Moto GP: Espargaro leads Aprilia to a double in Catalonia

Sprinter Espargaro was second for most of the race, but the Spaniard took advantage of Vinales’ front tire wear to take the lead with four laps to go and secure victory at the Circuit de Barcelona -Catalunya, located seven kilometers from his hometown of Granollers.The victory erases the memory of Espargaro’s premature celebration in last year’s Catalunya GP when he was one lap away from taking the second place but that he thought the race was over and was starting to greet his fans.Aprilia looked set to go clear, but Pramac Racing riders Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco overtook Miguel Oliveira (RNF Aprilia ) to finish third and fourth. After a chaotic start marked by two crashes, the race was restarted for 23 laps and Martin raced to take the lead entering the first corner, but he was quickly passed by Vinales and Espargaro.Despite finishing third, Martin will be happy to have caught up with Bagnaia in the overall standings.Earlier in the day on Sunday, the race was halted after Enea Bastianini slid into the first corner and eliminated Marco Bezzechi, Johann Zarco, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez, before Bagnaia was thrown through the air by a highside on the next corner. Bagnaia’s crash left him stranded in the middle of the track and KTM’s Brad Binder failed to was able to get out of the way and rolled over the leg of the world champion. Bagnaia was taken by ambulance to the medical center, before being transferred to hospital for further treatment. Bagnaia and Bastianini were unable to return for the restart, leaving Ducati riderless in the race.