MotoGP: Aragon GP Preview: A wall of points to try and break down

The Motorland Aragon circuit joined the MotoGP calendar in 2010 and since then there have been some pretty fierce battles around the 5km course. In recent years though, it has been a Marc Marquez colony and a circuit at which is becoming more and more Marquez-fan based. Not too much yellow, not any outpouring hatred from those trackside, but instead a welcoming, cheery, carnival atmosphere takes over. Heading into the round, it is the home-hero at the front of the championship by a huge 67 points over 2017 runner-up Andrea Dovizioso, whilst 9-time champion Valentino Rossi completes the top three. Aragon is make or break for the opposition and if the right results go his way, Marc Marquez could be looking at sowing the championship up in Thailand.

Marc Marquez has been imperious in 2018, almost unbeatable some would argue. On the podium in all but two races and of those podiums, five have been wins, he really is the man of the moment coming into his home round. The 25-year-old Spaniard has been a winner at Aragon on three occasions, although he crashed out of the race in 2015 and in 2014, crashed in the wet but remounted to finish 13th. It is a circuit that he has always looked immaculate on and when he’s crashed, it’s been out of the leading positions. Having said all of that, if he fails to win at Aragon then it’ll be his longest run without a race win since Malaysia last year to COTA this year and one thing must also be remembered – Marquez has been beaten at Aragon and history does have a habit of repeating itself every now and then.

Andrea Dovizioso isn’t really in the hunt for the championship; Marc Marquez certainly has a hand and few fingers on the trophy now. However, one mistake from the Spaniard and the Italian ace needs to be there to pick up the pieces. Dovi had a hellish Aragon round last year, with even Aleix Espargaro’s Aprilia ahead of him as the GP18 struggled home in a lacklustre 7th. This year, Dovi needs to return to the podium for the first time at Aragon since 2012, when he was 3rd. Dovi’s been on the podium in the last three races and the rider from Forli will be looking for his first back-to-back wins since the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone last year. Ducati are also unbeaten since the return from the Summer break so the momentum is certainly with Dovizioso, but more-so Ducati.

Valentino Rossi had a rather annoying home race at Misano last time out, not making a single pass in front of a huge, adoring crowd. That will mean that he is going to want to deliver at Aragon. A broken leg last year wasn’t too much of an issue for him, as he finished 5th in the race after qualifying on the front row for the first time ever at Aragon. The track is one of four circuits on the current calendar that The Doctor has yet to win on but that may not mean he isn’t going to win this weekend. Yamaha are struggling in the heat and that is an issue that Rossi could do without. Now 70 points behind Marquez in the title race, the 39-year-old Italian is really in a race for 2nd place, just three points from Dovi’s Ducati. Rossi has beaten Dovi at Aragon more times than Dovi has beaten him, so if anything is comforting for ‘Vale’ coming into this round, it may well be that one stat there.

Jorge Lorenzo actually had the crowd on his side when he was passing Marquez at Misano. Then the Majorcan dropped the Ducati with a lap and a half to go, staying in 4th place in the championship. Lorenzo is 91 points back and is mathematically still in with a chance of this championship, although it is severely unlikely. The Ducati rider goes to Aragon as a winner at the circuit on two previous occasions (2014 and 2015) whilst also being on the podium in every single race besides 2010, when Nicky Hayden thieved a podium from under him on the last lap. Lorenzo has the pace to be able to win the Aragon Grand Prix, we saw that last year – in fact, it was arguably the race where we got to see Lorenzo’s Ducati prowess really shine convincingly for the first time. Don’t discount the Spaniard, he is out for revenge after his Misano balls-up.

Maverick Vinales lies 5th in the championship and is the 2nd of the Factory Movistar Yamahas. A 5th place for the Spaniard last time out at Misano was a solid performance, even if he was beaten by the Independent LCR Honda of Cal Crutchlow. Yamaha’s issues continue to deepen but they will be hoping to salvage something at Aragon, a circuit at which they have won at many times before with Jorge Lorenzo. Vinales himself was a pole-man at Aragon last year (his last pole position to date) and finished the race in 4th place ahead of teammate Rossi. Vinales has had three podiums at Aragon before – including a win in 2014 in the Moto2 class – but he is yet to step on the podium at Aragon in the premier class. Can he do so this weekend and give Yamaha something to celebrate?

Cal Crutchlow has been Britain’s ambassador in MotoGP since joining the championship in 2011 and my goodness has he made us proud. However, a podium at Misano was just what Crutchlow ordered and, at some points, he was lapping quicker than the Repsol Honda of Marc Marquez and Factory Ducati of Jorge Lorenzo ahead of him. Crutchlow has good form at Aragon, with every finish being a top ten result and just one retirement coming last year. The 32-year-old hasn’t had back-to-back podiums in MotoGP since Brno and Silverstone back in 2016 and that is something he will be eager to correct. The LCR Honda rider has been nothing short of spectacular in 2018 and has already scored more points than at this round last year (and we are a race short, too), so will he score his best annual points haulage with Honda? He has 141 to beat and the most points he has ever scored in MotoGP in one season was 188 back in 2013 – could this year be Cal’s and Britain’s best yet?

Dani Pedrosa is the second Repsol Honda and has good form at Aragon too, having been 2nd in the previous two years at the track. Three other podiums at the venue, including a win in 2012, makes for good reading for the 32-year-old, who has had a disastrous year so far. 11th in the standings on 76 points, Pedrosa continues his search for his first podium of his 2018 campaign.

Suzuki riders Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins have both been winners at the Aragon circuit previously. Iannone won the first ever Moto2 event at the circuit, back in 2010, whilst Rins was a winner in Moto3 in 2013. With Suzuki not having the greatest of track records at Aragon and their best result being a 4th with Vinales in 2016, they might not be the best manufacturer come Sunday. Suzuki failed to break into the top ten last year at Aragon and they’ll make sure that at least one of their bikes make it in there this year.

The Factory Red Bull KTM team have been hard at work coming into Aragon and will be hoping for a similar performance to 2017. Pol Espargaro was 10th last year and under 15 seconds off the win, whilst Bradley Smith finished a lowly 19th. This year, both riders will hope for better, with Espargaro being a point-scorer at Misano and Smith narrowly missing out. The Austrian manufacturer showed signs of commitment off-track too, signing Mika Kallio as their test rider once again.

Aprilia are the last manufacturer in the points standings and goodness me, have they got work to do to even get near the kind of performance they were able to put in last year at Aragon. Aleix Espargaro stunned everyone with a 6th place and whilst a top ten may well be hard to repeat in 2018, you know Aleix Espargaro will do everything in his power. Scott Redding has just one top ten finish in the premier class at Aragon and that came in 2014, whilst his sole podium at the track came in 2012 in Moto2. Both Aprilia riders will be hungry to score good points this weekend.

On to the Independent team riders and Takaaki Nakagami completes the LCR Honda line up and at a circuit he has been good at before. The Japanese rookie has been in the top ten in the last three years at Aragon, with a best result of 5th in 2016. He scored a 13th place at Misano, meaning that should he score points this weekend, it’d be his first back-to-back point-scoring rounds since Jerez and Le Mans earlier this year. Nakagami will also continue his search for his first top ten of the year.

The Tech 3 Yamahas are having a relatively difficult time of things of late. Johann Zarco was only 10th at Misano, whilst Hafizh Syahrin was a poor 19th. Zarco has finished every race in the top ten since his crash at Le Mans but he hasn’t been in the top six at all since then. He has one podium at Aragon, coming back in 2014 in Moto2 on the Caterham Suter, whilst he was just 9th last year. Syahrin was 16th in Moto2 last year and his best result at Aragon remains his 7th place back in 2015. Last years 16th place is – so-far – the only time Syahrin has failed to score points at Aragon.

The Alma Pramac Ducati outfit slipped outside of the top six in the championship after a torrid Misano, which saw neither bike inside the top ten for the first time since Valencia last year. Petrucci had a horrible Aragon in 2017, finishing 20th, whilst Jack Miller was 13th for the Marc VDS Honda squad. Petrucci only has one point-scoring ride at Aragon, coming back in 2014 on the ART machine, finishing 11th. Miller only has one other point-scoring finish at Aragon, coming back in 2013 in Moto3, when he was again 13th.

The Angel Nieto Racing Ducati team continue their heroic efforts with Alvaro Bautista, as the Spaniard moves to within just 15 points of the top ten. His run of top tens is something quite spectacular, where in the current form, only Valentino Rossi has had more consecutive top tens than Alvaro. Bautista has been inside the top ten at Aragon on seven occasions from eight starts, including an 8th last year for the Angel Nieto Ducati team, and even put the Aprilia bike in 9th place in 2016! Teammate Karel Abraham hasn’t actually finished a Grand Prix at Aragon since 2012, when he was 9th, which also remains his only points at the circuit. He’s not scored points since Catalunya back in June this year, so he’ll be desperate to get back in the top 15.

Marc VDS Honda’s tricky season continues, with no top ten since Jerez at the start of the year. Franco Morbidelli was 12th at Misano, the best result he has had since the same Jerez round, whilst teammate Tom Luthi was 22nd. Morbidelli won a scintillating race last year at Aragon, with a podium in 2016 backing up his good form at the circuit. Luthi has been no lower than 5th at the circuit since 2014 but has never achieved a podium there. Can the Swiss rider get his first points of the year this weekend?

The Avintia Ducati team looks different yet again, with Xavier Simeon still in the team but now joined by fellow Moto2 race winner, Jordi Torres, who replaces Tito Rabat who continues his recovery from the Silverstone incident. Simeon has just one point scoring finish at Aragon and that is an 11th back in 2016 for Speed Up in Moto2. Jordi Torres, who rides for MV Agusta in World Superbikes, has two top tens at Aragon in Moto2 riding for Suter, with 6th place being his best result in 2013. Torres will be nearer to the top pace than Christophe Ponsson but scoring points may well be difficult.