The MotoGP race at Aragán brought about huge chaos in the early stages – with Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) taking the brunt.
Fabio Quartararo crashed in the hectic opening phase of the Aragon race Returnee Marc Márquez of all people into the rear of his Honda. The lead of the fallen Frenchman in the World Championship table over Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati) has thus melted down to ten points. Aleix Espargaró is also only 17 points behind.
That’s not all: On the way back to the paddock, the marshal who acted as Quartararo’s scooter driver fabricated another hairy accident.
«It’s a shame – it was the first time I felt good about Aragon in many years. Of course, the turn 3 crash wasn’t the best,” growled Quartararo. “I had really tough races now. But I’m motivated for the next races!”
Then it was immediately about the incident on the way back to the pits. Quartararo: «The marshal collided with another scooter and I had a second crash. We were also quite fast, luckily I hadn’t taken off my helmet yet. He fabricated a head-on collision with another scooter rider. Luckily nothing happened to me. My wounds are from the first crash. I think the marshal got a little hurt.”
In fact, the marshal remained lying on the ground after the collision, he had to be taken to medical treatment.
Quartararo knows: “Many drivers have made a mistake. I didn’t expect that from Marc and that’s why I drove into the back of him. Unfortunately, it was already in the third corner.”
Quartararo, who is not wearing a protective undershirt, suffered numerous abrasions and minor burns under the leather and said: “The injuries are all from the crash on the slopes. The problem will be the chest area, the hip thing will probably be okay in three days.”
The conclusion: «I was always fast recently, but not really constant. So I was super happy with FP4 – I was consistent and fast. Apart from the race it was a positive weekend. I’m now looking forward to the tracks where we haven’t been for a long time. Japan is one of my favorite slopes, Thailand too. We’ll keep pushing hard. I don’t think Bastianini ever drove in Japan. Japan has a lot of acceleration zones, but also a lot of hard braking zones where we are strong.”
Looking at the lap times, the Frenchman said: «I could have fought for P5 here, on a track where I’ve always had problems. Maybe the podium would have been possible – the win wasn’t. I think we could have fought for places 3 to 6.”
MotoGP result, Aragón (September 18th):
1. Bastianini, Ducati, 23 laps in 41:35.462 min
2. Bagnaia, Ducati, + 0.042 sec
3. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, +6.139
4.Brad Binder, KTM, +6.379
5.Miller, Ducati, +6.964
6. Martin, Ducati, +12.030
7. Marini, Ducati, +12.474
8. Zarco, Ducati, +12.655
9. Rins, Suzuki, +12,702
10. Bezzecchi, Ducati, +16.150
11.Oliveira, KTM, +17.071
12. Alex Marquez, Honda, +18.463
13. Vinales, Aprilia, +18,730
14. Crutchlow, Yamaha, +20,090
15. Pol Espargaró, Honda, +27.588
16. Gardner, KTM, +28.805
17. Morbidelli, Yamaha, +30.422
18. Darryn Binder, Yamaha, +31,330
19. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, +31.595
20. Raul Fernandez, KTM, +36.160
– Marc Marquez, Honda, 22 laps down
– Takaaki Nakagami, Honda, first lap not finished
– Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha, first lap not finished
MotoGP World Championship standings (after 15 of 20 races):
1. Quartararo, 211 points. 2 Bagnaia 201 3 Aleix Espargaró 194 4 Bastianini 163 5 Miller 134 6 Zarco 133 7 Brad Binder 128 8 Rins 108 9 Martin 104 10 Viñales 104 11 Oliveira 95 12 Marini 91 13 Mir 77 14 Bezzecchi 74 15 Marc Marquez 60 16 Nakagami 46 17 Pol Espargaró 43 18 Alex Marquez 39 19 Morbidelli 26 20 Di Giannantonio 23 .21 Dovizioso 15 22 Darryn Binder 10 23 Gardner 9 24 Raul Fernandez 8 25 Bradl 2 26 Crutchlow 2
Constructors’ Championship:
1. Ducati, 346 points. 2. Aprilia 217. 3. Yamaha 213. 4. KTM 161. 5. Suzuki 134. 6. Honda 100.
Team World Cup:
1. Ducati Lenovo Team, 335 points. 2. Aprilia Racing 298. 3. Monster Energy Yamaha 237. 4. Prima Pramac Racing 237. 5. Red Bull KTM Factory 223. 6. Gresini Racing 186. 7. Suzuki Ecstar 185. 8. Mooney VR46 Racing 165. 9. Repsol Honda 105th 10th LCR Honda 85th 11th WithU Yamaha RNF 27th 12th Tech3 KTM Factory 17th