Since its debut on the motorcycle racing calendar 11 years ago, the Aragon circuit has been friendly to Spanish riders. Knowing this, MotoGP leader Fabio Quartararo tries to break the Spanish spell. The Frenchman is closer to claiming the crown in the prestigious competition and Sunday’s race could be his only obstacle to victory.
The Yamaha rider already has five wins this season and is now 65 points ahead of champion Joan Mir (Suzuki). But Aragon is the home race of the Spaniards, not least of the six-time world champion Marc Marquez.
“Aragon is probably the worst track on the calendar, not for the Yamaha bike, but for me,” said Quartararo. “I’ve been fast there before – I took pole position last year – but I’ve never really been consistent.”
“So it would be a great thing to fix that. I want to learn on this track and be consistent there too.”
With six races remaining, a decent performance by the 22-year-old, even if it doesn’t lead to victory on Sunday, would be a good way to win the title. Behind Mir are another Frenchman Johann Zarco (Ducati-Pramac) and the Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), 69 and 70 points behind Quartararo, respectively. Neither Zarco nor Bagnaia have won MotoGP so far and their Ducatis usually struggle on the Spanish track with their last win in 2010. Mir’s Suzukis and teammate Alex Rins pose a greater threat, as demonstrated by Rins’ win last year . However, Suzuki has yet to prevail this season and has not yet won a race.
Marquez was born not far from the Aragon Circuit and considers it his home circuit. That level of comfort with the environment was confirmed with five wins in MotoGP, but he’s struggling to assert himself since breaking his right arm in the first Grand Prix of the 2020 season. The Honda rider had three surgeries and his arm is still in pain. He holds the sad record for most falls since the start of the season. He is currently twelfth in the championship, 147 points behind Quartararo, his hopes for a seventh title are zero but he will be eager to prove to himself – and the MotoGP world – that he is still the elite of the sport heard. He could have a key ally on his home track who is one of the few that runs counterclockwise, which puts less strain on Marquez’s injured arm. It was the same layout at the Sachsenring in Germany in June, where Marquez took his only win of the season. “It’s great to be back in MotorLand after missing the race in 2020 and hopefully we can put on a good show for the fans,” said Marquez. “In the last few races we have been closer to the top so the goal is to keep that up and see what is possible on Sunday.”
Around 20,000 people will be allowed on the track and will no doubt keep an eye out for another Spaniard, Maverick Vinales, who will make his Aprilia debut after leaving Yamaha under a cloud. Yamaha suspended Vinales in August on suspicion of attempting to damage their motorcycle at the Styrian Grand Prix. Vinales, who has won nine races in his career, joins an Aprilia team that showed signs of rising from mediocrity with Aleix Espargaro’s third place finish in the British Grand Prix.
In the other categories, the Australian Remy Gardner will try to extend his lead over the Spaniard Raul Fernandez in Moto2. In Moto3, 17-year-old Pedro Acosta, who has already won five times in his first season in this category, wants to catch up from a poor performance at Silverstone and extend his lead at the top of the table.