Two in a row! Alex Marquez takes Honda’s 850th premier class podium at MotoGP 2020 Round 11, Gran Premio de Aragón

Alex Marquez at Aragon Grand Prix
Alex Marquez at Aragon Grand Prix

Spain, October 19, 2020 (GPN): 11th to second for Alex Marquez and a first dry weather podium in the premier class with another faultless race, battling for a first victory to the end.

Alex Marquez continued his fine form on home ground with fourth in morning Warm Up, again showing consistent pace aboard his Honda RC213V. When the lights went out, Alex leapt forward and immediately gained a handful of places to move into the top ten. Alex briefly battled with Andrea Dovizioso, the rookie quickly dispatching the Ducati rider and continuing his march forward with Miller next in line.

Stefan Bradl at Aragon Grand Prix

Race-leading pace saw Alex as the fastest rider on track, cleaving his way through the pair of Petronas Yamahas and moving up into podium battle for the second week in a row. Reliving his Moto3 and Moto2 days, Alex Marquez found himself battling with Alex Rins for victory and pushed the Suzuki rider to the line. A moment into Turn One on the final lap saw Alex ease off slightly and take a well-earned second podium finish. The podium is Alex’s first dry weather podium in MotoGP and Honda’s 850th in the premier class. 20 more points for second place moves Alex to 12th in the overall standing and level with Brad Binder on 67 points in the Rookie of the Year standings.

From the back row of the grid, Stefan Bradl had a steady race to 17th position. Bradl once again found himself fighting with championship contender Fabio Quartararo, passing the French rider in the closing stages of the race. With another race next week, Stefan is aiming to comeback stronger and return to fight for the points as he refines the setting of his RC213V.

Sunday in Aragon also saw Honda become the first manufacturer to achieve wins with 100 different riders across all classes of Grand Prix racing as Jaume Masia took victory in Moto3.

The countdown now begins for the Teruel GP, October 23 to 25, at the MotorLand Aragon circuit. Alex Marquez has been able to achieve impressive improvements between back-to-back races at the same circuits so far this year and will be aiming to continue the trend.

Alex Marquez (2nd)

“Honestly I didn’t expect to get a podium from starting in 11th but I was able to recover well. I found myself in a good position, so we did what we could! I knew I could take quite good care of my tyres for the end of the race. I enjoyed every overtake, but I was really on the limit with the front tyre. Even so, it’s great to be back on the podium and to do it in the dry, we really showed our potential all weekend. We still need to work on Qualifying, but we can enjoy what we achieved today. I want to again say thank you to the Repsol Honda Team for believing in me, supporting me, guiding me and never giving up. They gave me an amazing bike and I enjoyed the whole race.”

 

Stefan Bradl (17th)

“It was an exciting race, starting last was a disaster but we were able to make up some positions and have some good fights. We have been working with the geometry of the bike and we are improving, step by step. Our pace in Warm Up was not so bad but unfortunately it didn’t lead to a better result in terms of position. We’re making progress, so coming back next week is a positive thing to let us try and improve again. Congratulations again to Alex for another great podium, the Repsol Honda Team is doing a great job.”

 

Aragon Grand Prix

 

Pos.RiderNumPointsTeamConstructorTime/Gap
1RINS ALEX4225Team Suzuki EcstarSuzuki41’54.391
2MARQUEZ ALEX7320Repsol Honda TeamHonda0.263
3MIR JOAN3616Team Suzuki EcstarSuzuki2.644
4VINALES MAVERICK1213Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGPYamaha2.88
5NAKAGAMI TAKAAKI3011LCR HondaHonda4.57
6MORBIDELLI FRANCO2110Petronas Yamaha SRTYamaha4.756
7DOVIZIOSO ANDREA49Ducati TeamDucati8.639
8CRUTCHLOW CAL358LCR HondaHonda8.913
9MILLER JACK437Pramac RacingDucati9.39
10ZARCO JOHANN56Esponsorama RacingDucati9.617
11BINDER BRAD335Red Bull KTM Factory RacingKTM13.2
12ESPARGARO POL444Red Bull KTM Factory RacingKTM13.689
13ESPARGARO ALEIX413Aprilia Racing Team GresiniAprilia14.598
14LECUONA IKER272Red Bull KTM Tech 3KTM15.291
15PETRUCCI DANILO91Ducati TeamDucati15.941
16OLIVEIRA MIGUEL880Red Bull KTM Tech 3KTM18.284
17BRADL STEFAN60Repsol Honda TeamHonda20.136
18QUARTARARO FABIO200Petronas Yamaha SRTYamaha21.498
19SMITH BRADLEY380Aprilia Racing Team GresiniAprilia25.3
20RABAT TITO530Esponsorama RacingDucati25.558
21BAGNAIA FRANCESCO630Pramac RacingDucatiDNF
ENDS

About the Author

Sachin Murdeshwar
Sachin Murdeshwar is a Sr.Journalist and Columnist in several Mainline Newspapers and Portals.He is an ardent traveller and likes to explore destinations to the core.

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