fast-starting Jorge Martin. Di
Giannantonio had a customary
slow getaway from his sixth
place on the grid, and contact
with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM)
sent the South African and
hapless Joan Mir (HRC Castrol)
down.
After the disappointment of
Le Mans, Marquez was back in
his element, his speed through
the track's final double right
enough to catapult him past
Zarco on the main straight at
the start of lap two, then past
Acosta at the start of lap four.
Soon, Acosta was in trouble
as Fernandez barged by on lap
five. With Di Giannantonio now
past Zarco for fourth and Martin
crashing out of sixth at turn 10,
the lead quintet edged clear of
the struggling Marco Bezzecchi
(Aprilia Racing) and Bagnaia,
who was up from 13th.
VOLUME ISSUE MAY , P75
While Marquez was head and
shoulders above everyone here
in 2025, he was yet to find his
flow this weekend. By lap 10,
it was clear he wasn't entirely
happy; his front tire was all but
destroyed. Sensing weakness
up ahead, Acosta began hom
-
ing in on the leaders. Back past
Fernandez at turn one, starting
on lap nine, he started slashing
crash was pretty scary, with pieces of
the bike flying all over the place and
even hitting several riders, including
me, even though I was farther back.
Zarco's crash was unfortunately
also a serious incident. Overall, it
was a weekend of struggling for us,
but considering everything that took
place, we were still able to take home
a good result."
20 FABIO QUARTARARO
13TH/5TH MOTOGP
After a frustrating Sprint race finishing
in 13th, Fabio Quartararo was moved
into fifth place on Sunday in the
revised rankings. "I could go faster in
race three than in race one but was
blocked behind Marco [Bezzecchi],"
he said of his Sunday GP. "It was dif-
ficult today, but especially the second
race. I try to avoid looking at the TV
screens in these situations, but when
you cross turn 10 and see Alex on
the ground like that, you don't feel
like restarting the race. I had goose-
bumps: the tire and bike flying. That's
not easy, but it's part of our job."
MYOWNRACE
This was the second sickening
crash at the Catalunya MotoGP
as Johann Zarco's leg gets
tangled in the rear of Pecco
Bagnaia's Ducati. It's a miracle
his injuries weren't worse than a
small leg fracture.
