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Follow the Grand Prix Catalunya live. This MotoGP race starts at 14:00 on 3 September 2023. Find race results, calendar, standings, scores and all of this season’s MotoGP races.
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Highlights
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THANK YOU AND GOODBYE
Thanks for joining our live text coverage of the 2023 MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix.
It's not long to wait for the next one as the riders return already next weekend for the San Marino Grand Prix. As always, you can follow the action live on TNT Sports.
ESPARGARO HEADS HISTORIC APRILIA ONE-TWO ON HOME SOIL
Aleix Espargaro buries his Barcelona demons and takes the win at his home Grand Prix, heading a historic Aprilia one-two over the line. Jorge Martin takes the chequered flag in third, reducing his championship gap to Francesco Bagnaia.
ESPARGARO ON COURSE FOR VICTORY
No one can touch Espargaro as he enters the final lap. Both Vinales and Martin look safe in the remaining podium positions.
ESPARGARO PULLS AWAY
The gap between the Aprilias has increased to more than a second within moments. Espargaro looks confident, Vinales like he has conceded that putting up a fight is not worth the risk.
Further behind, Zarco has made his way past Oliveira for fourth.
ESPARGARO TAKES LEAD
Coming down the start/finish straight, Espargaro dives down the inside at Turn 1 and, despite holding on for as long as possible, Vinales eventually has to surrender the position and resort to the off-track line.
GAME ON BETWEEN THE APRILIAS
Were the past laps just tyre management from Espargaro? One way or another, the home rider has now reeled in Vinales and looks to have the better grip. It seems a question of when rather than if Espargaro challenges for the lead.
VINALES MANAGES, GAP STABLE
Vinales looks to have the upper hand in the opening sector before Espargaro eats into the gap. The advantage is enough for now to keep the gap at around half a second for now.
ESPARGARO FASTER BUT CAN'T CLOSE GAP FOR NOW
Espargaro is chipping away at the deficit to his teammate, but the gap persists for now. In terms of pace, the Aprilia are in a league of their own and a country mile clear of the field.
At this point of the race we're likely to see some serious struggles with tyres dropping.
MARTIN COMFORTABLE IN THIRD
As it stands, Martin has third covered with more than a second of an advantage over Oliveira and a better pace.
And fourth isn't in the books for Oliveira yet either with Zarco creeping closer.
FIGHT FOR SEVENTH
There's a good fight for P7 going on, headed by Quartararo who has Miller breathing down his neck. Closely behind, Di Giannantonio and Fernandez are blowing punches.
ESPARGARO LOSES TIME
There must have been some type of error from Espargaro who lost more than a second to Vinales here.
MARTIN BACK INTO THIRD
Slowly but surely, Oliveira dropped back into the clutches of Martin and the Spaniard pounces when he gets the chance. Tyre wear looks to be a problem for the RNF rider.
FACTORY APRILIA SHOOTOUT ON THE HORIZON
Vinales and Espargaro are running closely together and at the moment no one can match their pace. At the moment it looks like we're in for a straight shootout between the two factory Aprilias for the win.
BEZZECCHI IN TYRE TROUBLE
Facing a similar situation as Binder, Bezzecchi too was forced to take the restart with a different tyre compound as he had no more mediums left. However, the Italian opted for a soft front tyre which looks to be fading already.
BINDER OUT WITH TECHNICAL PROBLEM
Having been forced to restart on a hard front tyre - the only option left in the KTM box - the race is over for Binder who exits proceedings with a technical issue.
ALL APRILIA TOP THREE
Oliveira makes the move on Martin look effortless and we now have three Aprilias running in the top three.
Esparagro is wanting the lead here, closing ever closer in on Vinales.
OLIVEIRA SETS FASTEST LAP
That's two consecutive fastest laps from Oliveira who is inching closer to the riders ahead of him.
The Aprilias are flying here as Espargaro claims Martin for second while Vinales pulls away at the front.
MARTIN TAKES LEAD AT RESTART, VINALES FIGHTS BACK
A more cautious start this time as Martin takes the lead, trailed by Vinales. However, Vinales wastes no time to beat his compatriot to the position.
Two further Aprilias follow in Espargaro and Oliveira.
WARM-UP LAP
Take two for the Catalan Grand Prix as the riders head out for another warm-up lap.
GRID UPDATES
Neither factory Ducati is on the grid; Pecco Bagnaia obviously out after his nasty crash and Enea Bastianini too at the medical centre for a check-up.
All other riders are taking the restart.
PIT LANE OPEN
Green light at the end of pit lane. It'll be open for 60 seconds for the riders to head out to the grid for the quick start procedure.
QUICK START PROCEDURE ANNOUNCED
The race will get back underway with a quick start procedure, starting at 14:21 local time (13:21 BST).
One lap has been cut from the race distance, meaning the riders will go out for 23 laps and they will start from their original grid positions.
BAGNAIA REPORTED CONSCIOUS, TO BE TAKEN TO MEDICAL CENTRE
Pecco Bagnaia is receiving treatment trackside and will be taken to the medical centre. He has been reported to be conscious.
Replays show that Bagnaia suffered a nasty highside at Turn 2 that brought him down on the track. With nowhere to go and no time to react, Brad Binder ran over the Italian's leg.
RIDERS INVOLVED IN T1 INCIDENT
Confirmation that the following riders have been involved in the multi-rider incident at Turn 1: Alex Marquez, Enea Bastianini, Johann Zarco, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Marco Bezzecchi.
It looks that Bastianini lost the rear and caused a chain reaction. Fortunately, everyone seems to be relatively unscathed.
DRAMA AT THE START, RED FLAG OUT
Bagnaia held the lead at the start, but the story was further down the field when an incident at Turn 1 brought multiple riders down.
Moments later, Bagnaia too crashed from the lead and was left stranded on the track in a scary moment.
The red flag is out.
WARM-UP LAP
The riders are out on track for their warm-up lap. We're moments away from racing in Barcelona!
STARTING GRID
Here is a final reminder of how the grid is lining up today:
WEATHER REPORT
The sun is out and we will have a dry race here. Tyre wear has been a concern throughout this weekend and with temperatures still up, the question who can manage their rubber, particularly on the front, best may well become crucial here.
STRAIGHT SHOOTOUT AS FAR AS TYRES ARE CONCERNED
There's no surprises on the grid as all bar one rider have opted for a medium front, medium rear combination.
The only exception is Iker Lecuona who had to head back to his box after a crash on the out lap and looks to be forced to a soft front tyre as a consequence.
ESPARGARO WINS SPRINT ON HOME SOIL
Aleix Espargaro took his career-first Sprint victory yesterday and what better place to do so than on home soil with the Spaniard dubbing it a "special" win.
The Aprilia rider was a comprehensive two seconds ahead of the rest but there was hardly anything separating Francesco Bagnaia and Maverick Vinales in second and third respectively.
Catch up on yesterday's racing action:
BAGNAIA STORMS TO POLE POSITION
Francesco Bagnaia set a new track-record around Barcelona to bag his sixth pole position of the season. Aleix Espargaro had to settle for second on his home track, just over a tenth of a second off the pace, while Miguel Oliveira made sure a satellite rather than a factory Aprilia completed the front row, beating Maverick Vinales to third.
Read all about it:
HELLO AND WELCOME!
Hello and thanks for joining our live text coverage of the 2023 MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix.
We're at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya where Francesco Bagnaia is seeking to extend his championship lead, but it's Aleix Espargaro who is gunning for more on home soil. The Spaniard took his maiden Sprint win yesterday and would dearly love to double up today.
Elsewhere, Bagnaia may be well in control of the table standings, but the fight for runner-up is intensifying. Jorge Martin has overtaken Marco Bezzecchi, but there's no room to relax with his advantage over the Italian on only nine points and Brad Binder, currently in fourth, edging closer.
CATALAN GRAND PRIX LIVE - ESPARGARO SEEKS TO DOUBLE UP ON HOME SOIL AFTER SPRINT VICTORY