BARCELONA: World championship leader Fabio Quartararo extended his lead in the standings with a dominant victory at the Catalunya Grand Prix on Sunday as home favourite Aleix Espargaro threw away a podium position with an embarrassing mistake on the final lap. Yamaha’s Quartararo, who started third on the grid behind pole-sitter Espargaro of Aprilia and Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia, stormed into the lead after the lights went out, overtaking both riders by turn one.
Frenchman Quartararo had struggled for grip on his Yamaha during practice but once he took the lead, he made no mistakes as he pulled away and quickly built a big advantage, forcing Espargaro to focus on the battle for second with Jorge Martin. “I felt good from the beginning, I knew I wanted to be first on the first corner,” said Quartararo, who has 147 points after nine races.
Last year’s championship runner-up Bagnaia started second on the grid but was hit from behind by a falling Takaaki Nakagami on the opening lap, with the Japanese rider’s helmet clipping the rear wheel.
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