Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1544998
tured C7 vertebra and a right col- larbone break. Somehow, Zarco only emerged with a small frac- ture above the ankle and knee ligament damage. Both posted photos smiling from their hospi- tal beds on Sunday evening. On days like this, racing and results are trivial. Bagnaia said it right: "Considering what happened to Alex, you can only say thanks to the one who saved us all." MotoGP Sprint Pedro Acosta sped to only his second-ever MotoGP pole on Saturday morning, and first since Japan, 2024. And he led through turns one and two from Zarco, Marquez, Fernandez and the The restart was just one turn old before the red flags were brought out again. Zarco, who tagged the back of Luca Marini (HRC Castrol) on the run to turn one, should have slid off and to the gravel with the minimum of fuss. But Pecco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati) was to his left, and the Frenchman's left leg was then caught up in the rear of the Ducati as both rider and machine cartwheeled sicken - ingly through the gravel. Even if both riders could yet face lengthy spells on the sidelines, it is barely believable that neither suffered life-threat - ening injuries. Marquez's injury amounted to a partially frac- ROUND 5 / MAY 15-17, 2026 CIRCUIT DE BARCELONA-CATALUNYA / BARCELONA, SPAIN P74 63 FRANCESCO BAGNAIA 6TH/3RD MOTOGP Francesco Bagnaia was involved in the crash during the second restarted race on Sunday, and, despite feeling dizzy, he crossed the line in fourth in the third restarted race. He then inherited third after a penalty was given to Joan Mir. "Right now, I'm in pain and feeling a bit dizzy," he said. "I took quite a big hit, but nothing compared to what happened to the others. In the end, we were lucky, even though it was a really intense day. When I felt the impact, I thought it was over, but then the crash hap- pened and the impact with the gravel was really hard. I didn't realize that Johann [Zarco] was still tangled up with the bike, and it was quite a trau- matic moment." 72 MARCO BEZZECCHI 9TH/4TH MOTOGP Marco Bezzecchi struggled to ninth place in the Sprint for a single point and managed to escape the chaos on Sunday, crossing the line in sixth. After the penalties were assessed, he was awarded fourth. "First of all, I hope that Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco are okay," he said. "Alex's MYOWNRACE ROAD RACE I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Pedro Acosta (37) tries to fend off Alex Marquez (73), but the blue Ducati man just had more outright pace than the KTM in the Sprint race.