Qualifying
Quali had the on-form Fabio Quartararo on pole with a strong Franco Morbidelli (Fabio’s ex-team mate) on P2 and Jack Miller P3. Marc Marquez, beaten up from a pre-race washing machine crash was in P14, evidently still suffering from the injury and lack of race conditioning.
The Race
Off the line, the Ducati launch control and rider skills saw Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia pull away, only for Franco Morbidelli to split them, so it was Miller P1 with Franco and Pecco following with Fabio holding fourth. Alex Marquez was down, and out, then Brad Binder who did recover and back on track, was there a sniper in the hills, because Alex Rins slid out, also to recover.
Lap three and Fabio Quartararo made his move on Bagnaia to take P3 and then slid under Morbidelli for P2 leaving Miller slightly ahead in the lead. One lap later and Fabio undertook Miller with ease and was where his recent form indicates, P1. With the race pace settling down, Fabio had a 1.37.707 gap over Miller and was in command, setting his rhythm for what looked like a dominant show from the Frenchman. With 14 laps to go Fabio Quartararo was holding station in the lead with Jack Miller 1.221 seconds behind and Franco Morbidelli third. Brad Binder took his second crash of the race and this time was down and out. Rider ok.
With eleven laps to go the nature of the race changed, and dramatically. Fabio had been gapping Miller by 1.3 seconds, suddenly it was 0.4, and with no noticeable mistake by Fabio, it was a mystery. Eight laps to go Bagnaia slid past Fabio and it was now evident something was very wrong, but tyres looked good and no noticeable mechanical problem, at least nothing mechanical with the Yamaha.
It was hard to watch as the twice this season winner Fabio Quartararo seemed helpless as one after the other riders overtook him, so much so that he was P10, posting a time of 1.41, in comparison with his previous 1.37. Meanwhile, Jack Miller was leading with Francesco Bagnaia second and Franco Morbidelli.
The Result
Last lap and over the line it was Jack Miller Ducati Lenovo Team P1, Francesco Bagnaia Ducati Lenovo Team P2 and Franco Morbidelli Petronas Yamaha SRT P3. This was the first win for Jack since 2016.
Fabio finished an unlucky thirteenth, and on the slow down lap looked exhausted and in pain. Post-race it was confirmed that he had suffered a sudden and catastrophic arm pump problem, the plague of motorcycle racers.
There was a test at Jerez on Monday, with two absentees. Marc Marquez wisely resting his arm after finishing ninth in the race, and Fabio Quartararo off to hospital for surgery on the compartment syndrome right arm. We wish both riders well and hope to see them strong for Le Mans in two weeks.
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Author: Martin Northern
Founder of Bike Directory
