Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) had a more challenging first day on the circuit at MotorLand Aragon, suffering a collision with Leopard Racing's Miguel Oliveira for which the EG0,0 Marc VDS rider was given a one place grid penalty and a penalty point. With the bike back in fine fettle and good as new by Saturday, the Italian found himself readying for race day from P8 on the grid- but a glimpse of Sunday's podium potential in Warm Up saw Morbidelli prove himself not only a frontrunner but ahead of the pack in the first track time of the day, ready to fight back up into podium contention by going fastest.
With Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) bolting from the pack in the early laps, Morbidelli proved the only rider capable of reeling the two in - getting close enough to teammate Marquez for one shot at attacking into the final turn. Briefly past but just pipped to the line, the podium finish was Morbidelli's fourth of the season and completed the team's first double podium finish since 2014.
Franco Morbidelli (P3): "I had just one chance to try and overtake Álex and it was at the final corner on the last lap. It was a great feeling to arrive to him because I was far behind early in the race. My start position was not the best and this was a pity because I had the race pace but I'm happy because this result shows the team is capable of being constantly at the top level."