Argentina, April 04, 2022: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 – DNF

“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 – 19th

“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 Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 1.33
4 MIR Joan 36 SPA 13 Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 1.831
5 BAGNAIA Francesco 62 ITA 11 Ducati Lenovo Ducati 5.84
6 BINDER Brad 33 RSA 10 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 6.192
7 VINALES Maverick 12 SPA 9 Aprilia Racing Aprilia 6.54
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 Ducati 14.898
15 MARQUEZ Alex 73 SPA 1 LCR Honda Honda 23.472
16 FERNANDEZ Raul 25 SPA 0 Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 25.962
17 GARDNER Remy 87 AUS 0 Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 28.711
18 BINDER Darryn 40 RSA 0 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Yamaha 28.784
19 BRADL Stefan 6 GER 0 Repsol Honda Honda 31.943
20 DOVIZIOSO Andrea 4 ITA 0 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Yamaha 1’21.499
21 DI GIANNANTONIO Fabio 49 ITA 0 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati DNF
22 ESPARGARO Pol 44 SPA 0 Repsol Honda Honda DNF
23 MORBIDELLI Franco 21 ITA 0 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha DNF
24 ZARCO Johann 5 FRA 0 Pramac Racing Ducati DNF

 

Rider Standings

 

Pos Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor
1 ESPARGARO Aleix 41 SPA 45 Aprilia Racing