Marc Marquez delivered an almost perfect performance all weekend at the Grand Prix of Aragon and managed to end a 10-year wait to achieve one feat.
The Spaniard stamped his authority down over his rivals almost immediately by finishing top in practice on Friday by a margin of nearly one second. It’s no secret that the Grand Prix of Aragon is one of his strongest events, but he still had to deliver.
Marquez qualified ahead of brother Alex, as has been the case for most of the season, and managed his pace well during the sprint. The only regret he may have left with on Saturday was that he failed to get the fastest lap in the short race.
On a track where few were able to be comfortable and consistent, Ducati were once again able to hammer home their advantage. There’s still work for their MotoGP rivals to do.
Marquez was concerned by an ‘unexpected’ Ducati problem after losing his lead immediately at the start of the sprint. He seemed to get a poor launch and adjusted very well on Sunday, with a repeat of the issue avoided.
In fact, one of his bosses, Luigi Dall’Igna, saw Marquez do something ‘very smart’ by biding his time and not rushing his comeback in the sprint. He desperately wanted to avoid making a race-ending mistake, which was a good approach.
Marc Marquez ends 10-year feat with incredible Grand Prix of Aragon performance
Sunday’s race seemed to be a far more controlled and manageable affair, with no overtaking required and no threat from anyone behind him.
Marquez makes MotoGP ‘boring’ according to motorcycle legend Kevin Schwantz, who believes that the combination of him and Ducati is tough to watch at times.
That was proven once again in Aragon. The six-time champion led every session in the weekend and was in imperious form.
It marks the first occasion since the 2015 German Grand Prix that a MotoGP rider has topped every session in a weekend.
Coincidentally, the last rider to achieve the same feat? That was also Marquez, during his Honda days. 2015 was also the only season in the 2010s that he competed in and didn’t claim the title.
Marc Marquez may have sent Pedro Acosta a message at Aragon
After contact on lap one in Saturday’s sprint, Marquez may have sent Pedro Acosta a message in one of their first real tussles on track.
He wasn’t prepared to just let his younger fellow countryman pass, and showed that there’s going to be no handing over of the old-guard any time soon.
Mat Oxley jumped to Marquez’s defence after he stuck his elbow out on his rival. He thinks that it was a justified move.
KTM’s performance isn’t where they would like it to be and they aren’t likely to be competing with Ducati too much across the rest of the season, so sadly for Acosta, it’s a storyline which is likely to fizzle out soon.
