Repsol Honda Team look to Monday test after disastrous Sunday

Barcelona, June 2022: Zero points after promising starts for both Pol Espargaro and Stefan Bradl, a grueling weekend over as attention turns to the test.

Unrelenting and oppressive conditions continued to hammer the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from early in the day. As the MotoGP World Championship lined up on the grid for the 24-lap race, it was clear it would be a race of survival.

In front of his home fans, Pol Espargaro shot off the line as he worked to stay with the leading group and ran as high as fourth. But after these early laps Espargaro’s race would become a nightmare as he steadily dropped back through the field. Crossing the line in 17th, Espargaro suffered throughout the race from a lack of grip compared to the previous day, which is being investigated by Michelin and Honda.

Stefan Bradl’s race came to a premature end after a strong start. The German fell at Turn 10 on the first lap after fighting his way into the points. Sustaining no major injuries, the HRC Test Rider is looking forward to a night of rest and recovery before Monday’s test.

Both riders will be out on Monday to continue working on the evolution of the Honda RC213V.

Pol Espargaro (17th)

“Today we had a lack of grip compared to the previous sessions unfortunately. It’s really disappointing because I made a great start and was up there with the leading group. Tomorrow we have an important test and I think it will be very busy for me. Let’s prepare properly for the second part of the season. I hope Taka is OK, it was a big crash right in front of me.”

Stefan Bradl (DNF)

“An unfortunate end to the weekend. I made a really good start and was riding well, making up positions. We were battling near the points when the rear started to slide at Turn 10 and I fell. It was quite a big impact, I am a bit sore but it is nothing major. It’s really a shame because we could have been fighting for points today. Now I get ready for the test on Monday.”

Gran Premi de Catalunya Race Results

Pos.	Rider	Num	Nation	Team	Constructor	Time/Gap
1	QUARTARARO FABIO	20	FRA	MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP	YAMAHA	40’29.360
2	MARTIN JORGE	89	SPA	PRAMAC RACING	DUCATI	6.473
3	ZARCO JOHANN	5	FRA	PRAMAC RACING	DUCATI	8.385
4	MIR JOAN	36	SPA	TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR	SUZUKI	11.481
5	ESPARGARO ALEIX	41	SPA	APRILIA RACING	APRILIA	14.395
6	MARINI LUCA	10	ITA	MOONEY VR46 RACING TEAM	DUCATI	15.43
7	VINALES MAVERICK	12	SPA	APRILIA RACING	APRILIA	15.975
8	BINDER BRAD	33	RSA	RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING	KTM	21.436
9	OLIVEIRA MIGUEL	88	POR	RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING	KTM	26.8
10	MARQUEZ ALEX	73	SPA	LCR HONDA	HONDA	30.46
11	GARDNER REMY	87	AUS	TECH 3 KTM FACTORY RACING	KTM	32.443
12	BINDER DARRYN	40	RSA	WITHU YAMAHA RNF MOTOGP TEAM	YAMAHA	32.881
13	MORBIDELLI FRANCO	21	ITA	MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP	YAMAHA	33.168
14	MILLER JACK	43	AUS	DUCATI LENOVO TEAM	DUCATI	34.693
15	FERNANDEZ RAUL	25	SPA	TECH 3 KTM FACTORY RACING	KTM	37.844
16	PIRRO MICHELE	51	ITA	DUCATI TEST TEAM	DUCATI	44.533
17	ESPARGARO POL	44	SPA	REPSOL HONDA TEAM	HONDA	46.199
18	DOVIZIOSO ANDREA	4	ITA	WITHU YAMAHA RNF MOTOGP TEAM	YAMAHA	DNF
19	DI GIANNANTONIO FABIO	49	ITA	TEAM GRESINI RACING MOTOGP	DUCATI	DNF
20	BASTIANINI ENEA	23	ITA	TEAM GRESINI RACING MOTOGP	DUCATI	DNF
21	BEZZECCHI MARCO	73	ITA	MOONEY VR46 RACING TEAM	DUCATI	DNF
22	BAGNAIA FRANCESCO	62	ITA	DUCATI LENOVO TEAM	DUCATI	DNF
23	RINS ALEX	42	SPA	TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR	SUZUKI	DNF
24	NAKAGAMI TAKAAKI	30	JPN	LCR HONDA	HONDA	DNF
25	BRADL STEFAN	6	GER	REPSOL HONDA TEAM	HONDA	DNF