Sometimes in MotoGP, things appear completely set in stone before they even happen. At the end of Saturday’s sessions Fabio Quartararo seemed to be far and away the favourite to win Sunday’s grand prix in Catalunya. Not only is it a circuit that he has a superb track record at, but he was dominant throughout the practice sessions and took pole in a fairly self-assured fashion. It seemed very reasonable at that point to assume that Sunday’s race would be a battle amongst the pack for second place, as Quartararo seemed all but assured to romp his way to victory. You wouldn’t have been out of order to put a handsome amount of money on such a result.
But if modern-day MotoGP is anything, it is unpredictable. After getting swamped in the opening exchanges and having to battle his way back forward from sixth, Quartararo never really got settled into his rhythm and appeared to simply be lacking the controlling and calculating speed we had predicted the day prior. Stuck behind KTM’s Oliveira for a number of laps, he eventually managed to get ahead and into the lead, but appeared unable to pull away from the riders behind him. He was eventually taken back by Oliveira and the Ducatis behind him, and crossed the line in third, though that would not be his official placement.
Two penalties were accrued by the Frenchman over the course of the race. The first was for cutting the first two corners while being pressured by Pramac rider Zarco in the latter stages of the race. The second was far more puzzling: Quartararo’s leathers came undone, the zip sliding most of the way down his chest and leaving the protector there detached. He eventually took the chest protector off and tossed it to the side, an action that caused unanimous anger from his fellow riders. A move like that is simply adding danger to the already difficult sport of motorcycle racing, and as a result Quartararo was penalised after the race’s conclusion with a 6-second time loss, dropping him from third across the line all the way down to sixth.
None of this changed the final result for the eventual winner, of course. Miguel Oliveira showed incredible form all race and wowed the critics and fans alike to take KTM’s first win of 2021, and his third in the premier class. Oliveira showed some incredible grit, leading the race in both the opening and closing stages by a fairly comfortable margin and not allowing Quartararo to get in his head when he was briefly overtaken. The race was a battle of stamina, and the Portugese rider simply had better stamina than his foes. It was a truly inspiring race, and a fantastic result for the KTM factory after their early season woes.
It must have felt great for Oliveira. After all the journalists were focused on Quartararo’s dominance on Friday and Saturday, Oliveira defied all the odds and won in a confident and impressive fashion. The importance of the win wouldn’t have gone unnoticed by him and his team, either. KTM had a shocking start to this season after their gains in 2020, and since Mugello they’ve been dying to show that their upgrades have really brought them back into the fight. Two podiums on the trot will also look good to the KTM management as contract season continues to spiral, and one has to imagine that an extension within the factory team will be coming Oliveira’s way sometime soon.
He was joined on the podium by some more familiar faces. Zarco and Miller both continued their championship charges with solid podium finishes, Zarco looking like he might have even challenged for the win had the race gone a couple of laps longer. The Ducati is showing some serious strength this season, with one or more riders on the podium every race this year and three riders in the fight for the championship lead. Ducati has become renowned as a manufacturer that pushes the limits of new designs and technology every season, and this year is only reinforcing that title. If Quartararo doesn’t win the championship this year, it feels safe to assume a Ducati rider will.
That’s not to take away from the other manufacturers behind. Mir was bumped up to fourth thanks to Quartararo’s penalties, another strong finish for the defending champion and sole Suzuki rider for the weekend. Vinales also recovered some valuable points in fifth, finishing ahead of Quartararo for the third time this season. Both riders remain on the cusp of the championship contenders and both riders clearly need to take and extra step if they wish to remain with the leaders. For Vinales, it is clearly a question of consistency in his starts and his qualifying that is tripping him up, as we saw what he is capable in the Qatar grand prix.
For Mir, the situation is a little more complicated. The Suzuki has clearly lost some of the late race dominance it had last year, and as a result the reigning champion has less advantages to use against his rivals. Suzuki’s bikes have always been highlighted as a jack-of-all-trades kind of design, but this year the other manufacturers have clearly gained more ground than them in pretty much every area. Mir clearly still has the capacity to win a world title, and last year certainly wasn’t a fluke. The Spaniard has even begun making remarks along these lines in his media debriefs, highlighting some potential troubles within his pit box. Mir can still challenge for this championship, but it might just be the case that his bike cannot.
As I mentioned, this was a race of stamina, and a number of riders failed to run the distance. Both Espargaro brothers crashed out of some decent points results, and Marc Marquez crashed out while in the hunt for the podium after just seven laps. It was fantastic to see Marc back and fighting at the front of the race, briefly moving as high as fourth place, but his crash highlights the serious woes Honda are facing at present. The bike just isn’t working, for Marc or for anyone else, and as a result all four riders are suffering. It seems like the moment the riders start seriously pushing for results, the machine under them folds under the pressure, and the situation has gotten so bad that some people have begun suggesting the possibility that Honda will gain concessions for 2022.
Iker Lecuona and Danilo Petrucci were also among the fallers, which is a bad sign for both of their futures in the class. With Remy Gardner confirmed to be taking one seat in Tech3 next year and Raul Fernandez looking like a possibility to join him, both of the current riders needed to start performing at a higher level this weekend. Lecuona certainly did everything in his power to hold on: he very nearly made it into the Q2 session but crashed out in the later stages, and was sitting in a comfortable top ten position before he crashed out in the race itself. The pressure of not knowing what their futures look like must be weighing heavily on both riders.
For Petrucci, not getting a seat for next season likely spells the end of his career. This would be disappointing, of course, but the Italian has certainly had an impressive run throughout his time in the premier class and would certainly be able to hang up his leathers with no doubts or weights on his shoulders. For Lecuona, a return to the intermediate class beckons, where the 21 year old can begin rebuilding and aim for a return to MotoGP in future years. It must have been incredibly difficult for the Spaniard to join the premier class at such a young age, and some more years of experience fighting on smaller machinery may actually help him in the long run. Still, he would likely prefer to retain his seat and continue his work with the best riders on the planet.
The paddock gets a weekend off to relax and prepare for the next double header. With the German and Dutch grand prix coming up, we are rapidly approaching the mid point in the championship, where it will hopefully start to become clear who is still in contention for the title and who has too much ground to cover after the Summer break. Catalunya was a test of endurance, but the coming weeks will showcase who has the raw skill and talent to master the trickier tracks coming up. Let’s hope all the riders at least manage to finish each race with their clothes still on.
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