Another weekend in the books! After an incredible show at the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Spain and a busy post-GP Test, riders can now enjoy a short break before Le Mans. Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) came out on top, winning back-to-back at his home GP and ending Marco Bezzecchi’s (Aprilia Racing) win streak after the #72 finished as runner-up in Jerez. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) took third, leaving Spain with plenty of positives. Now, as the dust settles, let's dive into the biggest topics and surprises from the Spanish GP!

"This is something magical!"

Your winner and once again a home hero in Jerez! Alex Marquez bounced back from a tricky Saturday Sprint, where the #73 crashed out of the lead in mixed conditions. Once sunny Sunday arrived, Alex Marquez was back on cloud nine, creating the headlines once more, and grabbing victory in his 250th GP start with a 1.903s advantage – moving the Spanish star to P7 in the title race!

Alex Marquez:  "I thought the expectation was too high to come here after the three really difficult races at the beginning of the year, and then to suddenly be thinking of victory. But this is Jerez. This is something magical! From Friday, I was able to fly, feel really good on the bike, feel really comfortable on my lines and have the pace. Today I was able to execute my plan perfectly. When I was second on the first lap, I thought there would be many changes. I then had the ability to overtake Marc in turn six. And from that moment, I said, 'Okay, time to make my pace. Time to not make mistakes.'"

"He was on another level"

Sticking with the Marquez theme, it was also a rollercoaster weekend for Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team). The #93 qualified on pole position, starting Saturday’s Sprint strong after charging into the lead before a crash at the final corner prompted the reigning World Champion to switch to his wet bike. It proved to be key, allowing Marc Marquez to take victory and set up another Sunday showdown. In the Grand Prix, there was an immediate change in fortunes, with a lap two crash abruptly ending his weekend.

Marc Marquez: "I braked earlier compared to the previous lap, and had the same corner speed, the same angle, but then I crashed. So I did something wrong. I enjoyed the weekend; this is the most important thing. I was riding in a comfortable way, not in a fast way, because in dry conditions I was there, and today that was my mentality, to fight for third/fourth place, that was my position. And for that reason, when Alex overtook me, I just tried not to fight against him because he was on another level this weekend."

"We started today with some doubts" 

After five consecutive Grand Prix victories, Marco Bezzecchi’s win streak – and his run of 121 consecutive laps led – is over! The #72 had a difficult Saturday, crashing in the Sprint and leaving work to do on Sunday. He would bounce back to claim P2, leaving the weekend with plenty of positives for the Noale camp as the Italian leaves the weekend with a 10-point Championship lead!

Bezzecchi: "I am satisfied. It was an important race. But it was tough, because this weekend was not the best for us. We started Friday well, but we made a strategy to work with the soft tyre on Friday, before expecting to work with the medium on Saturday. Unfortunately, the rain stopped us on Saturday. We started today with some doubts about our feeling. Fortunately, when I started, the bike was okay. Alex was too strong today for me. I noticed this immediately when he passed me. I saw him in Turn 10, and I said, 'For sure he’s going to win' because he was riding very, very well. So, I’m happy to take this second place!"

"We have more potential"

The Trackhouse MotoGP Team may have a new look, unveiling a striking livery for this weekend, but the pace proved to be the same. It was another rock-solid showing from the American squad, with both Ai Ogura and Raul Fernandez finishing inside the top six. The pair had clear areas to improve, with Ogura then going quickest at Monday’s post-GP Test.

Ogura: "We can be super happy about the late-race pace, but from the start to the middle, we struggled a lot. It took so much time to pass Bastianini, and then after that, the feeling was there. I then started to catch the riders in front, but we have to improve the first part of the race."

Fernandez: "The problem I had, especially from the middle to the last part of the race, when I was behind Johann, made me try to change my style. But when I changed my style, I started to use too much of my rear tyre, which doesn’t help the tyre for the last five laps. I think we made a good race, but we need to understand what Ai is doing differently in the last five laps because he is super strong. But on our side, the job is done, but we want more, and for sure, we have more potential."

"I really thought that Raul would give up!"

The Spanish GP proved to be a difficult weekend overall for HRC, with Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) leaving the weekend as the standout performer. The Frenchman was the only Honda inside the top 10 on Sunday, finishing P7 after losing out to the Trackhouse duo in the closing laps. Zarco explained the tyre troubles and his mindset onboard the motorcycle while he battled with the Aprilias.

Zarco: "I really thought that Raul would give up! Because I had a bit of an advantage on him, and then I began to even think that I could stay with Martin. But then, with five laps remaining, I had a huge drop in my rear tyre, and the bike began to move a lot, so I began to lose four tenths per lap. I couldn't even stay with Martin and Raul, and Ogura got about a second ahead - they were so fast. When they overtook me, I got the same spirit thinking, 'okay, stay calm, stay behind just to keep having your pace and finish your race'. But I could not finish the race in the way I wanted."

Jerez was just a taster, and now we can’t wait for more as we head to Le Mans to continue our European tour!