MotoGP Argentina GP: Aprilia's Espargaro beats Martin for first grand prix win

Making his 200th MotoGP race start this weekend, Espargaro took Aprilia’s first modern era pole on Saturday and carried it through to claim his first-ever grand prix win – ending a record wait for a victory in any class spanning 283 races back to 2004.

Aprilia made its MotoGP return in 2015 after bowing out at the end of a miserable spell in 2004, with it only taking its first podium last year at Silverstone after several seasons as the slowest manufacturer in the premier class.

Poleman Espargaro got a tardy launch off the line and allowed second-placed Jorge Martin on the Pramac Ducati to move into the lead.

VR46 Ducati rider Luca Marini briefly held second, but was shuffled back by Espargaro into Turn 2, while a fast-starting Pol Espargaro on the factory Honda slotted into fourth.

The opening-lap shuffle gave Martin a 0.4-second lead, while reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo dropped to the fringes of the top 10 from ninth.

Quartararo would continue to get pulled into the pack, dropping as low as 13th in the opening stages, while Martin and Aleix Espargaro moved a second clear of the riders behind.

Martin sat at the front of the pack for the first 17 of 25 laps, absorbing pressure from Espargaro – who ran wide at Turn 1 on the 10th tour and dropped a second back – before the first raid on his lead came.

Espargaro nailed his run out of the Turn 3 right-hander and capitalised on a headshake for Martin’s Ducati to pull ahead into the braking zone of Turn 5.

However, the Aprilia rider ran wide and allowed Martin back through. Meanwhile, Suzuki’s Alex Rins was looming behind at just over a second adrift.

Espargaro tried again into Turn 5 on lap 20 and once more ran wide. But on the following tour the Aprilia rider