Francesco Bagnaia loser wins! Beaten on Saturday during the sprint of the GP of Catalonia by the local of the stage Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) after starting from pole position, the Ducati rider has however consolidated his place as leader in the world championship.
After being robbed at the end of the morning of first place in qualifying and the lap record he had set the day before, the Catalan took his revenge on the Italian a few hours later by winning the sprint race for the most great delight of its thousands of fans.
On his land, Espargaro, who was born in Granollers, a few kilometers from the Circuit de Catalunya, is in great shape. Best time in qualifying on Friday, he confirmed on Saturday with second place in qualifying and his success in the sprint after a nice duel with Bagnaia.
Off to a good start, the Spaniard put the pressure on the Transalpin and ended up overtaking him at the end of the straight from the pits at mid-race thanks to superb braking. He then quickly widened the gap and took his first sprint victory.
A month after his success at the British GP, the Catalan confirms his strong comeback and takes fifth place in the championship.
Bagnaia was not disappointed with his performance, however, as he further increased his lead at the top of the standings by bringing it to 66 points over Spaniard Jorge Martin (Ducati-Pramac), fifth on Saturday. The Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati-VR46), big loser of the day after his disappointing eighth position, is now 75 lengths behind his compatriot.
Sixth in qualifying but just two-tenths off pole position, Frenchman Johann Zarco (Ducati-Pramac) had a frustrating sprint due to a completely missed start that set him back six places.
Even if he limited the damage by snatching seventh place in the last corner, the Avignonnais, who had bet to put on a medium rear tire, missed a great opportunity to clinch a new place of honor and fell back to sixth in the championship.
The other Frenchman on the grid, Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) had another difficult day, like his season where he spent more time fighting with his bike than with his opponents.
Only 17th in qualifying, the 2021 world champion also missed his start and lost any chance of finishing in the Top 10 from the first corner. 21st and penultimate for a few laps, he finally finished 18th.