– The Catalan Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya had to be stopped twice due to serious accidents. The first incident occurred in the twelfth lap. At that time, Pedro Acosta (KTM) was leading narrowly ahead of Alex Marquez (Gresini-Ducati) and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse-Aprilia).
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On the straight between turns 9 and 10, Acosta’s KTM suddenly stopped accelerating. Alex Marquez was so close behind that he could no longer react and collided with the KTM.
Alex Marquez went off to the right side of the track onto the grass and crashed heavily there. His Ducati flipped multiple times, broke into pieces, and flew back onto the track, scattering debris everywhere.
Raul Fernandez and Johann Zarco (LCR-Honda) were hit by parts. Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati) crashed on a piece of debris. The race was immediately stopped. The emergency crews immediately attended to Alex Marquez.
The race control reported that he was conscious. The remaining riders returned to the pits. Enea Bastianini (Tech3-KTM), who had already retired earlier due to a technical defect, was not allowed to participate in the restart.
At KTM, there were not only technical problems with Acosta and Bastianini but also with Brad Binder. He had already come to the pits after the warm-up lap and had to start from the pit lane.
The restart was scheduled for 13 laps. The starting grid was based on the classification after the eleventh lap. Alex Marquez was initially taken to the Medical Center and then admitted to a hospital.
Accident with Johann Zarco at the Restart
From the front row, Acosta, Raul Fernandez, and Jorge Martin (Aprilia) started. In the second row were Di Giannantonio, Zarco, and Franco Morbidelli (VR46-Ducati). All switched to the soft rear tire.
At the start, there was another serious accident in the midfield, after which the race was stopped again. Zarco, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), and Luca Marini (Honda) collided. The two Italians were uninjured.
Zarco had caught his left foot on a motorcycle, but according to race control, he was also responsive. The replay showed that Zarco had hit Marini’s rear wheel while braking for turn 1.
Again, the ambulance rushed onto the track to attend to Zarco. The Frenchman was taken to the Medical Center and then also admitted to a hospital.
Raul Fernandez Collides with Jorge Martin
The second restart was for a distance of twelve laps. This time, everything went well in the first corner. Acosta took the lead ahead of Martin, Raul Fernandez, and Joan Mir (Honda). Then, in turn 5, Raul Fernandez and Martin collided, with Martin crashing into the gravel trap.
Raul Fernandez was on the inside and had pushed his teammate off the track. After the first lap, Acosta led ahead of Mir, Bagnaia, Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), and Di Giannantonio.
Subsequently, Mir put pressure on the leader Acosta. Close behind were the Ducatis of Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio, with Di Giannantonio quickly overtaking Bagnaia and joining the leading duo.
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Di Giannantonio Claims Second MotoGP Victory
The KTM was faster on the straight than the Honda, which is why Mir could not outbrake before turn 1. Five laps before the end of the race, Mir was overtaken by Di Giannantonio in turn 10.
Immediately, the Italian put pressure on Acosta. Three laps before the finish, Di Giannantonio attacked in turn 10 and took the lead. He was also able to immediately pull a few meters away from Acosta.
That was the decision. Di Giannantonio celebrated his second MotoGP victory after Qatar 2023. For Valentino Rossi’s VR46 team, it was the first win since Marco Bezzecchi’s triumph in autumn 2023 in India.
“First of all, I was very worried about all the crashed riders,” says Di Giannantonio. “Today was not an easy day for anyone. I really hope that Alex [Marquez] is okay. We were very lucky.”
“We know that our sport is great. We try to give the fans a great show, but we are also human and expose ourselves to dangers. I really hope everyone is okay.”
Acosta had to defend himself from behind. In turn 1, Mir overtook the Spaniard at the beginning of the last lap, and in turn 3, Acosta also lost the podium spot to Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini-Ducati).
That settled the positions. Mir and Aldeguer celebrated their first podiums this year. For Acosta, it got even worse. He crashed in the final corner and ended up empty-handed.
The replay showed that Ai Ogura (Trackhouse-Aprilia) overtook on the inside and touched Acosta. The Japanese rider crossed the finish line in fourth place. For this maneuver, Ogura received a three-second time penalty.
Thus, Bagnaia finished fourth, followed by Aprilia factory rider Bezzecchi. The top 10 were completed by Quartararo, Marini, Binder, Ogura, and Diogo Moreira (LCR-Honda). After the time penalty, Ogura was classified ninth.
From eleventh place onwards came Alex Rins (Yamaha), Morbidelli, Maverick Vinales (Tech3-KTM), Jack Miller, and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pramac-Yamaha) (to the race results).
However, the result could still change, as an investigation has been initiated against Razgatlioglu, Fernandez, Mir, Rins, Miller, and Bagnaia regarding the minimum pressure in the front tire.
The next Grand Prix will take place in Italy. From May 29 to 31, the race will be held in Mugello (to the calendar).
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