Suzuki rider Álex Rins has won the Aragon GP MotoGP this Sunday at the MotorLand Circuit in Alcañiz after fending off a superb Álex Márquez (Honda), who has finished second, same position of FrenchGP last week. 

Third place has gone to the Suzuki of Joan Mir completing a fully Spanish podium. This result brings the pilot from Mallorca to the position of new leader of the standings. 

The Spaniard has taken full advantage of poleman’s Fabio Quartararo hard-luck. The Frenchman has finished in 18th place, having lost his momentum as a result of the two falls he suffered during this weekend’s free training sessions.  

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Maverick Viñales has come close to the podium and his bid for the title is still very much alive. During the course of this bizarre World Championship, the absence of a clear leader has resulted in eight different winners over ten races. 

Andrea Dovizioso has joined Quartararo as one of the day’s big losers. The Ducati pilot only managed a seventh-place and is already 15 points behind the leader. In any case, only 15 points separate the four pilots at the top of the standings, which means anything can happen. 

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Maverick takes the lead at the start 

Maverick had for once gotten off to a good start. After drawing up level (and touching) pole-holder Quartararo, he stole the lead comfortably. From the first moments of the race, he managed to distance himself from ‘El Diablo’ and Morbidelli, the other Yamaha of the Petronas SRT. 

Meanwhile, and only a few meters behind, Álex Rins started a superhuman comeback, climbing from tenth to fourth with astonishing ease. The pilot from Nous Barris wanted to make an impression. 

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the civil war between Fabio and Morbidelli, Viñales continued stretching his advantage. It seemed no one could rival him. 

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Quartararo climbs down and Rins takes the lead 

With 21 laps left, Álex Márquez made it clear that he was ready to leave his skin on the track. The #72 was engaged in a beautiful battle for seventh place with Dovi’s official Ducati. His French podium had obviously boosted his confidence. 

Meanwhile, Maverick continued in the lead, half a second ahead of Fabio, who was, in turn, being chased by Rins. The Suzuki pilot from Barcelona had devoured Morbidelli for third place. 

The #42, however, was hungry for success. He had a feeling this could be his lucky day. With just 20 laps to go, he sealed the fastest lap and placed himself behind Quartararo. In another sensational part of the race, his teammate Joan Mir had already climbed to fifth. 

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Rins takes the lead…and the victory  

Rins knew he had to pass Quartararo if he wanted to stand a chance for glory. Maverick had increased his distance over the French to 0.718 seconds after his fight with Morbidelli.

With 18 laps still left for the chequered flag, Rins overtook Fabio and went on the hunt for Viñales. Three laps after that came the brutal offensive against #12th. 

That was the defining moment of the Aragon GP. The pilot from Barcelona launched himself for the victory but his pursuers didn’t make it easy for him. World War III broke out. 

Moments later Viñales was losing the first position to Rins, then the second to Mir and finally the third to Márquez. The #12 was left out of the podium at the Aragon GP. Unbelievable! 

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What followed was a beautiful showdown between the two youngest pilots from Suzuki and Honda. With four laps to go, Marc’s brother passed Mir on his way to hunt Rins down.

He came close but he never managed to pass him. The #42 fended him off with a display of great defensive skills, sealing his first win of the year and the third of his MotoGP. Next week we’ll witness the second chapter of this thrilling story at this very same scenario. 

Images of Aragon GP: Suzuki.