JAKARTA - Ducati team rider Jack Miller won his first victory this season after winning the Spanish Grand Prix when Fabio Quartararo failed to score a hat trick at the Jerez-Angel Nieto Circuit on Sunday.
Francesco Bagnaia finished runner-up, 1.912 seconds later to take Ducati to a 1-2 finish, while Franco Morbidelli completed the podium at P3 for the Petronas Yamaha SRT team, as reported by Antara on the official MotoGP page.
The victory was Miller's second in the premier class since the 2016 Dutch Grand Prix and this time as a factory Ducati rider.
Ducati has been absent from the top podium at Jerez for a long time after winning the Spanish Grand Prix in 2006 through the appearance of Loris Capirossi.
🇦🇺 @jackmilleraus leads @ducaticorse 1-2 at Jerez! The Australian capitialises on @ FabioQ20's misfortune to grab his second #MotoGP win! 🏆 # SpanishGP 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/aFVYNwVvLd
- MotoGP ™ 🏁 (MotoGP) May 2, 2021
On paper, Quartararo could have won today to snatch a hat trick after bagging two wins at Jerez last season.
Starting from pole position for the fourth consecutive time at Jerez, Quartararo was again less agile when sliding and lost three positions towards the first corner.
It took the French racer four laps to reclaim the race leadership position from Ducati rider Jack Miller.
Quartararo kept Miller about 1.5 seconds away and looked convincing on his way to victory.
However, entering the second half of the race El Diablo suddenly lost his speed and the Ducati rider cut his distance and overtook the main straight track on lap 16.
In the replay Quartararo shook his head as he slowed down at Turn 6, realizing the problem he was having.
Quartararo couldn't do much when Francesco Bagnaia easily passed him, then also his former team-mate, Franco Morbidelli to occupy the podium slot.
After 25 laps were over, Quartararo with a big question mark on his head found himself finishing P13.
Bagnaia has now taken over the leadership of the provisional riders' standings with a collection of 66 points, shifting Quartararo to second place by just two points.
Maverick Vinales is in third place with 50 points.
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda), who returns to the Honda 2020 chassis this weekend, is again the fastest Honda rider after finishing P4 ahead of Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) and Aleix Espargaro in sixth place for Aprilia.
Marc Marquez, who has been recovering from injury over the past nine months due to a fracture at Jerez last year, competed in his second race of the season after the Portuguese GP.
Marquez escaped injury after crashing in FP3 on Saturday and falling once again at high speed in the warm-up session. He started the race from P14 and finished P9.
Pramar Racing rookie Jorge Martin is still recovering from surgery and has been replaced by Tito Rabat.
Meanwhile, Stefan Bradl became a wildcard at Jerez for the Honda team after becoming Marquez's replacement in Qatar.
The next MotoGP series will be held at the Buggati Circuit, Le Mans on May 16.
Spanish GP results:1 Jack Miller Ducati Team (GP21) 41: 5,602
2 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati Team (GP21) +1,912
3 Franco Morbidelli Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +2,516
4 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda (RC213V) +3,206
5 Joan Mir Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +4,256
6 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +5,164
7 Maverick Viñales Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +5,651
8 Johann Zarco Pramac Ducati (GP21) +7,161
9 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda (RC213V) +10,494
10 Pol Espargaro Repsol Honda (RC213V) +11,776
11 Miguel Oliveira Red Bull KTM (RC16) +14,766
12 Stefan Bradl HRC (RC213V) +17,243
13 Fabio Quartararo Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +18,907
14 Danilo Petrucci KTM Tech3 (RC16) +20,095
15 Iker Lecuona KTM Tech3 (RC16) +20,277
16 Luca Marini Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19) * +20,922
17 Valentino Rossi Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +22,731
18 Tito Rabat Pramac Ducati (GP21) +30,314
19 Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) * +37,912
20 Alex Rins Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +38,234
Brad Binder Red Bull KTM (RC16) DNF
Enea Bastianini Avintia Ducati (GP19) * DNF
Alex Marquez LCR Honda (RC213V) DNF
* rookie
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