MotoGP

Aleix Espargaro secured Aprilia's first MotoGP pole position in two decades on Saturday for the Argentina GP.

Aprilia I think have a solid combination of riders and also the bike is growing up, so the results have to arrive.” “So if we are able, the two or three riders that we have pace, we are able to push from the beginning and make a fast race. Tomorrow I don’t think I have to analyse a lot the data and the pace of the rest because this weekend has been quite special, just one day of testing. “I’m not the one who have to say if I’m riding in a super high level or not, but I feel good, I feel that I’m competitive. This is improvements of the bike that allows you to be fast and consistent in every track and that’s great for the rider. He told me he had some issues, lack of grip on the qualifying but yeah, I mean coming from different bike, first time here for him in Aprilia, finishing in fifth place is quite remarkable. The level of the bike, the potential of the bike on the wet was better, but on dry I felt that I could fight for the podium in Malaysia and here once again. “In Qatar I felt in the race I was, I don’t know if the strongest one but I felt really, really good on the race,” Espargaro continued. “But I was not fast enough in the middle of the race and I missed the podium. “Yeah, I’m happy, I’m satisfied,” he confirmed, “but sincerely for the rider is nice to be fast on Saturday - because the feeling you get on that lap is always special, is great to do to feel the adrenaline, the speed. “I know it’s not super important because the points will come tomorrow but for a rider to feel the speed, to feel that you are the fastest one, it’s always great. “What makes me happy is that if we are good and we do no mistakes during the season, I have the feeling inside that - I don’t want to talk about top three or championship or whatever but I have the feeling that we can achieve many, many points.

Argentina Grand Prix poleman Aleix Espargaro led reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo in the MotoGP warm-up session ahead of today's 25-lap race.

Johann Zarco on the second Pramac Ducati completed the top 10 ahead of Suzuki’s Joan Mir, while Miller was 17th. Alex Rins was third on the Suzuki ahead of Pramac Ducati's Jorge Martin, who will launch from second on the grid later today having been denied pole at the death on Saturday. In the early stages of warm-up, Pramac’s Johann Zarco led the way with a 1m39.452, though was soon deposed by poleman Espargaro on the Aprilia.

Aleix Espargaro says he is “proud” to have scored a historic first MotoGP pole for Aprilia at the Argentina Grand Prix after “how far we've suffered” since ...

“We know it can be a good race, but even if it’s a bad race I’m very happy because we are doing steps forward and this is just the base, and what I’m happy with is if this is just the pace we are there. “I just need to push from one lap, the tyre consumption is quite good and the pace is quite strong. “One lap we still need to work, it’s very difficult for me because I need to more feeling, I need more confidence, I need to push more on the limit and still I don’t have that. “But I was very happy with the rhythm so I’m very enthusiastic for tomorrow. “And it’s the first one for Aprilia, it’s a very nice moment. “It’s not super important because the points will come [in the race], but for a rider to feel this speed, to feel that you are the fastest one is always great.

Warm-up results from the Argentine MotoGP at Termas de Rio Hondo, round 3 of the 2022 world championship.

That also means the current 'standard' rear tyre construction, introduced in 2020, has not previously been used at the track. The likes of Fabio Quartararo, Brad Binder and Takaaki Nakagami then moved ahead with soft tyres front and rear. Espargaro, who will start today's race from Aprilia's first pole position of the four-stroke era, was soon back in charge of the timesheets, running the hard front-soft rear tyre combination that is expected to be the favoured choice for the race.

Aleix Espargaro fended off Jorge Martin to claim his first-ever MotoGP victory and the first for Aprilia in the modern era in a tense Argentina Grand Prix.

But on the following tour the Aprilia rider executed the perfect block pass to take the lead. KTM’s Brad Binder was a further 0.352s behind Bagnaia in sixth, with Maverick Vinales taking seventh on the second of the Aprilias. However, the Aprilia rider ran wide and allowed Martin back through. Espargaro tried again into Turn 5 on lap 20 and once more ran wide. Aleix Espargaro now leads the championship for the first time in his MotoGP career, the Aprilia rider seven points clear of Binder, with Bastianini nine points back in third. Espargaro nailed his run out of the Turn 3 right-hander and capitalised on a headshake for Martin’s Ducati to pull ahead into the braking zone of Turn 5.

Aleix Espargaro has claimed his maiden MotoGP win at the Argentine Grand Prix to move to the top...

Aleix Espargaro is the first rider to claim pole with three different manufacturers since the introduction of MotoGP™ in 2002.

Is today the day for the Spaniard and Aprilia? Warm Up honours went their way; Quartararo and Rins inside top three.

Argentina Grand Prix poleman Aleix Espargaro led reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo in the MotoGP warm-up session ahead of today's 25-lap race.

Johann Zarco on the sister Pramac Ducati completed the top 10 ahead of Suzuki’s Joan Mir, while Miller was 17th. Alex Rins was third on the Suzuki ahead of Jorge Martin on the Pramac Ducati, who will launch from second on the grid later today having been denied pole at the death on Saturday. In the early stages of warm-up, Pramac’s Johann Zarco led the way with a 1m39.452, though was soon deposed by poleman Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia.

Reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo fears poleman Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia can break away in the MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix having been “surprised” ...

Aleix for sure, he’s the main guy. It hurts a little but I’m happy. “So, about the first position I’m not really surprised.

The Spaniard eventually sees off the competition by nearly two tenths in qualifying; Foggia outside the top 10.

Nakagami's 1:39.028 was good enough to beat reigning World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) by 0.127s, with Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda ...

Spain's Aleix Espargaro delivered a first ever MotoGP pole position for Aprilia at the Argentina Grand Prix on Saturday while Jack Miller has been handed a ...

“(After the crash) I swapped bikes, swapped leathers, trying to get comfortable with both… “We have worked very, very hard for five years. it’s not like I was intentionally trying to get in anybody’s way. Miller, meanwhile, had a session to forget. Jack Miller has been handed a grid penalty for an incident with Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo (right). Jack Miller has been handed a grid penalty for an incident with Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo (right).

Aleix Espargaro took Aprilia's first MotoGP pole position in a dramatic qualifying, with Luca Marini taking the first front row start for Valentino Rossi's ...

Qualifying came late on Saturday after a disrupted grand prix weekend which saw Friday’s running cancelled amid freight delays following the last round in Indonesia. Marc Marquez is replaced by reserve rider Stefan Bradl after the world champion suffered another spell of diplopia caused by a horrific crash during the warm-up session in Indonesia. The big shock of qualifying came in Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia failing to exit Q1 having dropped into it in a frustrating FP2 session.

Aleix Espargaro took an historic first MotoGP pole position for Aprilia in a dramatic Argentina Grand Prix qualifying, as Luca Marini starred for Valentino ...

Abandoning his first run after getting out of shape on a vicious bump through the fast Turn 12 left-hander, Bagnaia was left in last in the session. The big shock of qualifying came in Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia failing to exit Q1 having dropped into it in a frustrating FP2 session. KTM’s Brad Binder rounded out the top 12 after making a mistake on his final lap having been on course to challenge for pole. Espargaro hooked the lap together to produce a 1m38.108s to go fastest of all ahead of Pramac’s Jorge Martin and world champion Fabio Quartararo on the only Yamaha in Q2. Forced to head out on his second bike, Mir was only seventh after his first run as team-mate Alex Rins sat in fifth. Before he’d even taken to the Rio Hondo circuit, Joan Mir was dealt a setback when his number one Suzuki encountered a technical issue as he was about to leave his garage.

LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami topped the delayed first practice for the MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix despite turning up late having tested positive for COVID ...

Alex Marquez was 14th on the other LCR Honda ahead of a trio of Ducatis in Johann Zarco (Pramac), Luca Marini (VR46) and Jack Miller. Marc Marquez’s replacement Stefan Bradl – who is filling in for the six-time world champion as he recovers from vision problems – was 22nd, with Raul Fernandez (Tech3) and RNF’s Andrea Dovizioso rounding out the 24-rider field. As the session entered its final 10 minutes, much of the field went for a soft tyre time attack, with Nakagami returning to the top of the pile with a 1m39.486s. Alex Rins was the leading Suzuki rider in sixth ahead of Indonesian GP winner Miguel Oliveira (KTM), Maverick Vinales on the sister Aprilia, Brad Binder on the sister factory KTM and Rins’ team-mate Joan Mir. With the missing cargo – majorly affecting Gresini, VR46 and KTM who were missing motorcycles, while many others were also hit by the delays – turning up in the early hours of Saturday, the rescheduled FP1 was delayed to 12:35pm local time and extended by 15 minutes to an hour. The delays to the weekend proved crucial for Nakagami, who was originally ruled out of the Argentina round after testing positive for COVID earlier in the week.

Aprilia Racing celebrate their first MotoGP™ pole position in a dramatic pair of qualifying sessions in Argentina.

Aleix Espargaro secured his maiden pole position as part of the Aprilia project with a 1'37.688 lap around the Termas de Rio Hondo Circuit.

A stunning ride from Marini found the Mooney VR46 in third to round out the front row celebrations from the younger Espargaro and Viñales with Quartararo settling for sixth. Martin took control overall with a 1’37.839 lap but the Aprilia was on the move. With time falling away and no challenge registering on his seventh attempt, Bagnaia failed to beat the flag for a final hot lap push. Espargaro claimed provisional pole with a 1’38.108 as the opening laps registered, Jack Miller crashing out from fourth at turn one with Martin and Fabio Quartararo ahead and Marini behind. Zarco advanced to fifth with his fourth lap of the final session before Rins quickly demoted him back one position. VR46 academy cohort Franky Morbidelli pushing his Yamaha M1 to fourth in the session, four-tenths adrift of Nakagami’s benchmark time with a 1’39.307.

LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami topped the delayed first practice for the MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix despite turning up late having tested positive for COVID ...

Alex Marquez was 14th on the other LCR Honda ahead of a trio of Ducatis in Johann Zarco (Pramac), Luca Marini (VR46) and Jack Miller. As the session entered its final 10 minutes, much of the field went for a soft tyre time attack, with Nakagami returning to the top of the pile with a 1m39.486s. With the missing cargo – majorly affecting Gresini, VR46 and KTM which were missing motorcycles, while many others were also hit by the delays – turning up in the early hours of Saturday, the rescheduled FP1 was delayed to 12:35pm local time and extended by 15 minutes to an hour.

LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami put on a sensational showcase in Argentina after topping FP1 having initially been ruled out of the MotoGP weekend.

Nakagami was back in front as the final seven minutes counted down. Johann Zarco suffering opposing fortunes from the edge of the top 15 alongside his Pramac Ducati teammate, before the Frenchman arrived to eighth on his 19th lap. Morbidelli returning to the top six challenge as less than half a second covered the ten fastest riders. Nakagami taking charge overall as the pace continued to increase with Franky Morbidelli joining the party in fifth on the factory M1. Aprilia continued to shine as Viñales claimed second on his 11th lap. It was a blink and you miss it visit however as both Espargaro and then Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins took their turns at the top.

Argentina Grand Prix poleman Aleix Espargaro led reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo in the MotoGP warm-up session ahead of today's 25-lap race.

Johann Zarco on the second Pramac Ducati completed the top 10 ahead of Suzuki’s Joan Mir, while Miller was 17th. Alex Rins was third on the Suzuki ahead of Pramac Ducati's Jorge Martin, who will launch from second on the grid later today having been denied pole at the death on Saturday. In the early stages of warm-up, Pramac’s Johann Zarco led the way with a 1m39.452, though was soon deposed by poleman Espargaro on the Aprilia.

An edge of seat last lap battle saw Sergio Garcia victorious in Argentina as the Solunion GasGas Aspar rider claimed his fifth Moto3 win.

Sasaki denying Suzuki in a similar move at the last corner for the final podium celebrations. Foggia through for second with nine laps to go as the pendulum kept swinging in the top four. The SIC58 rider attempting to find a way through in Suzuki for third but without success. The chaos left the Leopards firmly in contention as Foggia led Suzuki in second and third. Guevara hit the front with the fastest lap of the race so far, immediately running half a second clear of from Garcia and Artigas as Moreira joined the fight in fourth. Migno was up to second at the halfway stage, Foggia sweeping into the podium fight half a lap later as he took two bikes in one go.

Valentino Rossi protege Celestino Vietti won his second race of the 2022 Moto2 season, as Sergio Garcia took victory in a dramatic Moto3 race at the ...

Tatsuki Suzuki did cross the line fourth on his Leopard Honda, but he was dropped a place for exceeding track limits. Canet snatched third from Ogura at Turn 7 on the final lap, but Ogura executed a superb overtake at the penultimate corner to take third. With the Leopard rider leading onto the final lap, a daring raid up the inside of Foggia at the penultimate gave victory to Garcia.

Race results from the 2022 Argentine Moto3 Grand Prix at Termas de Rio Hondo.

But Garcia fought back, slicing inside Suzuki and then levering Foggia from the lead with an inside pass through the long penultimate turn. Garcia looked set to escape when Andrea Migno tangled with second place Jauma Masia, taking them both down. But Garcia was then reeled in by Leopard Honda riders Dennis Foggia and Tatsuki Suzuki, who demoted Garcia to third with just half-a-lap to go.

Autosolar GasGas Aspar's Jake Dixon will start his return to the Argentinian GP from fifth on the Termas de Rio Hondo Moto2 grid.

Completing FP2 in the top three, and seventh overall, Dixon comfortably secured his place directly into the Q2 shootout. Let’s see what we can do tonight, to try and help me save the tyre a little bit better tomorrow.” Mandalika’s pole position was backed up by the fifth fastest lap of the Termas track, just one place behind teammate Albert Arenas, after just two 50-minute practice sessions in quick succession on the opening morning.

Sam Lowes and Marc VDS were one of four Moto2 teams without kit in Argentina until 2am on Saturday Morning.

“I’m sure we can look at a few things tonight and I can improve a little bit and tomorrow we’ll be stronger,” he continued. If we improve the stopping of the bike, I think we can make a nice race. “I’m happy Tony could do a nice qualifying today to say thank you to them,” he added, after Arbolino finished on the front row, in third.

MotoGP travels to South America this weekend for the third round of the 2022 season. Here's how you can watch Sunday's Argentina Grand Prix.

The opening day of running for the 2022 MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix has been cancelled due to delays in freight arriving at Termas de Rio Honda.

On Sunday, BT Sport will air live coverage of all of the warm-up and race action from 1:15pm. BT Sport in the UK will broadcast all of Saturday's Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP action from 12:15pm through to 10pm. In 2013, heavy rain and fog forced the Friday of the Japanese Grand Prix to be cancelled, with practice and qualifying taking place on the Saturday and races on Sunday.

Aleix Espargaro led an Aprilia 1-2 in second practice for the MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix, as an erratic Francesco Bagnaia dropped into Q1 for qualifying.

Aleix Espargaro’s lap continued to act as the benchmark until the final 20 minutes, when team-mate Vinales lit up the timing screens to fire in a 1m38.454s on a fresh soft rear tyre. Though long running was the priority, that didn’t stop Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro – starting his 200th MotoGP race this weekend – from moving up to second on the combined times straight away with a 1m39.116s. Most of the field focused on race running in the opening half of FP2, with conditions identical to what will likely be experienced on Sunday in the 25-lap grand prix.

Aleix Espargaro took an historic first MotoGP pole position for Aprilia in a dramatic Argentina Grand Prix qualifying, as Luca Marini starred for Valentino ...

Abandoning his first run after getting out of shape on a vicious bump through the fast Turn 12 left-hander, Bagnaia was left in last in the session. The big shock of qualifying came in Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia failing to exit Q1 having dropped into it in a frustrating FP2 session. KTM’s Brad Binder rounded out the top 12 after making a mistake on his final lap having been on course to challenge for pole. Espargaro hooked the lap together to produce a 1m38.108s to go fastest of all ahead of Pramac’s Jorge Martin and world champion Fabio Quartararo on the only Yamaha in Q2. Forced to head out on his second bike, Mir was only seventh after his first run as team-mate Alex Rins sat in fifth. Before he’d even taken to the Rio Hondo circuit, Joan Mir was dealt a setback when his number one Suzuki encountered a technical issue as he was about to leave his garage.

MotoGP travels to South America this weekend for the third round of the 2022 season. Here's how you can watch Sunday's Argentina Grand Prix.

Reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo fears poleman Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia can break away in the MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix having been “surprised” ...

Aleix for sure, he’s the main guy. It hurts a little but I’m happy. “About the first position, I’m not really surprised.

Aleix Espargaro claimed his first ever Grand Prix victory in the ArgentinaGP and the first for Aprilia in the MotoGP era.

The battle for sixth intensifying in contrast as Marini lost out, then retook his position from Bagnaia as the race neared middle distance. Bagnaia circulated in eighth, just a tenth away from the Viñales/Marini battle as the race continued. The second factory Ducati of Pecco Bagnaia recovering from his own painful Saturday to sit ninth as the race unfolded. Monster Energy Yamaha’s Franky Morbidelli fell to the back of the pack on lap seven as his M1 suffered a puncture and he was forced to retire. On-grid issues for Andrea Dovizioso were compounded as the WithU RNF Yamaha retired his M1 at the end of lap one. Espargaro lined up for his 200th premier class start from the head of the MotoGP grid.

Aleix Espargaro fended off Jorge Martin to claim his first-ever MotoGP victory and the first for Aprilia in the modern era in a tense Argentina Grand Prix.

But on the following tour the Aprilia rider executed the perfect block pass to take the lead. KTM’s Brad Binder was a further 0.352s behind Bagnaia in sixth, with Maverick Vinales taking seventh on the second of the Aprilias. However, the Aprilia rider ran wide and allowed Martin back through. Espargaro tried again into Turn 5 on lap 20 and once more ran wide. Aleix Espargaro now leads the championship for the first time in his MotoGP career, the Aprilia rider seven points clear of Binder, with Bastianini nine points back in third. Espargaro nailed his run out of the Turn 3 right-hander and capitalised on a headshake for Martin’s Ducati to pull ahead into the braking zone of Turn 5.

Aleix Espargaro made history in the Argentina Grand Prix as he gave Aprilia its first MotoGP victory and scored his first win.

Joan Mir was fourth on the second of the Suzukis, while Francesco Bagnaia came from 13th to fifth on his factory Ducati. Martin held onto second for his first podium of the year, while Alex Rins closed in on the lead battle in third for both his and Suzuki’s first rostrum of the 2022 campaign. All six manufacturers have now won races in MotoGP on the current grid, while Espargaro sets the record for the most starts before his first grand prix victory.

Spanish star ends 200-race wait for 'really special' first MotoGP win.

“The last laps were my strongest. Espargaro twice nipped past, only to run wide. Spain’s Aleix Espargaro won his first MotoGP race at the 200th attempt in Argentina on Sunday and tearfully admitted: “It’s really special”.

Aleix Espargaro has claimed his maiden MotoGP win at the Argentine Grand Prix to move to the top...

"I've never done a race where I've never passed one single person in my entire life. That for me is a massive blow," said a dejected Jack Miller after.

"I managed the tyres well and really started to push about lap 16 to try and come back to Oliveira and that group. I wasn't able to use the front like I normally would. I wasn't able to force in the braking zones as I normally can. I did that, but nobody wants to finish 14th. "There's a couple of bumps going into turn one and there's the clean line and then the dirty line. "We were missing pace throughout the whole weekend.

Ducati Lenovo's Jack Miller had a difficult day at Termas de Rio Hondo after qualifying 11th for Sunday's Argentina GP.

“I thought it was Binder, I checked at the exit of turn six. “That’s the only thing I was angry because, for me the first lap was the best opportunity and I get disturbed on my first lap. ‘Riding slow on the line and disturbing another rider at the entry of turn seven’ during the second qualifying session.

Strong feeling and fourth in warm up failed to translate in the Argentina GP for Elf Marc VDS' Sam Lowes.

I just want to say a big thank you to the team for the big job this weekend. Enduring the hottest conditions of the weekend, with track temperatures of 42℃ making rear tyre management key, Lowes struggled with rear grip through the left turns in the first half of the race. Previous podium pedigree failed to materialise as the intermediate class had just 100 minutes of track time ahead of qualifying and a further 20 minutes of Sunday warm up before the 23-lap race.

'Doesn't feel good': Miller's 'massive blow'; MotoGP giant hits new low — Argentina Talking Pts.

The same is clear in the riders standings, with Aleix Espargaró leading with three top-10 finishes ahead of Brad Binder, who’s yet to win a race this season, and round-one winner Enea Bastianini, who hasn’t dropped lower than 11th. It’s been a cagey start to the season, with no rider or team yet to establish a clear championship lead. The United States Grand Prix at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas follows this weekend. We are all working extremely hard now to understand what the issues are and to try and find a solution as quickly as possible.” Suzuki is yet to hit its stride so far this season, but it leaves Argentina atop the teams standings after almost metronomic consistency from both riders. At a minimum he would’ve banked a decent fourth place and taken some points away from new leader Suzuki in the teams standings. The Ducati riders are lucky the fight at the front has been so volatile this season. Teammate Francesco Bagnaia showed as much in a badly needed return to form. Miller couldn’t extract grip from his GP22 on the dirty and dusty Termas surface. This new bike clearly has potential, as evidenced by Espargaró’s victory tilt in Qatar, but the Spaniard, leading the team in the absence of Marc Márquez, has been unable to capitalise since. If he’s going to get only stronger from here, Aprilia will suddenly present as a force this season. Not only was his wait long, but it was arduous too.

On his 200th MotoGP™ start, the Spaniard claims an emotional first victory for himself and Aprilia; Ducati and Suzuki pick up podiums.