Montmeló (Spain) (AFP)
And here is Miguel Oliveira (KTM): the Portuguese won his first Grand Prix of the year in Catalonia ahead of the Frenchman Johann Zarco (Ducati-Pramac), who grabs points in the championship behind the leader Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), 4th Sunday after a penalty.
Australian Jack Miller (Ducati) took 3rd place in this 7th round, taking advantage of a three-second penalty imposed on French Quartararo, finally 4th for cutting a turn at the end of the race.
Second in the championship, Zarco (111 pts) puts pressure on his compatriot.
He is only 17 points behind Quartararo (118) in this unprecedented Franco-French duel.
In 3rd place in the world, Miller (90) overtook his Ducati teammate, the Italian Francesco Bagnaia (88), only 7th on Sunday.
Winner of his 3rd GP in the premier class after two last year and now 7th in the world, Oliveira confirms, after his 2nd place in Italy, that KTM is gaining momentum thanks to improvements made last week, in particular a new frame.
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- "It deserves a black flag" -
Starting from pole but doubling several times, Quartararo was back 2nd in the fight for victory in the last laps when he had a problem, visibly getting rid of his chest protection, according to television images.
The championship leader, 22, finished the race dangerously shirtless, the suit open.
Destabilized and losing speed, he was passed by Zarco and had to cut a turn, causing the penalty.
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"I don't know what happened, my wetsuit opened, I tried to put it back on but I didn't succeed. I can be happy to finish 4th", reacted Quartararo.
"Whether or not it is Fabio Quartararo, by lowering his zipper on purpose, I think it deserved a black flag (exclusion from race, editor's note). At this level, you cannot be allowed to run more than 350 km / h with your open suit, "former Australian two-time world champion Casey Stoner said on Twitter.
Quartararo considers that the penalty is "unclear" and is more than enough: "in terms of safety, there is no need to talk more about it, the race is over, everyone is fine and therefore he there is nothing to add ".
"I think it was not dangerous for us, but it was dangerous for him, (...) so a black flag for his safety could have been justified", rebounded Zarco at a press conference.
"It's something that never happens, in any case I don't remember such an incident," Oliveira continued, while Miller explained that "in this situation you don't think about safety, only on the run ... ".
- Zarco still 2nd -
"It's one of the best races of my career," said the 26-year-old Portuguese.
"Everything was difficult, between managing the tires and managing Fabio who put enormous pressure on me, who overtook me, I managed to overtake him again ... It was a perfect race, I can never thank enough KTM for giving me such a good bike, "continued Oliveira.
What to aim for the world title?
"It's far too early to talk about it, I'm just staying focused on the next race", in Germany in two weeks.
For the 4th time second this season, Zarco said he was "very happy" to have "managed to keep control" throughout the race, even if "he (he) still lacks something to win" his first GP in the premier class at 30.
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"In the last two laps I was lucky that Fabio had his problem," he also admitted.
Behind the top quartet, defending champion Joan Mir (Suzuki) finished 5th and remains 5th in the championship.
The multiple Spanish world champions Marc Marquez (Honda) and Italian Valentino Rossi (Yamaha-SRT) retired after a crash and remain stranded in 18th and 19th places in the world.
Up to 20% of the total capacity of the Barcelona-Catalonia circuit, or up to 24,000 people, were able to attend the race, a first this season.
In Moto2, Australian leader Remy Gardner consolidated his lead by winning ahead of his runner-up and KTM Ajo teammate Raul Fernandez.
In Moto3, the Spaniard Sergio Garcia won the race and goes second behind Pedro Acosta.
© 2021 AFP