Espargaro crashes while hunting Argentina podium
The Repsol Honda Team walk away pointless from a promising race at Termas de Rio Hondo, Espargaro crashing while chasing the podium and Bradl ending in the top 20.
MotoGP’s compressed weekend in Argentina came to a close in front of a full house on Sunday, the Repsol Honda Team suffering a disappointing end to the Grand Prix. The race started well for Pol Espargaro who rocketed the Honda RC213V from fourth on the line and into the mix for the lead. Frantic action saw the #44 shuffled back over the course of the opening lap, but he and the Repsol Honda rallied to fight up into fourth over the first five laps.
A mistake on lap seven saw Espargaro drop behind Rins, but the pair worked together to close down the leading duo steadily. A mistake at Turn 2 would end his potential podium challenge and take away a strong fourth place finish. This is Espargaro’s first DNF since the Catalan GP in 2021. He was unharmed in the fall.
Stefan Bradl rode a conservative race to take home a 19th place finish as he deputises for Marc Marquez. The Honda HRC Test Rider strung together a steady weekend to help the Repsol Honda Team confirm a number of items, even with the weekend’s unique schedule.
The Repsol Honda Team now pack up and prepare to head north for The Americas GP in Austin, Texas. Pol Espargaro won’t have long to wait to bounce back with Round 4 coming up in just a week’s time.
Takaaki Nakagami took top Honda honours in 12th place while Honda Team Asia enjoyed their first double podium in Moto2 as Somkiat Chantra followed up his debut win with a second-place finish ahead of teammate Ai Ogura.
Pol Espargaro
“The race started quite well, I had a good launch and I was in the front group. I was feeling good but a mistake allowed Rins to get through on me, then I recovered and was pushing to catch him and leading two. We had an up and down weekend, but we made a good step in Qualifying and then we were putting together a good race, it’s a race that I should have finished because even fourth was quite good points. Then a few laps later I fell at Turn 2, I was pushing very hard to improve and it’s a shame that we crashed. Our potential this year is really high and to take only four points in two races is not what we are here to do. Fortunately we can go again in a week.”
Stefan Bradl
“I had a good start to the race but made a mistake into Turn One, I was a bit too aggressive and then made another mistake a few laps later. Small mistakes which in the end cost us some positions and stopped me staying in the group ahead to fight for something more, closer to Alex probably. This is all part of the process when you jump back into MotoGP, and it was especially tough this weekend with the schedule and one less day.”
Argentina Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | 25 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 41'36.198 |
| 2 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | 20 | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.807 |
| 3 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | 16 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 01.330 |
| 4 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | 13 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 1.831 |
| 5 | Bagnaia Francesco | 62 | ITA | 11 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 5.840 |
| 6 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | 10 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 6.192 |
| 7 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | 9 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 6.540 |
| 8 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | 8 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 10.215 |
| 9 | Bezzecchi Marco | 73 | ITA | 7 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 12.622 |
| 10 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | 6 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 12.987 |
| 11 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | 5 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 13.962 |
| 12 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | 4 | LCR Honda | Honda | 14.002 |
| 13 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | 3 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 14.456 |
| 14 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | 2 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 14.898 |
| 15 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | 1 | LCR Honda | Honda | 23.472 |
| 16 | Fernandez Raul | SPA | 0 | 25.962 | |||
| 17 | Gardner Remy | AUS | 0 | 28.711 | |||
| 18 | Binder Darryn | 40 | RSA | 0 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | 28.784 |
| 19 | Bradl Stefan | 6 | GER | 0 | HRC Test Team | Honda | 31.943 |
| 20 | Dovizioso Andrea | 4 | ITA | 0 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | 1'21.499 |
| 21 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | DNF | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | DNF |
| 22 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | DNF | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | DNF |
| 23 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | DNF | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | DNF |
| 24 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | DNF | Pramac Racing | Ducati | DNF |
Rider standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | 45 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
| 2 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | 38 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
| 3 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | 36 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
| 4 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | 36 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki |
| 5 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | 35 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
| 6 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | 33 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki |
| 7 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | 28 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
| 8 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | 24 | Pramac Racing | Ducati |
| 9 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | 20 | Pramac Racing | Ducati |
| 10 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | 20 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
| 11 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | 15 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
| 12 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | 14 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
| 13 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | 13 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
| 14 | Bagnaia Francesco | 62 | ITA | 12 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
| 15 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | 11 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
| 16 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | 10 | LCR Honda | Honda |
| 17 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | 10 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
| 18 | Bezzecchi Marco | 73 | ITA | 7 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
| 19 | Binder Darryn | 40 | RSA | 6 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha |
| 20 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | 4 | LCR Honda | Honda |
| 21 | Dovizioso Andrea | 4 | ITA | 2 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha |
| 22 | Gardner Remy | AUS | 1 | |||
| 23 | Fernandez Raul | SPA | 0 | |||
| 24 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | 0 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
| 25 | Bradl Stefan | 6 | GER | 0 | HRC Test Team | Honda |
Location Information
The Termas de Río Hondo Circuit is located 6km from the city which gives the venue its name, in the Province of Santiago del Estero. It was built in a 150 hectare area and officially inaugurated on May 11, 2008, during the visit of Argentina´s Touring Car Racing championship. In… read more.
| Length | 4.806 kilometres / 2.986 miles |
| Width | 16 metres |
| Left corners | 5 |
| Right corners | 9 |
| Longest straight | 1.076 kilometres / 0.669 miles |
| Constructed | 2008 |
| Modified | 2013 |
| Resurfacing | Partly resurfaced before 2018 GP |
Autódromo Provincial Termas de Río Hondo, Termas de Río Hondo, Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m 37.683s (177.1km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2014) |
| Race Lap | 1m 39.019s (174.7 km/h) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha, 2015) |
| Race Time | 34m13.628s (168.4 km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2016) *shortened race |
| 2022 Race Winner | Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) |
