It was the first turn strategy that dictated the weekend’s pace at MotorLand, but there was no shortage of drama! The Michelin® Grand Prix of Aragon gave us plenty to enjoy, with a Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) all-time lap record in Quali and a Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) double masterclass in front of his home crowd, to take his 77^th MotoGP win in 218 races. The Championship tightens up with Marc Marquez heading to Misano just 19 points behind Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi just 24 points adrift. There’s plenty to talk about before we set our sights on Misano!

“I need to do my best at the tracks that are good for me”

Marc Marquez’s plan was clear: attack from the off. But after forgetting to disengage the rear ride-height device gave the #93 a scare through the opening sector, the reigning World Champion recovered, hit the front and managed the race to perfection – sealing a dream double on home soil and moving to within 19 points of the Championship lead.

“Today I repeated the strategy from yesterday: attack in the first corner. But I made a big mistake because I forgot to disengage the rear device. On the warm-up lap, on the back straight, normally you activate it and then you need to remember to deactivate it for the start. I didn’t remember.

“I made a perfect start and a perfect first corner, but when I went from the first to the second corner, the rear device was still engaged. The bike was super low through all of sector one. It was a scary moment and it made everything more difficult.

“There was a moment at the end of the straight where it felt like his bike was just sucking me in – we were completely attached. I tried to move to the right, but even in sixth gear I had a small wheelie. It was impossible to get away from his bike.

“At one point Marco backed off a little because he was in the dirty air, and from that moment I was able to lead the race.

“When there were ten laps remaining, I pushed a little bit, opened a gap and then controlled it again.

“I was especially trying to control the risk and manage the tyre on the right-hand corners. When there were ten laps remaining, I knew the tyre was okay and I had enough to attack. That’s what I did. I attacked a bit more through the right-hand corners, opened a gap and got into the 1:46s.”

Marquez now sits second in the Championship, 19 points behind Jorge Martin, but the #93 knows there’s still plenty of work ahead.

“It looks like Jorge and Marco are riding very well. They’re super fast. Not only them – Ogura will come back, Di Giannantonio too, and Acosta showed today what he can do.

“If I want to have a small chance of fighting for the Championship, I need to do my best at the tracks that are good for me.”

“If I want to be ready when my moment arrives, I need to see all the options”

Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) came closer than ever to putting KTM back on the top step, pushing the leading duo all the way before sealing a superb P2. Yet the #37 was more interested in the bigger picture: growing consistency, adapting his riding style and making sure he’s ready when his chance to win arrives.

“It’s a long way to becoming a legend! I think we are doing the right things. I was pushing the team a lot because I felt like we were taking a step backwards. With all the reliability problems we had during the first part of the year, it was quite difficult to see third place in the Championship getting away from us.

“Now it looks like things are working. We’re having good races. It’s true that we are still far from winning a race, but on the other hand, we are finding a lot of consistency inside the top five. For that, we have to be really satisfied.

“It was my moment to try to catch Marc and Marco and ride with them. Marco was setting an amazing pace at the beginning of the race and Marc was really pushing to catch him again. I was just trying to follow the race. In the end, I knew Marc was going to have something left because, from behind, he looked really relaxed. I just tried to stay with them and see where I could finish. We didn’t finish that far away, but there is still work to do.

“At the end, they both went to the left and I had a bit of slipstream, so I just went to the right. In the end, I was in the right position, even if I had to use a little bit of the kerb. It was a risky move, I would say, considering the speed I was carrying".

“At the moment, I want to focus on what I have. I’m still missing quite a lot over a short distance, especially in qualifying. Normally, I struggle to get onto that front row, which gives you an advantage at the beginning of the races. But like I said, right now I want to focus on the things that can help me win a race, rather than the things I don’t have.

“I’m even trying to change my riding style. Normally, I’m the one who always goes tighter into the corners and uses more tyre than everyone else. Now I’m trying to change my style a little bit. If I want to be ready when my moment arrives, I need to start looking at all the options and all the different ways of racing.”

“To fight with these guys, you really need to be perfect”

From an all-time lap record and pole position to going toe-to-toe with Marc Marquez for victory, Marco Bezzecchi was right at the heart of the action in Aragon. The Aprilia star eventually had to settle for P3, but after a double podium at a circuit that hasn’t traditionally favoured the Noale factory, there was plenty for the #72 to smile about.

“It was a tough race, a long race and super hot. From the beginning, even when I was leading, I could see that my pace wasn’t as good as I expected. I tried my best to open a gap, but I knew Marc was going to come back.

“Honestly, I wanted to make his life a little bit harder – and Pedro’s too – but I lost both places in the space of a couple of seconds! But I enjoyed it a lot. It was a wonderful weekend. Last year I came here and started the race from last place. This year I grabbed pole position and took a double podium, so I’m very satisfied.

“Overall, I agree with Marc. It was tough. I tried to cut back at Turn 15 when he passed me, but when we got close to each other on the straight, the air was doing something strange. I wanted to move away, but sometimes I was actually getting pulled closer to him.

“Then I ended up a little bit too far to the left, so I had to brake slightly earlier. At that moment, Pedro came through on the right with a good amount of speed and unfortunately I lost another place. But it was a funny moment".

“With the hotter temperatures compared to the practice sessions, I struggled a little bit more. We’ll work hard to understand what I can do differently and where we can improve.

“For sure, at Silverstone I didn’t expect the podium at all, but honestly, I didn’t really expect it here either. As I said before, this is a track where historically we’ve struggled. Aprilia has never been super competitive here. Last year I was quite fast, but the weekend was super tough. These two weekends have been fantastic for me.

“Now I have to try to get a little bit more in shape because, to fight with these guys, you really need to be perfect. I’ll work hard at home.

“It was definitely an improvement compared to Silverstone. The problem was more while I was riding. Here, with so many left-hand corners, I wasn’t struggling so much with the shoulder, but more with my knee. I’m still walking a little bit like Doctor House!

“I’ll have to live with this for a while. It’s going to take some time to get better. The best thing I can do is try to rebuild the muscle and strength on the left side of my body that I’ve lost a little bit, and try to compensate with that.”

“I took the points – I prefer that than taking a risk and crashing”

It wasn’t the Aragon weekend Jorge Martin had hoped for, but the Championship leader made sure it remained a productive one. With grip proving his biggest limitation, the Aprilia rider accepted what was available, banked a pair of P5 finishes and heads to Misano still holding a 19-point advantage at the top of the standings.

“It was different from what I expected. I was optimistic that with a good start I could do more, but I couldn’t. The maximum was the top five and I’m happy that I took the maximum. Now I really want to move forward and think about Misano.

“After Silverstone, my feeling was a bit better and I thought I could fight for the podium. But on Friday I saw that I couldn’t, and I knew even the top five would be difficult. At least today I was closer to the podium than yesterday.

“The grip was my limit during the weekend. I was struggling a lot. Towards the second half of the race I started to feel a little bit better and I was able to catch Alex, so overall I’m happy about that. But this was the maximum I could achieve.

“I took the points and I prefer that than taking a risk and crashing. I had to accept it. Maybe in the next races I’ll have to take more risks, but not in this one.

“The feeling with the bike was there. It wasn’t like Brno or Sachsenring, where I didn’t have the feeling. I can feel what is happening, but I don’t have the performance. I’m sliding everywhere and I can’t carry the speed. I can’t build the speed, and that’s the issue.

“But I’m happy that I can feel the bike. That’s super important because when the grip or the traction is there, then this won’t be a problem. Misano and Austria could be good. I think it’s more about this track.

“Honestly, I really wanted to finish the weekend. I took two top fives, which is OK. On a really bad weekend – I think it was the worst of the season in terms of speed – I was still able to take points.

“I’m working to improve every day. I’m still leading the Championship, so I must be doing something right.”

“It was the famous train that I said yesterday”

A front-row start promised plenty for Alex Marquez, but after getting caught in the opening-lap shuffle, the #73 found himself in exactly the kind of race he had predicted. He eventually worked his way into P4, but with grip at a premium, breaking into the podium fight proved a step too far.

“Yeah, it was a bit boring! There weren’t many overtakes, apart from the first lap and then a couple later on. It was like a train – the famous train that I spoke about yesterday – so it was exactly the kind of race I expected.

“The start and the first lap weren’t easy. It’s one of those situations that you can read much better when you’re a little bit further back than when you’re really, really close. I wasn’t able to find the space, and I also made a mistake on the exit of Turn 2 into Turn 3. I didn’t engage third gear, so the bike wasn’t accelerating properly.

“After that, it was what it was. Later on, I found my rhythm and, step by step, I overtook two riders and was able to be consistent. But it wasn’t enough to find that little bit extra.

“I was struggling a lot with the front, the rear and the general grip from both tyres. But we have to be happy because we maintained the level that I’ve been showing in the last few races. We’re not in a bad place, but it’s true that this weekend we didn’t find our maximum.

“Silverstone was almost the opposite. There, we were able to save the rear tyre a little bit and manage it, whereas here it was the opposite. The other Ducatis were managing the tyre much better than I was. It’s strange because it was the same tyre, but the behaviour was completely different.

“I think last year the overall grip level of the track was a little bit better. My fastest lap came really late in the race, around Lap 21 or 23, so the grip was improving step by step. This year, from the beginning, I never really felt that grip.

“Sometimes you find the feeling and the grip straight away, and sometimes you suffer. This was exactly the race I was expecting before the start.”

“I have zero grip. Zero.”

There was little for Francesco Bagnaia to take away from a bruising weekend at MotorLand. After struggling for rear grip throughout, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider’s Sunday came to an early end when a rear slide ultimately sent him down – leaving the #63 searching for answers after another difficult round.

“I lost the rear, then I lost the front. Simple.

“The lack of rear grip is too much, because the reality is that I have zero grip. Zero. After five laps I switched to the map with less power because the rear tyre was already completely finished – and that was without pushing, without doing anything.

“I was struggling a lot and the bike was moving around a lot. I lost the rear and, when it came back, I lost the front.

“The feeling wasn’t that bad until Sachsenring. Everything was working in a consistent way. I was struggling a little bit, but the results were more encouraging.

“Since Silverstone, though, something has happened because I have absolutely zero grip. I don’t know what it will be like when we arrive at other circuits where the grip is low. I can’t imagine.

“The set-up is similar. Yesterday morning I felt a little bit better and we tried putting more weight on the rear, but it made things more difficult in the Sprint. So we went back to more or less what we’ve been using for the rest of the season.

“This morning in Warm Up was a disaster for many reasons, but in the race it was basically over after five laps.”