MOTO GP

Di Giannantonio overcomes chaos and wins the Catalan GP

The MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix delivered one of the most accident-prone races in recent years this Sunday (17). After two red flag interruptions and a turnaround after the checkered flag, Fabio Di Giannantonio emerged victorious in Barcelona. This is the rider's first triumph since the 2023 Qatar GP.

The official podium was only defined in the stewards' offices. Di Giannantonio shared the celebrations with Joan Mir and Fermín Aldeguer. However, a post-race penalty applied to Mir for irregular tire pressure promoted the current champion Francesco Bagnaia to third place.

Below the podium trio, Marco Bezzecchi secured fourth place for Aprilia, closely followed by Fabio Quartararo, Luca Marini and Brad Binder. The highlight of the second half of the top 10 was the young Brazilian rookie Diogo Moreira, who made a survival race to cross the finish line in an unprecedented ninth position, just ahead of Franco Morbidelli.

MotoGP now returns between May 29th and 31st for the seventh round of the 2026 season: the Italian Grand Prix.

Initial chaos and hospitalization of riders...Pedro Acosta suffered a sudden mechanical failure on the straight and abruptly reduced his speed. With no time to react, Álex Márquez collided with the rear of the KTM. The impact destroyed Márquez's bike and threw debris across the track, also causing Di Giannantonio, who was right behind, to fall. Álex Márquez was transferred conscious to the local hospital for detailed examinations.

After the circuit was cleaned, the first restart (scheduled for 13 laps) lasted only a few meters. At turn 1, a triple accident involved Luca Marini, Pecco Bagnaia and Johann Zarco. Bagnaia's bike hit Zarco in the gravel trap, forcing the second red flag of the day. The Frenchman from LCR Honda was taken to the hospital with a suspected injury to his left leg.

Zarco confirms fracture and knee injury: "It was more of a scare"..."It was more of a scare than damage." These were the words used by Johann Zarco to reassure fans after his serious accident at the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix. The Frenchman from LCR confirmed that he suffered only a knee injury.

On the first restart, the Frenchman crashed on the first corner, on top of the bikes of Francesco Bagnaia and Luca Marini. His left leg got caught on the rear wheel of Pecco's bike, until he stopped in the gravel trap.

Zarco remained conscious, but felt a very strong pain in his left leg, and was taken to the hospital for further tests.

The LCR rider posted a video on social media where he mentioned a small fracture and, mainly, a rupture of the ligaments in his left leg, an injury that could keep him off the track for a long time.

"Rest assured, we are still waiting for the results of the tests," Zarco began. "I'm wearing a neck brace, but it bothers me more than anything else. It's mainly my knee; the ligaments tore, but my femur isn't broken."

"There's a small fracture in the lower part of the fibula, on the outside of my left ankle. I'll keep you updated."

"Just to reassure you: it was more of a scare than actual damage, so to speak. I'll keep you informed. I'm sleeping in the hospital tonight because they want to keep me under observation; we'll see what happens later."

Here's how the grid ended up:

1st: Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) — 20:06.243

2nd: Fermín Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) — +1.466

3rd: Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) — +4.320

4th: Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) — +4.679

5th: Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) — +4.876

6th: Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) — +4.971

7th: Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) — +5.137

8th: Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) — +5.377

9th: Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) — +6.839

10th: Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46) Racing Team) — +7.160

11th: Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) — +10.147

12th: Augusto Fernández (Yamaha Factory Racing) — +16.245

13th: Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) — +17.250

14th: Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) — +22.916

15th: Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) — +26.452

16th: Toprak Razgatlioglu (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) — +27.808

17th: Raúl Fernández (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) — +31.066

by Autonews