Jerez once again provided the drama, as we recap the biggest moments from Round 4 of the 2023 World Championship
It was a whirlwind return to Europe for MotoGP™, with spectators flocking to Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto for round four of the 2023 World Championship. thrilling action throughout the weekend as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) won Tissot Sprint and race honours, while Dani Pedrosa stole the hearts of fans during of his wild card appearance for KTM.
There’s a lot to dissect from the weekend, so without further ado, here are your talking points from the Spanish Grand Prix.
“I must try, or I won’t sleep at night“
Jerez and overtaking in the final corners is an iconic image of the sport, and we were just inches apart on Sunday. After leading for most of the race, Brad Binder slipped behind Pecco Bagnaia on the final lap. The South African kept the world champion in his sights and eyed what would have been another unforgettable moment in the corner of Jorge Lorenzo.
“On the straight, I thought it was kind of dialed in. On the straight, I got a lot closer, but I didn’t get the best drive. I was like, okay, if I do the last two straights really well, I have to try or I won’t sleep at night. But Pecco made a perfect penultimate corner and braked in the center of the track. If I had gone, I should have gone on the pavement. It was fantastic. I had a great time. Super fun race. Me and Jack passed each other a few times on the last corner. Pretty cool. It was fun to ride the Supermoto with the boys. Let’s try again at Le Mans.
FREE: Orange takes on Red in a thrilling final in Jerez
“We take it to the big boys now!”
It was a great weekend for KTM at Jerez, with a Sprint victory and a double podium confirming the progress made at the start of the season. For Jack Miller, who swapped the Ducati red for the KTM orange during the offseason, and the Aussie is already reaping the rewards. After the race, Miller couldn’t contain his joy at his team’s ability to challenge the status quo.
“We were able to put on a bit of a show there. It’s great for the team. It’s great for the guys back home who have worked so hard over the past few months to build the bike that we have. We’ I now bring it to the big boys and it’s really great.
Miller’s message to skeptics: “Ha. Where’s the KTM now?”
“He just wanted to pass me one more time to rub it“
It’s fair to say that some feathers were ruffled in the battle for the podium and victory in southern Spain, with an aggressive move from Bagnaia drawing Miller’s ire. The Italian was then penalized for this, having to lose a place. Both riders offered their version of events after the race.
Bagnaia“I don’t want to say too much about the penalty. I just want to say that I accept it, but in the future we need consistency. So if today I take this penalty for what I did, it was for me’ It’s so risky, but considering other touches that we’re already seeing this year, I just want consistency and if I see it, I accept it.”
Miller: “It was one of those. I didn’t expect it. I didn’t know it was coming. We’ve seen countless incidents like this around this corner. three ended up at the top if we go back to Dani, Jorge and Dovi there, I saw it on the last lap and kind of resisted.
Bagnaia: “It was for me, for my ego”
“Of course my frustration, as you could see, but I got back to work. I immediately had to pass Jorge again at turn eight, then I started chasing Pecco. Then, honestly, I thought that his bike had broken down or something when he peeled on the inside of turn 1. He just wanted to pass me one more time to rub it.
“It’s clearly not a penalty”
On penalties, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) met with the wrath of the stewards and was slapped with a penalty for a long lap, which he had to do twice, for his role in the accident that saw the Spanish GP red flag on the first lap. Suffice it to say, the Frenchman and Yamaha disagreed with the decision.
‘Amazed’ – Yamaha boss baffled by Quartararo penalty
Quartararo“No clear explanation has been given. From our side I think we don’t see anything strange and I think it’s clearly not a penalty, but you know, that’s in the past – and I do it twice!”
Quartararo: ‘There is no reason to have a penalty’
KTM Wildcard Dani Pedrosa received a rave welcome to watch the action from the home crowd, with ‘The Little Samurai’ admitting he was almost overwhelmed by the opportunity.
“I really enjoyed that ride. And at one point we stopped there and they interviewed me for a bit, and I was about to cry! At that point, I was moved . And not just because of the crowd, which was full, packed and everyone was cheering for my name. But also, the runners, I was so surprised. They were so cool and they jumped in the party and m also cheered so that was great.
WATCH: “OHH DANI PEDROSA!” – Jerez’s love story continues
However, being the professional he is, Pedrosa had an exceptional weekend to finish sixth in the Sprint and seventh in Sunday’s race, while he also managed a bit of corporate espionage during the weekend by managing to follow some of its competitors on tracks!
“I’ve been following a few bikes, a few different bikes, these days.”
“AT 6:30 a.m., it was already full!”
When MotoGP™ returned to Europe, it was welcomed with open arms by the fans. Indeed, 163,479 people filled the stands during the three days in Jerez, where the party mode was activated, much to the delight of a sleepy Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™).
“We are back in this mode. It’s true that we have the Covid situation in the middle, we have a lot of things that I think have stopped it a bit from a fan point of view because people haven’t come to the tracks, so it’s more difficult to follow the races, and I think people have lost the way a bit to follow the races. But it was really nice to see the crowd, at 6:30 in the morning it was already full. I was sleeping at 6:30 in the morning!”
“The system needs to be improved“
Unfortunately, it was not a party for everyone in Jerez. Aprilia have made giant strides in recent years and they have produced a very competitive package for 2023, but unfortunately for Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales they have encountered major difficulties with race starts.
Starting on pole for two Sprint starts and two starts on Sunday, Espargaro couldn’t match his off-line rivals and found himself falling back each time, which is certainly a concern within the Noale factory.
‘I can’t be happy’ – What went wrong for poleman Espargaro?
“I can’t do better practice. Pole position is the best thing I could. So even though I made four starts in 1st place and I lost four places in all the races. I tried to start with both feet on the ground, one foot on the ground, we increased the power on second gear today and it was even worse than yesterday as the bike rolled.
“We sincerely have to improve the system, it’s a shame because I’m sure that if today I hadn’t lost positions and started the first lap in first or second place, I could have fought for victory or second place. But once they passed me, it was over for me.”
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