Before the traffic lights went out, during the formation lap, Espargaró noticed that the Aprilia was not accelerating. Without power, the gears were of no use and, frustrated, he began to wave his arms in the air, crying to the sky about his bad luck. The slides have started in the pit, waiting for their star rider, their captain, to enter to change bikes. The Catalan has skipped the starting grid, entering directly towards the in the pit lane and, with a change that ended with one of the bikes on the ground, Espargaró was able to start the pursuit of the group.
The rest of the pilots were specks on the horizon. The distance was abysmal. Obviously ruling out victory, the goal has become to add points no matter what. For this reason, Espargaró needed to be in the top 15 and Il Capitano drove with more instinct and anger than pause. Once the separation with the group was saved, he began to overcome rivals with ease to cross the finish line in sixteenth position. His options remain after the Japanese Grand Prix where Pecco Bagnaia did not finish the race after crashing on the last lap. Fabio Quartararo, leader of the World Championship, did not have an exceptional day either, but he took eighth position which allows him to catch some air compared to his pursuers.
The Motegi circuit did not witness any big advances or fast-paced battles until the last five turns. From the moment the traffic lights went out, the riders went in single file, Sino-Xano to the finish line. Marc Márquez, the man of the weekend and from whom the cameras have not been taken off since his return to the World Cup, has been gradually losing positions since the historic pole which he achieved on Saturday 1,071 days later. The one from Honda finished fourth and, finally, after four months and a very long journey that has made him go through the operating room four times, he has finished a MotoGP race.
