Di Giannantonio wins chaotic Barcelona race

Fabio di Giannantonio claimed VR46’s first MotoGP win in three years at the Catalan Grand Prix, but the race was overshadowed by incidents that sent both Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco to hospital.

Gresini rider Marquez was transported to hospital for check-ups following a mid-race crash with Pedro Acosta, whose KTM suddenly slowed down on lap 12 of 24 due to a suspected electronics problem.

The race was then red-flagged a second time after Zarco got tangled up in his LCR Honda after making contact with Luca Marini and Francesco Bagnaia at Turn 1.

At the second restart, di Giannantonio slowly climbed up the order on his VR46 Ducati, passing long-time leader Acosta with three laps to run to take the lead.

Honda’s Joan Mir put together a strong performance on the KTM to grab second place, while Fermin Aldeguer completed the podium for Gresini. 

Long-time race leader Acosta failed to finish the race after being taken out of the race by Trackhouse rider Ai Ogura. Aldeguer completed the podium

At the original start, Acosta held on to the lead from pole position, while Fernandez made a brilliant launch from fourth to jump Morbidelli and Marquez for second.

Acosta quickly stretched out an advantage of eight tenths aboard the Aprilia, benefiting from an early tussle between Fernandez and Marquez for second. 

But as Marquez got involved in another battle with Zarco and the fast-charging Aprilia of Jorge Martin, Fernandez ramped up the pressure on Acosta and passed him for the lead at Turn 1 on lap 5.

But the Trackhouse rider couldn’t escape up the front after taking the lead, with Acosta retaking the spot on lap 9. Marquez also followed through on lap 10, before going after Acosta for the lead.

However, just before the halfway point on lap 12, the race turned on its head as Acosta suddenly slowed down with technical problems on the run down to Turn 10. The Spaniard raised his arm to signal to the rest of the field, but Marquez had no time to take evasive action and rammed into the back of the KTM.

The impact sent the Gresini rider off the track, with his bike completely disintegrating after barrel rolling over the grass. Di Giannantonio also went down as a result of the debris, while flying bodywork pieces also hit Fernandez and Zarco.

The race was stopped immediately, with an ambulance arriving on the scene to attend to Marquez. The Spaniard was declared conscious by the medical team, but had to be taken to hospital for further check-ups.

Following a long clean-up operation, the race got underway almost half an hour later, with the starting grid based on the order on lap 11. That put Acosta back on pole position, with Fernandez and Martin joining him on the front row.

However, just moments after the restart, the race had to be red-flagged again after Zarco, Bagnaia and Marini were involved in a collision at Turn 1 that ended with the Frenchman getting tangled up in his bike.

All three riders were reported conscious, but the ambulance returned to the scene to attend to Zarco, who was later moved to the medical centre for check-ups.

After another long stoppage, the race got underway with Acosta leading again for KTM, with Martin jumping up to second ahead of Fernandez.

But as Fernandez tried to repass his countryman for second, the two Aprilias made contact, with Martin hitting the ground in his fifth crash of the weekend. 

Fernandez also slipped down the order, handing Acosta a big advantage and promoting Mir and Bagnaia to podium positions.

But Acosta could not run away at the front of the lead, with Mir and di Giannantonio – who cleared Bagnaia’s factory bike – quickly closing the gap on him.

Mir initially appeared as the fastest rider of the trio, but di Giannantonio passed him for second on lap 8 before setting after polesitter Acosta.

With three laps to run, di Giannantonio sent his bike up the inside of Acosta into Turn 10, before clearing the KTM into Turn 12 to move to the front for the first time.

Acosta struggled for performance as the race neared its conclusion, with both Mir and Aldeguer passing him at the start of the final lap. There was more drama, however, as Ogura punted Acosta off the track, picking up a three-second time penalty in lieu of a long lap.

With Acosta retiring and Ogura shuffled down to ninth, Bagnaia – who was running the medium rear tyre as opposed to softs – was elevated to fourth, with Bezzecchi classified in fifth.

The latter lacked the pace to contend at the front, dropping as low as 12th in the original race after running wide at Turn 10. However, with Martin failing to score after his collision with Fernandez, Bezzecchi ended up extending his lead at the top of the standings.

Fabio Quartararo brought home his Yamaha in sixth ahead of Honda’s Marini, while Brad Binder finished eighth for KTM despite starting the race from the pitlane.

LCR rookie Diogo Moreira completed the top 10 behind Ogura.

Martin, who remounted on his Aprilia, finished the race almost a minute down in 18th, two spots behind Fernandez.

Both Marquez and Zarco remain in hospital at the time of writing.

MotoGP Catalan GP race results

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