Espargaro triumphs in the Barcelona sprint

In his home sprint race, Aleix Espargaro drove confidently to the front in Catalonia. World champion Francesco Bagnaia had to settle for second place.

September 02, 2023

From: tu/apa

Despite being in pole position, Francesco Bagnaia was unable to convert his advantage in the sprint into a victory. The Italian had to defend himself from the attacks of Jorge Martin and Maverick Vinales right from the start, before local hero Aleix Espargaro, who was in fourth place, made up places lap after lap. On lap seven the time had come and the Spaniard overtook the World Cup leader out of the slipstream in turn one. Espargaro never relinquished the lead.

After catching up, KTM rider Brad Binder took fourth place. The South African, who started the race from ninth place on the grid, narrowly missed the podium on Saturday, which was occupied by Bagnaia and Vinales behind Espargaro. World champion Bagnaia further extended his World Championship lead.

Before the Grand Prix on Sunday (14.00 p.m.), the Italian Bagnaia is now 66 points ahead of the Spaniard Jorge Martin (Ducati), who came fifth on Saturday. The second KTM rider Jack Miller didn't get past 16th place.