MotoGP riders react to chaotic Catalunya GP

6 days ago 11

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Round Six – Catalunya

Fabio Di Giannantonio left Catalunya with his first MotoGP victory since 2023, but few inside the Barcelona paddock were talking only about the result after one of the most bruising Grand Prix Sundays in recent memory.

The Catalan GP was stopped twice following separate incidents involving Álex Márquez and Johann Zarco, while the final classification was later reshaped by penalties, including Joan Mir dropping from the podium and Pecco Bagnaia being promoted to third.

Below is a collection of rider and team reactions from the Catalunya weekend, covering the race restarts, the crashes, Di Giannantonio’s win, Jack Miller’s point-scoring ride, Yamaha’s ongoing drive issues, Aprilia’s mixed emotions and the tyre-pressure controversy that affected the final results.

Fabio Di Giannantonio celebrates Catalan GP victory with the VR46 Racing Team.

MotoGP paddock reacts to bruising Catalunya weekend

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P1

“Today, we’ve all been lucky! The first crash was terrifying, so it means a lot to me knowing that everyone is more or less ok, this means that today is a great day for motorsports. After the incident I was involved in, I felt well, and the team helped me a lot in trying to restart in the best way possible. It’s never easy to come back on track without knowing how the other riders are, but I needed to do a click. Obviously, I am very happy with the win; we’ve been having an amazing performance throughout the weekend, with excellent preparation. Yesterday, we missed out on the win, but today we got it. This morning, during the Warm Up, I was feeling well, and we knew that today we would have a great chance. At the restart, with soft tyres, I had fewer expectations than with the medium, but we managed to do a mega race, so we were in great shape! I want to thank all the team and the partners for this first win with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team!”

Fabio Di Giannantonio poses with the MotoGP winner’s trophy beside his VR46 Ducati.

Fermin Aldeguer – P2

“It’s never easy to race in situations like this. Obviously, we are professional riders, and we know how to separate emotions, but it still helped me to know from the team that at that moment, the news coming in about Alex (and the other riders) was positive. We did a good race, in many ways unexpected, but we took twenty very important points. We are not yet fully fit physically, but morale is high after this podium. Now we are waiting for Alex to come back to us at 100%.”

Close-up of Fermin Aldeguer celebrating second place in the Catalan MotoGP race.

Marco Bezzecchi – P4

“First of all, I hope that Álex Márquez and Johann Zarco are okay. Álex’s crash was pretty scary, with pieces of the bike flying all over the place and even hitting several riders – including me, even though I was farther back. Zarco’s crash was unfortunately also a serious incident. Overall, it was a weekend of struggling for us, but considering everything that took place, we were still able to take home a good result.”

Fabio Quartararo – P5

“We did 12 laps in the first race, and we left rubber on the track, so that automatically improved our grip for the third race. I started the second race with a new soft tyre, but I had to reuse it for the restart because I had no more new ones left. I could go faster in race 3 than in race 1, but was blocked behind Marco [Bezzecchi]. It was difficult today, but especially the second race. I try to avoid looking at the TV screens in these situations, but when you cross Turn 10 and see Álex [Marquez] on the ground like that, you don’t feel like restarting the race. I had goosebumps: the tyre and bike flying… That’s not easy, but it’s part of our job.”

Luca Marini – P6

“I would like to extend my best wishes to Zarco and Alex, especially with Zarco, it was really hard to see his crash. I know that the medical staff all did a good job to help both of them as quickly as possible. I have been in situations like that, and it is not something I wish anyone to experience. As for our race, it was the result of hard work, and I have to say a big thank you to Pipi and all my crew, as we really did a great job to turn around the weekend. In the third start, I had to use the spare bike, and the clutch was brand new, so we didn’t make the best start. Even like this, I was able to make good progress and catch the riders ahead. Congratulations to Joan, he did a great race and I hope that it gives an extra boost to everyone in the team!”

Brad Binder – P7

“I took the spare bike after we had the problem on the warm-up lap and was just trying to make some laps. Unfortunately, we had a red flag. On the restart, I was up to 8th from 20th: I think it was one of my best starts ever, but then we had another restart. I made it up to 9th but managed to blow Turn 1. I had to cut back and then work on catching the dudes in front of me that were fighting for 5th. It’s a pity…also that I qualified 8th and had to start from 20th twice. A weekend where we were unlucky but then also fortunate to have those starts.”

Ai Ogura – P8

“It was a strange Sunday with three starts. The last one was quite OK for us – we had good pace. Towards the end, we were able to catch a few riders in the front, but the last lap, last corner, was just me being stupid, and I shouldn’t have done that move. At the end, I took one rider out and put myself in ninth. That wasn’t good at all. I just went to see Pedro (Acosta) in his motorhome and apologised to him. We are OK, but I just feel so stupid. I don’t like what I did.”

Diogo Moreira – P9

“Today’s race was quite difficult because it is never easy to know that other riders have crashed and then have to mentally reset. I tried to isolate myself and maintain my concentration, and in the end, we secured a good result. Most importantly, all the riders involved in the crashes, including my teammate, are okay.”

Franco Morbidelli – P10

“I am happy this Sunday ended. The incident was terrifying, and I hope everyone is ok. Regarding our team, it was a positive Sunday because Diggia won, many congratulations to Fabio! Talking about our garage side, the race didn’t finish I the best way, but we knew that my potential was not that much high to try to attack the top positions. In the first ‘races’ I was there, but at the third start I made a bad start, my bike was jumping, and everyone overtook me. From that point, I tried to bring the bike to the finish line in the best position possible. It’s a pity, because we had the potential to be more than twelfth.”

Maverick Viñales – P11

“Having to do three race starts today was not ideal for my shoulder, due to needing to warm up each time, but the rhythm was good, and the bike balance was nice. My biggest issue is that I’m not carrying enough corner speed, so then I destroy the tyres, but the team had a good strategy, and I could complete the race, which for me was the most important thing. We have plenty of data, and now it will be very important to work on the details. The plan is to do some long runs tomorrow to accumulate more laps. My goal is to be back to full strength as soon as possible, and Mugello will be another good test as it’s very physical. Ultimately, I just need track time.”

Augusto Fernandez – P12

“It was tough to manage the situation after the two red flags, but especially after the first one, because Álex [Marquez] was knocked out and that was not easy. You then have to focus on yourself, knowing you will have to race again and do your job. I was a bit frustrated because I missed out on fighting with Toprak. I did improve my lap times a bit, but he made a very good step and was close to the other Yamahas. In the end, I’m still happy with my weekend. I think I’m closing the gap in what’s only my second race this season. I will be testing tomorrow. This is good for me. I will work some more on the settings, and then we will see.”

Joan Mir – P13

“A really tough day today, and first of all, I want to wish the best to Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco, their condition is the most important thing. I made a great start to the race, and I knew with this, I had the chance to fight for something great. The focus was to stay right with Acosta and then see what happened in the last laps, it got quite exciting there at the end! I have to say thank you to my team for their work over the weekend, especially today. It’s days like these when the team can make a big difference. The result on track shows the potential of myself and the bike, and I hope that we can show this speed at more and more circuits. The penalty is a shame, but it doesn’t take away from the speed that we showed and where we crossed the line.”

Provisional Catalan MotoGP podium with Joan Mir, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Fermin Aldeguer before penalties.

Alex Rins – P14

“When these kinds of things happen, for me, the race becomes secondary. When I saw Álex [Marquez] on the floor, my heart broke. I was really affected. I was trying to breathe a lot in the box, because it’s not nice to see a mate on the floor. In the end, we’re all humans, so it was really tough. We struggled a lot here this weekend. The pace was not bad today, it was quite acceptable, but we’re not where we want to be.”

Jack Miller – P15

“It was one of those days. In the first part of the race, I actually felt quite good, and we were being pretty conservative with the tyre management. I could see the riders around me starting to struggle a little more while we still had a decent pace. After the first restart, we changed strategy because I wasn‘t fully comfortable with the rear tyre feeling, and for the final start, we went with the medium rear. In the end, we were probably too conservative for what effectively became a shorter race. The track conditions improved a lot, and we simply lacked acceleration on corner exit compared to the others. The biggest issue remains that when you pick the bike up and open the throttle, we are still losing too much drive on the exits. That makes it very difficult to attack or defend positions during the race. As for the incidents today, obviously, our thoughts are with Alex Márquez and Johann Zarco. Seeing crashes like that is never easy for anybody on the grid, and we all just hope both riders recover as quickly and as well as possible.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu – P16

“First of all, I am really sad for Alex Márquez and Johann Zarco because they both had very big crashes today. When something like that happens, it is not easy to fully focus again on the race because, first of all, you are worried about the riders. I immediately asked the team for updates because from the track, the crashes looked very serious. The important thing is that both are conscious and receiving the best care possible. As for my race, honestly, the result is not positive because I am trying my maximum, but at the moment, this is where we are. On tracks with very low grip, like Barcelona, we still struggle a lot, especially with turning and rear grip. I lose too much time when opening the throttle because the bike does not turn enough and I end up waiting before I can accelerate properly. Tomorrow‘s test will therefore be very important for us because we need to focus especially on improving turning and rear grip. Little by little, I am understanding the bike better, but we still need to make another step.”

Raul Fernandez – P17

“First of all, I feel I was very lucky because when I saw the chaos on the back straight, I felt some impact on my body. My finger feels quite bad and I was also hit by something on the muscle on the chest. It was a big impact, but I’m lucky because I feel good. It was a crazy day – the incident with Jorge (Martin) was difficult to understand in the beginning – when I was in turn four, I saw I got a really good speed and when I arrived in turn five I was ready to overtake him. In the moment I was braking, I saw he was braking too early, and I attacked him. When I was almost past him, he picked the bike up a little bit – he saw me trying to overtake him, and he did the same as yesterday, he released the brake and went back into the corner. I feel bad, first of all, for Aprilia because they don’t deserve this result for both of us, and I feel really bad for our team. But, I don’t think I did a mistake – I didn’t arrive in the corner with too much speed, not over the line – I was just overtaking him, but we touched and went both in the gravel.”

Raul Fernandez rides through the gravel after contact with Jorge Martin at Catalunya.

Pedro Acosta – DNF

“It looks like we had an electronic problem in the first race. That’s it. This is what happened. I just want to send all possible strength to Alex [Marquez] and Johann [Zarco] because this is what matters today. I don’t know if it was necessary to make a third race today. I always say the show must go on…but we are the ones who make the show. We didn’t need that third start. My problems today are not important.”

Jorge Martin – DNF

“Whatever I did today is secondary – the most important thing is that Álex and Johann are okay. It was an extremely dangerous day and having to go through three restarts seems excessive to me. We’re only human and, after seeing that type of accident, it isn’t easy to focus again.”

Enea Bastianini – DNS

“It has been a very difficult weekend for me. My speed was good from the beginning on Friday, and after warm-up this morning things looked positive for the race. I had a bad start, but I was trying to regain positions and was very close to the group of riders fighting over seventh place when I lost power, and that was that. The main thing today, though, is hoping that Álex Márquez is ok – I saw his accident from the outside and it was brutal. I don’t know what his condition is yet, but I wish him all the very best for a speedy recovery.”

Team Managers

Pablo Nieto – VR46 Team Manager

“First of all, I hope that all the riders involved in today’s incidents are okay, because the crashes were terrifying. We hope to have them on track in the next race. Regarding our team, it was an incredible weekend! Yesterday’s third place was amazing. Today, we won the race after all that happened with the two red flags. Fabio was involved in the first incident. But when you have all the adrenaline and that willing to win… we just have to congratulate him because today he made the difference. Congratulations to all the team! With Franco, we made a little step, and it was positive to start from the front row. I think this is the right direction to re-gain confidence. I am convinced that little by little we are back where he deserves.”

Massimo Rivola – Aprilia Racing

“This was a weekend where Aprilia did not shine, especially on Saturday, although I think we had a good pace in the race to make a play for the positions that count. However, I believe that any discussion about results should be back-burnered after seeing Álex’s terrible accident and Johann’s as well, which was just as serious. We wish both of them a speedy recovery, and we hope they’ll be able to get back on track soon. We have an important test tomorrow ahead of our home GP. We’ll do our best to be ready.”

Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager

“A really tough day, and our expectations were a lot different to how everything finished. Our weekend had started positively and the Sprint went well but too many things happened today. It’s time to analyse all that happened, and it’s important that we can test tomorrow. Pedro’s performance was really strong all weekend, but we also need to be happy with Brad’s Grand Prix from Friday. I think we have made steps across the board, and we need to continue this trend in Mugello. We send our best wishes to Alex and Johann and hope they have a speedy recovery.”

Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Aprilia Team Principal

“It has been a busy weekend. Sunday’s race was a bit strange with two red flags, but luckily, no big consequences for the riders who crashed, and we wish all the best to Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco. We had three restarts of the race, and actually, we were in a good spot with Raul. He was fast all weekend and qualified in fourth position – at the last restart, he started from second position in the first row, but then there was a race accident with Jorge Martin during the first lap. They both went out, and unfortunately, Raul’s race pretty much finished there. We also have to say that we got a penalty at the end for the low tyre pressure. He was in 16th, so it didn’t change anything for us as the race was already compromised by that crash at the beginning. Ai was able to recover at the end with an excellent race – he qualified only in 18th position but, then, at the last restart, he started in P11 and was there close to the podium until the last lap. Here, he tried to overtake Pedro Acosta in the last corner, and Pedro unfortunately crashed, and Ai has been penalised with three seconds, so we dropped to eighth position, as there are some tyre pressure penalties being handed out. He went to apologise to KTM and Pedro Acosta for what happened, but it’s a race – Ai is a racer, he tried, and I think that’s racing. Anyway, he was able to do a great race. A lot of things happened today, we scored some points with Ai so we keep going and move on to the next race.”

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha Team Director

“Let me start by saying that we are all relieved that there were no more serious injuries in today’s incidents and that our thoughts are with Álex Marquez and Johann Zarco. A double restart is always tense, but our riders showed their professionalism. Though they’re not involved, it takes a special kind of mindset to push 100% after seeing such incidents happen. Still, Fabio and Álex were able to keep their focus and finish this difficult weekend with the best results possible. Tomorrow we will be back at this track for the one-day IRTA test, which will allow us to collect some extra data. Álex came under investigation for tyre pressure after the race ended. It was due to a human error, a calculation mistake after two restarts. We accept the penalty.”

Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“Well, today was a chaotic race in Barcelona with two red flags. Firstly, I want to wish a speedy recovery to Johann Zarco and Álex Márquez, who have been involved in two nasty crashes. We’ve been somewhat unlucky with Bastianini being forced to retire due to a technical issue. On the other side of the garage, Maverick’s main target was to finish the race. After a cautious start, he just tried to keep the pace and managed to overtake a few riders. After all the crashes, he was P13, and because of a few tyre pressure penalties, he was promoted to P11. Now it’s time to prepare for the last test before heading to Mugello for the next round in two weeks.”

Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha Team Director

“Obviously, this was a very complicated race, but honestly, the most important thing is that both Alex Márquez and Johann Zarco are relatively okay. After everything that happened today, that is really the only truly positive aspect of the weekend. As for the sporting result, it is a real pity because due to the tyre pressure regulation, we lost several important points and dropped down the classification with both riders. In the end, Jack was still able to retain one point, but overall it is disappointing because those points are important both for the riders and for the whole team working on this project. Honestly, after everything that happened during the race, I struggle to see much sense in applying this rule in situations like this. But of course, it is not my role to decide these things. When you have multiple interruptions, restarts and such a short race distance, predicting and managing tyre pressure becomes extremely complicated. This time it went against us, but now we simply need to move forward and focus on tomorrow‘s test.”

Piero Taramasso – Michelin

“This weekend in Barcelona once again confirmed just how complex this circuit is. From Friday onwards, we encountered very low grip levels, a ‘green’ track after the rain and cool temperatures that made tyre warm-up particularly challenging. The conditions then gradually evolved, and teams were able to refine their set-ups. The Medium front combined with the Soft rear became the preferred choice for the Tissot Sprint, while the entire field selected the Medium front and Medium rear combination for the race. The majority of riders then returned to Saturday’s configuration, with a Soft rear tyre, following the very first neutralisation. Despite these very particular circumstances and the frightening moments involving Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco, we witnessed an extremely high level of performance throughout the weekend, including a new top-speed record set by Pedro Acosta of more than 363 km/h. This once again demonstrates Michelin tyres’ ability to deliver grip, stability and performance on a circuit as demanding as Barcelona.”

The next Grand Prix of the 2026 MotoGP season will take place in Italy at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, where the Brembo Grand Prix of Italy will be held from May 29 to 31, 2026.

Catalunya MotoGP Race Results

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time/Gap

1	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	20m06.243
2	F. Aldeguer	Duc	+1.466
3	F. Bagnaia	Duc	+4.320
4	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	+4.679
5	F. Quartararo	Yam	+4.876
6	L. Marini	Hon	+4.971
7	B. Binder	KTM	+5.137
8	A. Ogura	Apr	+5.377
9	D. Moreira	Hon	+6.839
10	F. Morbidelli	Duc	+7.160
11	M. Viñales	KTM	+10.147
12	A. Fernandez	Yam	+16.245
13	J. Mir	Hon	+17.250
14	A. Rins	Yam	+22.916
15	J. Miller	Yam	+26.452
16	T. Razgatlioglu	Yam	+27.808
17	R. Fernandez	Apr	+31.066
Not Classified
NC	J. Martin	Apr	DNF
NC	P. Acosta	KTM	DNF

Catalunya MotoGP Top Speeds

Pos

Rider

Bike

Speed

Event

1	P. Acosta	KTM	363.6	Q2
2	E. Bastianini	KTM	361.2	Q1
3	A. Ogura	Apr	358.8	Sprint
4	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	358.8	Race
5	J. Zarco	Hon	358.8	PRA
6	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	358.8	Q2
7	J. Martin	Apr	358.8	Q2
8	J. Mir	Hon	358.8	Q2
9	D. Moreira	Hon	357.6	Sprint
10	F. Bagnaia	Duc	357.6	WUP
11	B. Binder	Ktm	357.6	WUP
12	A. Marquez	Duc	356.4	WUP
13	M. Viñales	KTM	356.4	WUP
14	F. Morbidelli	Duc	356.4	Q1
15	R. Fernandez	Apr	356.4	Q2
16	L. Marini	Hon	355.2	WUP
17	A. Rins	Yam	355.2	Q1
18	F. Aldeguer	Duc	355.2	WUP
19	F. Quartararo	Yam	354.0	WUP
20	T. Razgatlioglu	Yam	354.0	WUP
21	J. Miller	Yam	354.0	WUP
22	A. Fernandez	Yam	350.6	WUP

2026 MotoGP Championship Standings

Pos

Rider

Points

1	M. Bezzecchi	142
2	J. Martin	127
3	F. Di Giannantonio	116
4	P. Acosta	92
5	A. Ogura	77
6	R. Fernandez	68
7	A. Marquez	67
8	F. Bagnaia	63
9	M. Marquez	57
10	F. Aldeguer	47
11	L. Marini	43
12	E. Bastianini	39
13	F. Quartararo	37
14	B. Binder	37
15	F. Morbidelli	36
16	J. Zarco	34
17	D. Moreira	17
18	J. Mir	11
19	A. Rins	9
20	M. Viñales	5
21	A. Fernandez	4
22	T. Razgatlioglu	4
23	J. Miller	2
24	J. Folger
25	M. Pirro

2026 MotoGP Calendar


Rnd	Date	Event	Circuit
1	01 Mar	Thai	Chang International Circuit
2	22 Mar	Brazil*	Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna
3	29 Mar	US	Circuit of the Americas
4	26 Apr	Spain**	Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto
5	10 May	France	Le Mans
6	17 May	Catalonia	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
7	31 May	Italy	Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello
8	07 Jun	Hungary	Balaton Park Circuit
9	21 Jun	Czech	Automotodrom Brno
10	28 Jun	Netherlands	TT Circuit Assen
11	12 Jul	Germany	Sachsenring
12	09 Aug	GB	Silverstone Circuit
13	30 Aug	Aragon	MotorLand Aragon
14	13 Sep	San Marino	Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
15	20 Sep	Austria	Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
16	04 Oct	Japan	Mobility Resort Motegi
17	11 Oct	Indonesia	Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit
18	25 Oct	Australia	Phillip Island
19	01 Nov	Malaysia	Petronas Sepang International Circuit
20	08 Nov	Qatar	Lusail International Circuit
21	22 Nov	Portugal	Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
22	29 Nov	Valencia	Circuit Ricardo Tormo

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