Welcome back to another race weekend in the MotoGP season. This weekend, the race will be held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, a usual fixture on the calendar.
Last year, the MotoGP paddock visited this racetrack in September, later than usual. It was Álex Márquez who took the win over his brother, Marc Márquez, with Enea Bastianini coming home in third. The race saw some action at the start, and gaps opened as the race went on. There were seven DNFs last year, including Marco Bezzecchi, the current championship leader.
In the Moto2 race, Daniel Holgado took a dominant 2.5-second win from Jake Dixion, and Daniel Muñoz rounded out the podium, which was his first podium. In Moto3, Ángel Piqueras won a tightly contested race by 0.081 seconds over José Antonio Rueda, with Taiyo Furusato closely behind in third.
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has been open since 1991, hosting its first motorcycle race the following year, and its first MotoGP in 1995. The circuit is 4.66km (2.89 miles) long, and the race is over 24 laps. With 6 left corners and 8 right corners, riders are challenged to a racetrack which creates close racing.
Álex Márquez currently holds the lap record at 1:37.536. The circuit has seen many different winners, with Valentino Rossi leading with seven wins and the most pole positions with four. His most memorable win was in 2009 against his rival, Jorge Lorenzo, who, coincidentally, has the second-most wins with five.
What to Expect This Weekend
Looking ahead to this weekend’s racing, this could be really important to the championship battle. With Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martín separated by one point after the Le Mans race, one mistake could have a big impact.
Aprilia has won around the circuit before in 2023. Martín has also had some strong results around the circuit in the past, whereas Bezzecchi hasn’t. That will be a battle to watch.
The Márquez brothers won’t be able to recreate their 1-2 from last year with Marc out of the race with an injury after his crash at Le Mans. In the crash, he broke a toe but had underlying issues with his shoulder, which required surgery, which he underwent on Sunday.
While Marc is out, Álex is still competing this weekend. Compared to last year, he has had a quieter start, with only one win in Jerez. Could he repeat his success from last year?
Other strong riders heading into the weekend are Pedro Acosta, who is usually a strong contender at the circuit, and Ai Ogura, who is coming off his first podium last weekend.
In Moto2, Daniel Holgado has to be one of the favourites after his win last year. He will also be out to redeem himself after disqualification at Le Mans for riding without a front fender. He will face battles with Manuel González and Izan Guevara, who are first and second in the championship. Last year’s Moto3 podium has all moved up to Moto2, so could they get involved in the battle as well?
For Moto3, it’s hard to look away from Máximo Quiles. After being on the podium at every race this season, while winning three of them, he has to be the favourite going into the weekend. People like Álvaro Carpe, Adrián Fernández and David Muñoz will also be hoping for strong rides to keep their championship hopes alive.
This Weekends Schedule
Follow along this weekend with all of our coverage!