MotoGP Spanish GP: Bagnaia holds off Quartararo for Jerez win

Both Bagnaia and Quartararo have been a cut above the rest all weekend at Jerez, and having qualified 1-2 on the grid the expected duel for victory emerged on Sunday.

Both Bagnaia and Quartararo launched off the line well and drew alongside each other on the run up to Turn 1 at the start of the race.

But it was the Ducati rider who got the advantage, taking the lead from pole as Quartararo slotted in behind ahead of the sister factory Ducati of Jack Miller, the fast-starting LCR Honda of Takaaki Nakagami, Marc Marquez on the factory team Honda and Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia.

Marquez quickly dispensed of Nakagami into the last corner with an aggressive move that opened the door for Espargaro to come through into fifth, having dropped from third on the grid.

The leading duo ran line astern up front in the early stages as their pace proved far superior to the rest of the field, Miller already around half a second back three laps into the 25-lap contest.

That gap between Quartararo and the chasing pack only swelled as the race went on, as the advantage Bagnaia held in the lead also grew.

Come lap 12, the gap Bagnaia held in the lead was around eight tenths, but would fluctuate between 0.8s and 0.6s.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Quartararo got the gap to underneath half a second for the first time since the start of the race on the penultimate tour, and would edge ever closer on the final lap.

But Bagnaia made no mistakes to claim his first win since Valencia last year, beating Quartararo by 0.285 seconds – with the rest of the field almost 11 seconds adrift.

Aleix Espargaro was embroiled in a thrilling battle with Miller and Marquez over third, with that tussle exploding on