Bagnaia and Ducati Lenovo Team come out victorious in #CatalanGP Sunday race. Bastianini eighteenth after receiving a penalty

• An all-Ducati podium for the third consecutive time on the full-race distance, with Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing) second ahead of Marc Márquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP)

The Ducati Lenovo Team returns on the top step of the podium in the Sunday race of the Catalan Grand Prix courtesy of an extraordinary performance by Francesco Bagnaia, who takes his third race win of the season. Enea Bastianini crossed the line in ninth place ad the end of the 24-lap encounter before receiving a 32-second penalty for failing to comply a long-lap penalty, which demotes him to eighteenth position.

Bagnaia had another perfect start from the front row and stayed in the lead in the early laps while trying to preserve the tires. After dropping down to third place with twelve laps left, Pecco lost a little bit of ground from the race lead while still maintaining the visual on the two riders battling for first position. Following Acosta’s crash, the reigning world champion started his relentless pursuit of the then-leader Martín and eventually overtook him at turn five with less than six laps to go, before crossing the finish line with a 1.7 margin on his opponent.

Bastianini rode through the first chicane in tenth place but could not stay with the leading group – albeit still within the top ten. At halfway point in the encounter, Enea was given a long-lap penalty by the race direction after cutting the first chicane, as he was forced to do so following an overtaking manoeuvre by Alex Márquez. By not carrying out the long-lap during the race, the penalty translated into an extra 32 seconds added to his total race time and resulted in an eighteenth-place finish.

As the Grand Prix of Catalunya draws to a close, Bagnaia is second in the title race, 39 points shy of Martín, while Bastianini sits fourth and 61 points in arrears. The Ducati Lenovo Team leads the team standings with 210 points, while Ducati tops the manufacturer standings (204 points).

The standard bearers of the Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action from Friday in front of their home crowd at the Mugello International Circuit, for the seventh Grand Prix of the season.

Francesco Bagnaia (#1 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st
“Today’s win was a very important one, both for how things panned out yesterday and also for last year’s results at this track. I tried to set the pace at the beginning and I thought it was the right one. As soon as Jorge (Martín) and Acosta got past me, I tried to stay with them, but I thought their pace was a bit too quick especially with regards to the tire wear on the full-race distance. Then I saw that their pace got back to a rhythm that was similar to mine. Once I overtook Jorge, I noticed I had already pulled a 0.4secs margin on him in one lap, so the only thing I had to do was to make it to the finish line. I rode the final lap almost with the feet on the ground, to avoid surprises. Now the Mugello awaits, and I hope fans will turn up at the circuit as many as they did here.”

Enea Bastianini (#23 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 18th
“It was a frustrating race for me, as a long-lap penalty came at halfway point as I was forced to run off the track after an overtake manoeuvre by Alex Márquez, in a situation where I had no other option but to cut the first chicane. I hope there’ll be more consideration in the future in this type of situations, as I feel that I didn’t deserve this penalty. On the contrary, I thought Alex was the one who had to give me back the position, but it didn’t go this way. Now we need to focus on making amends in the next race.”

Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“It was another tight race. We’re witnessing a time of incredible races for the fans, whom I think are enjoying a lot, not so much for myself because the tension is always sky high and I’m exhausted! It’s incredible to see these champions giving it all on the track. After last year’s results we chose to select this circuit as out test track with Michele (Pirro), and I believe this helped us find some valid solutions to improve our bike set-up. The guys have done an excellent work once again to prepare this event the best way and to put the riders in the best possible condition to do well.”