Martin was lying in fifth at the
time, so it would have been a nice
points' swing for the number one
had he just completed the rest of
the lap and sealed a much-needed
Sprint race win.
Instead, Bagnaia finds himself
in a similar, although not quite as
bad, position as he was in 2022
when fighting for his first title with
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy
Yamaha) at this stage of the title.
(Right) Aleix
Espargaro was
handed a surprise
Sprint race win
after Bagnaia's
crash. (Below)
Bagnaia (1) led
early, dropped
back, then lit the
afterburners to
track down Jorge
Martin (89) for
the win.
25 RAUL FERNANDEZ
DNF/6TH MOTOGP
"I was fighting for the podium until the
last six laps," Raul Fernandez said af-
ter Sunday's GP. "That was fantastic,
and I definitely learned a lot, fight-
ing with Marc [Marquez] and Aleix
[Espargaro] nearly until the end. I felt
super good on the bike, and while I
didn't feel I could extract enough grip
from the rear tire, anyway, we have to
be happy. Yesterday, we were fight-
ing for the win in the Sprint race; we
were on the front row, and today, we
are fighting for the podium. Overall, it
was a very positive weekend."
23 ENEA BASTIANINI
5TH/18TH MOTOGP
"It was a frustrating race for me, as a
long-lap penalty came at the halfway
point, as I was forced to run off the
track after an overtake maneuver by
Alex Marquez, in a situation where
I had no other option but to cut the
first chicane," Enea Bastianini said.
(See Briefly). "I hope there'll be more
consideration in the future in this type
of situation, as I feel that I didn't de-
serve this penalty. On the contrary, I
thought Alex was the one who had to
give me back the position, but it didn't
go this way."
MYOWNRACE
ROUND 6 / MAY 24-26, 2024
CIRCUIT DE BARCELONA-CATALUNYA / BARCELONA, SPAIN
MOTOGP I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P86
