MotoGP battle heads to Aragon

From a Misano painted red by Jorge Lorenzo’s (Ducati) pole and teammate Andrea Dovizioso’s victory, it’s time to pack up and head for MotorLand Aragon for more MotoGP action from September 21-23 – where the red may well remain.

However, the track is a venue much loved by championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), and the stands will likely be filled with the red flag of the 93. Marquez has such an advantage in the title fight that it could be the faithful’s last chance to see him race on home turf before becoming a seven-time world champion, too – and his speed at the venue has been unrivalled. On pole in four of the five MotoGP races he’s competed in at MotorLand, Marquez has three wins there and two DNFs. A big ask for those on the chase to overhaul, but failure is no longer an option if they hope to reel in the reigning champion.

“Aragón is one of my favourite circuits on the calendar, a track where I normally feel at ease and I can ride very well,” said Marquez.

“I look forward to racing in front of my home crowd, and this year will be special because it will be the first time that a circuit dedicates a corner to me, and I’m very excited about that.

“Last year we arrived there equal on points in the championship, but this season we have an advantage. This doesn’t mean that it’s over though; on the contrary, we must keep working hard because it seems that Ducati are fast and consistent at every track.

“We must find something that allows us to fight with them as well as possible. In Aragón we’ll try and be competitive from the beginning. We’ll try to find soon a good base and prepare well for the weekend.”

As with many venues fairly new to the calendar, a close rival to Marquez’ record is Lorenzo. The No. 99 won in 2014 and again in 2015, took a podium in his first season on a Ducati and had incredible speed at a recent test there. Will he be a key presence at the top once again? After crashing out so close to the end of the race at Misano, the stakes are a little higher to get a result but there’s little championship pressure. Lorenzo will also get a lot of support racing at home – and so too will Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), another former winner at the venue and one who was much closer to the fight at the front again last time out.

“After the Misano race I managed to turn the page relatively easily: I realised where we went wrong and drew some interesting conclusions,” said Lorenzo.

“Now we’re off to MotorLand, a circuit where I think we can capitalize on the strong points of our bike and where last year I was able to get onto the podium. The test we did three weeks ago was very positive and now we are back here well-prepared and with very clear ideas.

“After a crash you go back onto the track in the next race even more determined to do well and we will demonstrate that we can continue to fight until the end.”

Last time out though, the spoils belonged to Andrea Dovizioso. Making his way to the front and then managing the gap to perfection, the Italian’s win was a statement and further showed how competitive the Ducati now is at any track – not just those where success has come before. But can that translate at MotorLand? It was a tougher weekend for ‘DesmoDovi’ last year at the venue, and it will be key to see if that will still be true in 2018.

“MotorLand Aragón is a really nice track, rather unusual and totally different from Misano where I won for the first time in MotoGP two weeks ago, but it’s also a track where we have traditionally always struggled a bit,” said Dovizioso.

“In the test at the end of August however we lapped really well and I think that this time we can fight for the win. I expect to be quick, but Jorge and Marc also go particularly well on this track so it’s not going to be easy.”

A tougher weekend was the name of the game for Movistar Yamaha MotoGP come Sunday at Misano, too – with higher temperatures hitting both Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi. Rossi was the home hero last time out, and now that switches to Viñales’ honour – something he’ll be hoping will bring a little more form.

In 2017 at Aragon, the two men battled it out to the line despite Rossi coming back just weeks after breaking his leg, and Viñales ultimately took the upper hand – but only just. Finishing the race fourth and fifth, it was a better weekend for the team in the latter part of the season and they’ll want that to remain true this time around.

The fight for top Independent Team rider, meanwhile, remains close. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) leads the way by a margin after his impressive pace and podium at Misano, but Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) remain close enough if the cards fall their way: Crutchlow has 119pts and the two on his tail 110. None had a big race to remember last season, so it’s tough to predict, as ever.

Aussie Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Ducati) crashed at Misano after starting from the front row, so he’ll be buoyed by his one-lap pace, at least. Miller was 13th at Aragon last year.