress and saw the Aprilia man finish ahead of the Pramac rider.
Bezzecchi snatched the final point scoring position and held onto the lead in the world championship by three points but with Bagnaia hot on his tail. Quartararo loses further ground, stuck down in 12th for the second half of the race and dropping to 9th in the championship standings, 31 points behind the leader.
Results:
Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time/Diff |
1 | 33 | Brad Binder | KTM | 18:07.0550 |
2 | 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati | 0.428 |
3 | 43 | Jack Miller | KTM | 0.680 |
4 | 89 | Jorge Martin | Ducati | 0.853 |
5 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | Aprilia | 1.638 |
6 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | KTM | 1.738 |
7 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | Aprilia | 3.248 |
8 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Ducati | 3.380 |
9 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi | Ducati | 5.711 |
10 | 10 | Luca Marini | Ducati | 7.015 |
11 | 49 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Ducati | 7.174 |
12 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha | 7.467 |
13 | 42 | Alex Rins | Honda | 9.867 |
14 | 25 | Raul Fernandez | Aprilia | 11.550 |
15 | 6 | Stefan Bradl | Honda | 15.455 |
16 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha | 15.849 |
17 | 37 | Augusto Fernandez | KTM | 15.969 |
18 | 27 | Iker Lecuona | Honda | 25.356 |
19 | 94 | Jonas Folger | KTM | 25.530 |
Not Classified | ||||
36 | Joan Mir | Honda | 11:44.7200 | |
41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 08:17.1060 | |
30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda | 05:03.4700 | |
73 | Alex Marquez | Ducati | 05:03.1170 |
Comments
Most impressive to me was 37…
Most impressive to me was 37 year-old Dani Pedrosa finishing sixth,1.6 seconds behind the winner. Miller even commented that Pedrosa is the fastest test rider in the history of the sport and that he was grateful. Pedrosa sure proved that again today having not raced in years! I understand from various interviews that Miller has brought advancements to KTM from Ducati. From his podium remarks, I sense that Pedrosa and Miller collaborate to advance the KTM MotoGP 'project', as they often put it. I'd like to see Miller and the rest of the KTM pilots do some serious domination in the coming months.
In reply to Most impressive to me was 37… by rholcomb
Was never a fan
Never used to like Pedrosa in the day, even when he won a race he always looked like his dog had just died. Looking back from a more tolerant perspective, I'm thinking he was just shy and hated the PR part of the job. Other than Estoril in 2016 (BIG oops) I'll certainly concede he was a terrific racer and think it's a shame he never won the big title. Very impressive ride today, in any event. Ve mañana, Dani!
Dani is….
Dani is the best rider never to have won a World Championship. Great work by him and go those KTMs!
In reply to Dani is…. by Rusty Trumpet
Well, I know what you mean,…
Well, I know what you mean, but of course Dani won not just one, but three World Championships in a row: 125cc in 2003 and 250cc in 2004 and 2005. And those classes back then were more than just 'feeder classes', they were real Grand Prix classes with razor sharp motorcycles. I miss those machines! Fun fact (well, for me at least): I've been so lucky to actually ride his Honda RS250RW from 2004 right after the season ended, thanks to working at a motorcycle magazine at the time. Amazing experience, albeit sub-optimal because of (predictable) ergonomics issues... My 1.90 meter body differs somewhat from Dani's dimensions. Still I know I want a bike like that to have a total blast on track days!
Back on topic: what an amazing performance by Pedrosa, not just having the pure speed to top Practice 1, stay in the top-3 after Practice 2 and qualify on the second row, but even be battling in the front group in an actual race - and we know how competitive the MotoGP grid has become and how berserk those sprint races are! Crazy respect for Dani! Retiring in 2018, doing one race in 2021 and then be at the sharp end in a wildcard appearance in 2023 at age 37. Brilliant. I wish he'd stick around for the whole season, but I know he definitely won't. Which I totally understand.
In reply to Dani is…. by Rusty Trumpet
I'd agree
.. with two small caveats. Randy Mamola is also in the running for the best never to win a title. And Pedrosa won, I believe, 125 and 250 titles.
Congratulations Europe!
Congratulations to Brad Binder, Jack Miller, Dani Pedrosa and all the KTM team! Great rides. Particularly Dani Pedrosa, a real racer and MotoGp legend.
Miller needed a good race and he made a good result. 11 laps was probably better for Jack. The original race distance of twelve laps would, most likely, have seen Jorge Martin pass the other JM for the podium. Binder seemed to be using more rear tyre but JM43 was the KTM that faded in the last two laps or so.
Pecco stayed on and finished with some good points! Hallelujah!
Miguel O was the best Aprilia after Aleix had a Honda style front end loss. Maverick twice as much time behind BB33 than MO88 was at the end.
Second corner carnage in the sprint, oh well no biggie, we are getting accustomed to crashes in the half distance contests.
No Japanese bikes in the points! Remember when Yamaha & Honda once took turns winning championship after 'chip?
Speaking of championship(s) is it Matt Birt who is unable to pronounce the word championship? What's a chamip? Somebody can't say thousandths of a second as well. Thousandths not thouants ffs!
In reply to Congratulations Europe! by Apical
You try constantly shouting…
You try constantly shouting at a microph for a ho race. Mr Shouty has immesnse vocal stamina. Unfortunately.
In reply to You try constantly shouting… by WaveyD1974
What???
What???
In reply to You try constantly shouting… by WaveyD1974
Tough job, announcing
But I too kind of wish Birt would find another way to spend his Saturdays. His constant missing of syllables and dropping whole words and phrases is starting to grate on me. But it's amazing to me that he's able to do it at all; having been called in once as a substitute announcer for a brief time I know what a bitch it is.