CATALUNYA GRAND PRIX DELIVERS A SURPRISE FOR DI GIANNANTONIO AMONGST CHAOS
The Catalan Grand Prix at Barcelona turned into one of the most chaotic MotoGP races in recent years, featuring multiple crashes, two restarts, and a dramatic final classification that was decided only after penalties. In the end, Fabio Di Giannantonio claimed a long-awaited victory, his first since 2023, after a race filled with incidents from start to finish.
The opening phase of the race was intense. Pedro Acosta made a perfect start to take the lead ahead of Alex Márquez, while early battles unfolded behind them. Raúl Fernández and Jorge Martín were both immediately involved in aggressive overtakes, and Johann Zarco showed strong pace in the early laps.
Acosta initially controlled the race, building a small gap at the front, but the order began to shift quickly. Fernández briefly moved into the lead after a strong overtake, while Márquez recovered to second as the front group tightened. Marco Bezzecchi, who entered the race as championship leader, made an early mistake and dropped outside the top positions.
The race then changed completely on lap 12. Acosta suffered a technical issue exiting Turn 9, slowing dramatically on track. Alex Márquez, approaching at full speed, had nowhere to go and collided heavily with the KTM. The crash caused significant damage and triggered a chain reaction that involved Fernández, Di Giannantonio and Zarco. The race was red-flagged, with Fernández and Di Giannantonio able to return to the pits while Márquez was taken to hospital conscious for further checks.
A restart followed for a shortened race distance, but chaos continued almost immediately. At Turn 1, a multi-rider crash involving Luca Marini, Francesco Bagnaia and Zarco brought out another red flag. Zarco was also taken to hospital for examination.
A second restart was then given, and Acosta once again took the holeshot ahead of Martín and Fernández. However, more incidents followed. At Turn 5, Fernández made contact with Martín, sending the Aprilia rider into the gravel. Both were able to continue but dropped to the back of the field.
From that point, the race finally began to settle, with Acosta leading ahead of Joan Mir, Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio. The Italian rider gradually worked his way forward, first passing Bagnaia and then closing in on Mir and Acosta.
With five laps remaining, Di Giannantonio moved into second place and soon after took the lead with a strong move at Turn 10. From there, he controlled the race to the finish, opening a gap while the battle behind him intensified.
On the final lap, Mir briefly crossed the line in second ahead of Fermín Aldeguer and Acosta, but post-race penalties changed everything. Mir received a 16-second penalty for tyre pressure irregularities, while Ai Ogura was also penalised for last-corner contact with Acosta that had caused the KTM rider to crash.
As a result, Aldeguer was promoted to second place and Bagnaia inherited third, while Acosta’s race ended in heartbreak after being taken out in the closing corner.
Behind the podium, Fabio Quartararo, Marini, Binder, Ogura and Diogo Moreira completed the top ten. Marco Bezzecchi managed to salvage valuable points in a difficult weekend, extending his championship lead after Martín’s retirement.
The Catalan GP ended as a race defined by chaos, multiple red flags, and constant changes in outcome, producing one of the most unpredictable results in recent MotoGP history.
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