The fact that Aprilia has surpassed Ducati as the most competitive bike in the MotoGP paddock was underscored in Texas last weekend. At a track that is arguably the favorite of Ducati’s Marc Marquez, Aprilia was unstoppable. The only consolation for Ducati was the pole position taken by Fabio Di Giannantonio.
Although Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) crashed out of Saturday’s Sprint race, that race was won by his teammate Jorge Martin with a final lap pass of Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati). Finishing behind these two (following a tire pressure penalty levied against KTM’s Pedro Acosta) was Enea Bastianini (KTM).
Sunday’s race saw Bezzecchi take his 5th consecutive win, including all 3 GPs this season. Bezzecchi led every lap to set a MotoGP record with 121 consecutive laps led.
Behind Bezzecchi, Martin finished second ahead of Acosta in third. Although Aprilia took the first two positions on the podium, there was disappointment on their side when a third Aprilia piloted by Ai Ogura appeared destined for a third place finish when a mechanical problem halted his progress late in the race. Ogura posted the fasted lap in the race.
Bezzecchi leads in championship points, followed closely by Martin. With the cancellation of the Qatar round due to the conflict in the Middle East, the next round in Jerez is a month away.
For full results and points for Saturday’s Sprint race, visit the MotoGP site here. For full results and points for Sunday’s MotoGP race, visit the MotoGP site here.
OK, 3 comments, 1 comment, 2 comments, 6, 8, 7, 14, 11, 11, 27, is everybody out riding, or is it the content. Where is everybody ?
Prison ?
Summer camp ?
Just got back home. Been gone since January. Gonna fix the place up and sell it.
Looks like they accidentally gave Bagnaia a decent bike on Saturday. I wonder how that worked out in the pit.
I was there all 3 days. Great show and the bagger racing was pretty entertaining as well.
Well, so far it’s turning out to be an interesting season. Once again Marc Marquez gave us another example of his reckless riding. He’s a great rider, but reckless and still shows little regard for the safety of others because of his impatience. If he stays healthy I still believe he’ll win the championship this year even if the Ducati bike isn’t as good as the Aprilia. Marc is just that good and always willing to risk it all… at others expense, without hesitation.
Next year should really be interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing the results of the big changes coming.