Red flags and tyre pressure penalties the theme of the CatalanGP
Circuit de Barcelona-CatalunyaLuca Marini ends the CatalanGP as the top Honda rider, as Joan Mir loses podium place due to tyre pressure infringement
The Catalan Grand Prix would be reduced to just 12 laps, the same length as Saturday’s Sprint race, after two dramatic red flags. Three race starts and the pressures of the incidents put a heavy demand on the Honda riders.
Luca Marini’s Sunday was dramatic, with the Italian caught up in the fall which brought out the second red flag. Keeping his characteristically cool head, The Honda HRC rider returned to the garage and was back out on track for the third start of the day. Riding his backup machine, Marini was not able to replicate his previous two starts and dropped down the order off the line. Able to replicate his speed from the initial start at 14:00 Local Time, the #10 made quick progress through the field and eventually finished in sixth after the post-race penalties.
Pro Honda LCR rider Diogo Moreira pushed hard to overtake his rivals on the restart and pursued a top-12 finish, which was the team's initial objective. The Brazilian ended up achieving his best finish on a Sunday race, after crossing the line in tenth place - but was promoted to ninth after penalties given to rivals.
Strong in both restarts, Joan Mir was able to highlight the importance of qualifying on the front two rows of the grid as he immediately thrust himself into podium contention. In what would be the final start of the Catalan GP, the #36 stalked Pedro Acosta for the majority of the race and was able to frequently show him his front wheel. As the likes of Ogura and Di Giannantonio closed in, Mir kept his pace and pushed until the final moments to try to take his debut win on the Honda. Crossing the line 1.250s back on Di Giannantonio, the 2020 World Champion was able to secure second place after a complicated weekend and improve on his best result as a Honda HRC rider. A post-race tyre pressure penalty would drop Mir to 13th.
Unfortunately Johann Zarco was caught up in the second of the red flag incidents and was transported to the Hospital Universitari General de Catalunya, in Sant Cugat, where it was confirmed that the French rider had sustained injuries to the anterior and posterior cruciate ligament, and to the medial meniscus. He also suffered a small fibula tear in the ankle area. Zarco will remain overnight under observation and will travel to France on Monday to consult with specialists and assess the next steps in his recovery.
There will now be a post-race test on Monday at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the MotoGP riders.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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 and especially today, it’s days like this where 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.
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 and especially today, it’s days like this where 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.
