MotoGP Jerez 2021: Winners And Losers

Winners

Jack Miller

With two 9th places and a DNF in his first three races as a factory Ducati rider, Jack Miller hadn't gotten his 2021 season off to the best of starts. Throw an arm pump surgery into the mix and the Ozzy was very much down in the trenches. But a much-needed error-free performance yesterday saw him capitalise when the cards fell his way, earning himself his first dry MotoGP win.

Francesco Bagnaia

He hasn't picked up a race win yet, but like Joan Mir last year, Pecco Bagnaia has earned himself the championship lead through rugged consistency. His 2nd place finish in Jerez marked his 3rd podium in four races and put him 2 points clear of Quartararo at the top of the table.

Takaaki Nakagami
He flew under the radar for most of the race, but when the dust settled, Japanese rider Takaaki Nakagami crossed the line in 4th place, racking up his best-ever result in MotoGP and also becoming the top-placed Honda rider. Not entirely coincidentally, he switched back to a 2020 chassis this weekend.

Losers

Fabio Quartararo

Only the insane would've bet against a Quartararo victory halfway through the race. The Frenchman held a commanding lead and was controlling the race at will. But a sudden onset of arm pump (compartment syndrome) saw him lose strength and feeling in his right arm, triggering a rapid slide down the standings that eventually saw him take the chequered flag in 13th place.

Alex Rins
Having already crashed out of a very strong position at the previous round in Portugal, Spaniards Alex Rins was in search of a solid result on return to home ground. Unfortunately, he backed it up with yet another crash at Jerez, seriously denting what should be a strong championship challenge this year.

Maverick Viñales & Johann Zarco

After a strong opening couple of races, the pair of Maverick Viñales and Johann Zarco have seen their championship challenges falter somewhat. An 11th place finish for Viñales last time out in Portugal could only be backed by another disappointing 7th at Jerez, with the Spaniard unable to even get ahead of Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia. It's even worse for Zarco, who crashed in the previous race and only salvaged 8th place at Jerez. All this means Viñales and Zarco are now 16 and 18 points off the championship lead respectively.