He Motorcycle World Championship arrives in Barcelona for the dispute from this Friday of the Grand Prix of Catalonia, the eleventh appointment of the calendar in which I’m sorry Bagnaia (Ducati) seeks to increase its income in the MotoGP World Championship at the home of eight-time champion Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda), who wants to make up for a turbulent year, while Pedro Acosta (Kalex) and Daniel Holgado (KTM) will try to consolidate their leadership in Moto2 and Moto3.
After an excellent Austrian Grand Prix in which he managed to win in the sprint race and in the long run, Bagnaia arrives in Barcelona with an income of 62 points of advantage over the Spanish Jorge Martin (Ducati) his most immediate pursuer, while Acosta increased his lead over Tony Arbolino (Kalex) to 12 points, as did Holgado who has 26 over Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna).
Barcelona, the city of motorcycles, lives the GP of Catalonia euphoric
The transalpine runner lands on a circuit in which does not know victory in any categorybut the dominance that he is showing this year in circuits where he had not done so before, added to the superiority of his mount, makes him the favourite.
Ducati has not known the victory in Montmeló since 2018, but in 2023 the options of being on the top of the podium again multiply for the Italians. The second in the championship, Jorge Martín, will seek to make up for an “improvable” weekend at the Red Bull Ring marked by crashes and penalties on a circuit he knows well, but in which he has not won either.
Martín is only six points ahead of the Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati), the big surprise so far this season, which continues to lead with a solidity unbecoming of a rider with so little experience. The one from the VR46 will have double motivation, since this week he has announced the renewal with his team, dispelling the rumors of his departure to Pramac.
They will not be the only Ducati that could be on top, the Spanish Alex Marquez will seek to decorate his record with victory in the premier classthe one he lacks after winning here in Moto2 in 2019 and Moto3 in 2014.
By the older of the Márquez, who has achieved three victories in Montmeló, where whenever he has finished the race he has done so on the podium. However, the bad streak he is going through, with his motorcycle’s performance far from optimal, They rule him out of victory despite the good steps in the last GP.
The great alternative to the Ducati will once again be the KTM, the Austrian brand has a solid leader in the South African Brad Binder, fourth overall and who, as already seen in Austria, can be very close to the Ducati in almost all the races. His partner, the Australian Jack Miller, is going through a bad streak, but his speed prevents him from being ruled out.
One step below but with options are the Aprilia of Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales. The Spaniards know the circuit perfectly and the extra that the public can give them will be a determining factor, with a view to achieving the second victory of the Noale brand in MotoGP.
In these times of dominance of European motorcycles over Japanese ones, it places one of the riders who is best at Montmeló, the Frenchman Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) far from the favourites. ‘El Diablo’ won in 2020 and 2022, but this season he has only achieved one podium, third place in the GP of the Americas and he is increasingly uncomfortable on the golden wing’s motorcycle.
Acosta looks to increase his lead and continue his streak of podiums
After a great weekend in Austria, where he could not get the victory, but he controlled the race very well to be second behind Celestino Vietti (Kalex), increasing the lead in the World Championship to twelve points over Arbolino, who after his masterful start of the year, he is suffering more in this mid-season stretch.
the one of Mazarron He has been on the podium in the last five races and will seek the sixth on a circuit where he has not been able to do so since he arrived at the World Championship. In 2021 he was seventh in Moto3 and in 2022, his first year in the intermediate category, he made a mistake and could only finish in seventh position.
Holgado seeks to establish himself as a leader at home
The appointment at the Red Bull Ring in Moto3 brought one of the most even races in history, el turco Deniz Oncu (KTM) he beat Holgado by only 5 thousandthswho despite the defeat increased his income with Sasaki, putting a margin of more than one race with the Japanese, who despite being the fastest, is not being able to be regular.
In addition to the three protagonists of the previous race, the Barcelona circuit, the usual ground for Spanish victories in the small displacement, opens the range of favorites to riders such as Adrián Ortolá (KTM), Jaume Masiá (Honda) or the Spanish-Colombian David Alonso (GasGas).
2023-08-31 20:36:51
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