Spanish MotoGP Rider Ratings: Two riders steal the show

Crash.net's rider ratings for the Spanish MotoGP.

Francesco Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, MotoGP race, Spanish MotoGP, 28 April
Francesco Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, MotoGP race, Spanish MotoGP, 28 April

Francesco Bagnaia - 10

Francesco Bagnaia lost yet more points in the championship after another no score in the sprint due to a clash with Brad Binder and Marco Bezzecchi. But in typical world champion style, Bagnaia responded with a stunning victory in the grand prix, beating Marc Marquez in an epic tussle. Bagnaia resisted Marquez’ attempts on two occasions before setting a new fastest lap to hold on.

Marc Marquez - 9.5

After securing his first Ducati pole position, Marc Marquez looked destined to make it a first win in the sprint before losing the front-end of his machine at turn nine. Marquez was then penalised after re-joining the action, following a move on Joan Mir which sent the Honda rider wide. His best result since joining Ducati, Marquez helped make the Spanish MotoGP an unmissable race due to his late race pace and duel with Bagnaia.

Marco Bezzecchi - 8.5

After securing his best qualifying of the season, Marco Bezzecchi took his first podium of the year as he finished third. Bezzecchi was ahead of Marquez for much of the race before a mistake gave the former Honda rider the momentum he needed to make a pass.

Marco Bezzecchi, MotoGP race, Spanish MotoGP, 28 April
Marco Bezzecchi, MotoGP race, Spanish MotoGP, 28 April

Alex Marquez - 8

After hitting a wet patch and crashing as a result in the sprint, Alex Marquez rebounded with a very impressive P4 finish. Marquez held off Enea Bastianini who was quicker in the closing stages.

Enea Bastianini - 7.5

Enea Bastianini was a sprint race podium threat before being caught out at turn five by a damp patch. Bastianini was one of four riders to go down at that corner in the space of two laps, including Alex Marquez and Brad Binder who went down just ahead of him. A mistake late on when trying to overtake Brad Binder was the difference between fifth and fourth in the grand prix as the factory Ducati rider ran out of time to get past Alex Marquez.

Brad Binder - 7.5

Brad Binder had an eventful sprint race as he first collided with Francesco Bagnaia which sent the reigning world champion to the ground, before losing the front-end a few laps later at turn five. With Pedro Acosta getting a bad start, Binder was able to capitalise and finish as the highest KTM.

Fabio Di Giannantonio - 6.5

Fabio Di Giannantonio was an early contender for the top five before crashing out of the sprint at the final corner. In the grand prix held off Miguel Oliveira to claim his third top seven finish of 2024.

Miguel Oliveira - 7

With both full factory Aprilias suffering a nightmare Spanish MotoGP, Oliveira made a return to form as he battled hard for a first top eight of the season.

Maverick Vinales - 5

In both races Maverick Vinales struggled at the beginning before showing strong pace as the races went on. Not the weekend Vinales would have hoped for after dominating at COTA. 

Maverick Vinales, MotoGP race, Spanish MotoGP, 28 April
Maverick Vinales, MotoGP race, Spanish MotoGP, 28 April

Pedro Acosta - 8

While the grand prix did not go according to plan due to his collision with Johann Zarco on lap one, Acosta maintained his run of at least one podium since Portimao after finishing second in the sprint.

Raul Fernandez - 6

Like team-mate Oliveira, Raul Fernandez had good speed as he moved up the order to P11.

Joan Mir - 6.5

While Honda’s difficulties continued at Jerez, Joan Mir salvaged a good P12 as he managed to finish five seconds clear of the nearest Yamaha.

Alex Rins - 5

A disastrous sprint race for Rins was quickly put to the back of his mind as he finished ahead of Fabio Quartararo for the first time in a grand prix since becoming teammates.

Takaaki Nakagami - 4

Narrowly missing out on points with tenth in the sprint race, Nakagami scored two points in the grand prix, the second time that’s happened in 2024.

Fabio Quartararo - 4

Quartararo was a huge beneficiary of the crash fest in the sprint as he finished third, however, and eight second planelty dropped the 2021 world champion off the podium. In the grand prix, no such performance was forthcoming as Quartararo struggled. It is being reported that Quartararo endured arm pump issues. 

Stefan Bradl - 5

Quicker and ahead of Luca Marini, Bradl did a great job to continue testing and developing the Honda during their difficult period.

Luca Marini - 2.5

Struggling to adapt to the Honda RC213V machine, Marini was over 40 seconds down on Bagnaia and two seconds down on Bradl.

Augusto Fernandez - 5

After scoring points in the sprint, Fernandez was unable to finish the grand prix after crashing out.

Jack Miller - 4

A decent yet unspectacular performance from Miller, the Australian saw his hopes of a top ten end when he crashed with Franco Morbidelli. The crash came at turn five when Morbidelli lost the front-end and slammed into Miller.

Johann Zarco - 4

Like Miller, Zarco was taken out in the grand prix by Aleix Espargaro. In Saturday’s sprint, Zarco was fighting for a top fight before crashing on the final lap at turn 13.

Franco Morbidelli - 5

Fourth in the sprint race, Morbidelli was again in contention for a good haul of pointa before crashing out following a mistake at turn five.

Lorenzo Savadori - 3

Lorenzo Savadori failed to finish the race after completing the sprint in last of the completed runners.

Dani Pedrosa - 7

There was no repeat of his brilliant sprint podium as Dani Pedrosa crashed out of the race early on.

Jorge Martin - 5

After a strong performance in qualifying, Jorge Martin was the beneficiary of Marc Marquez crashing from the lead in the sprint. Martin, who was running second at the time, took over the lead and didn’t look back as he took victory by three seconds. Leading the grand prix and covering off Bagnaia in the process, Martin then made his first mistake of 2024 as he crashed from the lead at turn six.

Jorge
Jorge

Aleix Espargaro - 3

A sprint race which never really got started for Aleix Espargaro as the Aprilia rider crashed out on lap one. In the grand prix, Espargaro’s weekend got even worse as he retired for the second consecutive race following a crash. Espargaro took down Johann Zarco with him.

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