Espargaro Retires As Bagnaia Launches Catalan Comeback

The 2024 MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix offered up a raft of talking points as Francesco Bagnaia bounced back from a sprint crash with victory on Sunday.

The reigning world champion crashed out of the lead on the final lap of the Catalan GP sprint to end a Saturday win drought dating back to the Austrian GP last year.

It softened the blow of a difficult sprint for championship leader Jorge Martin, who was able to extend his points lead over Bagnaia. The factory Ducati rider bounced back brilliantly in the grand prix, however, to beat Martin for his third GP win of the season.

Martin extends his championship lead to 39 points, while Marc Marquez rose from 14th on the grid to seal podiums in both races at Barcelona.

Prior to the weekend, Aleix Espargaro announced he will retire from MotoGP at the end of the 2024 season. But he proved he is going out on a high with pole and victory in the sprint.

In the latest Tank Slappers podcast, Autosport's Lewis Duncan and Motorsport.com's Oriol Puigdemont discuss Espargaro's career and the on-track action at Barcelona.

They also look at the looming decision Ducati must make about its factory line-up for 2025 and why it's not as easy as it may seem.