GP of Argentina 2022: Aleix Espargaró and Aprilia take MotoGP maiden victory

Aleix Espargaró has won his first MotoGP race at the GP of Argentina 2022 at Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo this Sunday. The Aprilia rider has also given the team from Noale its first victory in the premier class after defeating Jorge Martín, who led the race until the final laps, in an intense duel. 

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Álex Rins (Suzuki), has completed the all-Spanish podium in third, ahead of teammate Joan Mir, fourth. Another pilot who seems to have recovered some of his past good feelings on his bike has been Pecco Bagnaia. Displaying a great deal of patience and perseverance, the Italian rider climbed nine places from fourteenth to fifth. 

Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) gave the biggest disappointment of the 2022 Argentine GP. The defending champion, who started in sixth, sank down the pack during the opening laps. In the end, he managed to save face with an eighth-place finish.  

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 All in all, a race to remember for Aleix Espargaró, who has taken the first MotoGP victory of his career at his 200th attempt and has given Aprilia the same honour. The Catalan rider is now first in the standings with 45 points, followed by Brad Binder (KTM) with 38 and  Qatar GP winner Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing) and Rins (Suzuki), who are tied at 36. 

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Martín overtakes Espargaró at the start  

Aleix lost his pole position to a lightning Martín at the start of the Argentine GP 2022, while Luca Marini held on to third place, and Pol Espargaró, fourth. Meanwhile, Viñales drop one place to sixth between Rins and Nakagami. In that first lap, Martinator‘ managed to open a few meters with Aleix only to lose that advantage on the following tour. 

The two leading contenders then opened a one-second gap with Pol Espargaró, Marini and Rins. Quartararo, on the other hand, dropped from fifth to thirteenth in just two terrifying laps. ‘The Devil’ was in his very own hell as he struggled to keep up.  

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 Two laps later and with 22 to go, the two Spaniards had increased their lead to 1.5 seconds. Behind them followed compatriot and Aleix’s brother, Pol with Rins and Marini. The promise of an exciting duel was starting to take shape between the two fastest gunmen on the track. In third position but a whole 1.7 seconds behind were Pol Espargaró and Alex Rins. 

Martín and Espargaró break away  

The final phase of the race came when both pilots, determined to become the protagonists of the Argentine MotoGP 2022, broke definitely away from the pack, always with Martín in the lead. The distance between them had been reduced to almost nothing, with Martín barely able to contain Espargaró’s attack.

The pilot Madrid had to squeeze all the juice from his Ducati in order to stay ahead of the race. The Catalan, on the other hand, was visibly more comfortable on the chase. 

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In that privileged position, he could study his rival closely ahead of his final offensive while hardly wearing himself out. At the same time, he didn’t have to worry about what was coming behind with Rins a second away. And then…the moment of truth arrived. 
After some alternating of positions came the final blow. With five laps remaining for the checkered flag, Aleix passed Martín again and consolidating his advantage, sat course to glory. 
From that moment on, Aleix demonstrated to have a faster pace than his compatriot. Martín watched in despair as his friend got away meter by meter. He couldn’t stop him anymore. 
Images of GP of Argentina 2022: Aprilia Instagram.

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