World championship leader Fabio Quartararo extended his lead in the standings with a dominant victory at the Catalunya Grand Prix on Sunday as home favorite Aleix Espargaro threw away a podium position with an embarrassing mistake.
Yamaha’s Quartararo, who started third on the grid behind pole-sitter Espargaro of Aprilia and Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia, stormed into the lead after the lights went out, overtaking both riders by turn one.
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Frenchman Quartararo had struggled to grip on his Yamaha during practice but once he took the lead, he made no mistakes as he pulled away and quickly built a big advantage, forcing Espargaro to focus on the battle for second with Jorge Martin.
Espargaro looked set to finish runner-up but a premature celebration on the penultimate lap — having thought the race was over — dropped him down to fifth as Pramac Racing’s Martin came second and his team mate Johann Zarco third.