{"id":621736,"date":"2026-04-21T16:33:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T16:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/621736\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T16:33:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T16:33:11","slug":"the-best-of-the-spanish-gp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/621736\/","title":{"rendered":"the best of the Spanish GP"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Spanish Grand Prix<\/a> is an event that conjures up emotions in MotoGP; it\u2019s been the scene of countless battles, unbridled joy and utter heartbreak. The 2024 and 2025 editions were some of the most dramatic and entertaining races that we\u2019ve witnessed at this legendary venue. It continues to provide countless unforgettable moments, leaving us to wonder, what are the standouts from Jerez\u2019s past? If you\u2019re new to the sport or a long-time fan, check out these fantastic duels to get yourself warmed up for an epic weekend.<\/p>\n

1996: Doohan vs Criville goes to the last corner<\/p>\n

The 1996 Spanish Grand Prix is one of those GPs that you watch back time and time again, and it gives you the same goosebumps each time. A head-to-head between teammates and a huge crowd cheering on home-star Alex Criville<\/a>, it was passion and drama at every turn. Going into the stadium section on the final lap, the crowd had got onto the track as Criville led World Champion Mick Doohan<\/a>; both got through unscathed before Doohan lunged at the final corner. He got the move bagged, but just as Criville opened the throttle, he highsided out of the GP, a few hundred metres from the finish line. It was the start of 11 straight podiums for the Australian, whilst the Spaniard\u2019s first win of 1996 was on hold until Brno.<\/p>\n

2005: the absolute classic between titans<\/p>\n

The opening round of the MotoGP season in 2005 was another one for the history books; Valentino Rossi<\/a> vs Sete Gibernau<\/a>, no love lost between either after a fraught 2004 title fight. \u2018The Doctor\u2019 led his arch-rival going onto the final lap, but a mistake at Turn 6 allowed Gibernau through; Rossi tried to respond but the #15 had the advantage going into Turns 9 and 10. Rossi, never one to give in, tried a bold move at Turn 11, but Gibernau came back through at Turn 12, leaving it all down to the last corner. With the door slightly ajar, Gibernau was pounced on by Rossi; the two collided, sending the Spaniard into the gravel as the #46 wheelied to the line. Harsh words between personnel of both riders in Parc Ferme and a tense podium stand-off (both awkwardly waiting for a handshake being the centre point) ensued. One of the best Spanish GPs? Undoubtedly. Pure theatre? Absolutely.<\/p>\n

2011: drama in the wet; ambition and talent<\/p>\n

One round into 2011 and there was already a pattern. Casey Stoner<\/a> was the rider to beat at Repsol Honda, whilst his Ducati replacement, Valentino Rossi, struggled. With Jorge Lorenzo<\/a>, Dani Pedrosa<\/a> and the excitement of the late-great Marco Simoncelli<\/a>, it was going to be a vintage year. Jerez was no different but a wet GP always throws a curveball. Despite Rossi\u2019s Ducati woes, he was strong in the wet and on Lap 8, went to pass Stoner at Turn 1. He fell and took the Australian down before remounting, whilst Stoner\u2019s GP was done, sarcastically applauding his rival the next lap round from trackside. In the box after the chequered flag, the famous phrase: “Maybe your ambition outweighed your talent,” from Stoner to Rossi. Elsewhere, Marco Simoncelli led before falling at Turn 1 too, whilst just a lap from home, Colin Edwards had to retire with mechanical issues, giving Nicky Hayden<\/a> a last podium.<\/p>\n

2013: Marquez vs Lorenzo in Turn 13 showdown<\/p>\n

Marc Marquez<\/a> was already making waves in 2013, and after becoming a Grand Prix winner in America, the following round was a chance to back up his fierce opening two rounds. Instead, it was teammate Dani Pedrosa who made it three winners from three Grand Prix, but behind, drama was brewing. Like in 1996 and 2005 \u2013 but this time for P2 \u2013 Turn 13 caused a stir; Lorenzo held second going into it, but again, with the door open enough, Marquez bounced on through and connected with the #99. P2 for Marquez, whilst the wag of the finger in Parc Ferme from Lorenzo showed his anger at the situation.<\/p>\n

2021: Aussie gold for a historic one-two<\/p>\n

Our 2021 visit to Jerez was a day Jack Miller<\/a> will never forget, as the Australian went head-to-head with eventual World Champion Fabio Quartararo<\/a>. Miller grabbed the holeshot, leading the field into Turn 1, while Alex Rins<\/a> suffered an early crash at Turn 5. In true Jerez fashion and almost a flashback to iconic moves of the past, Quartararo seized control at the final corner. Everything remained calm until 10 laps to go, where the battle intensified, as the pair traded blows \u2013 eventually seeing the #43 regain P1. From there, Quartararo dropped outside the top 10, promoting Francesco Bagnaia<\/a> and Franco Morbidelli<\/a> to the podium place as Miller took victory and Ducati claimed their first one-two since 2018 \u2013 pure Jerez magic.<\/p>\n

2022: Bagnaia\u2019s big Jerez statement<\/p>\n

Runner-up the year prior, Francesco Bagnaia returned to Jerez in 2022 \u2013 looking to go one better. The Italian made a strong start from pole position, being chased by Fabio Quartararo, another rider looking for Spanish GP redemption. From the outset, it was an incredibly demanding race, with Jorge Martin<\/a>, Stefan Bradl<\/a>, Johann Zarco<\/a> and more crashing out. Bagnaia was kept honest throughout; his lead remained under one second as the Spanish fans enjoyed an epic podium fight behind involving Jack Miller, Marc Marquez and Aleix Espargaro<\/a>. The #63 grabbed a statement victory, beating Quartararo by 0.285s as Espargaro took third ahead of Marquez \u2013 leaving Miller down in P5.<\/p>\n

Since then, Jerez has continued to deliver dramatic showdowns, legendary comebacks and some unforgettable moments. Now, it\u2019s time for the talking to stop as MotoGP returns for its annual visit\u2026 Are you ready for more?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Spanish Grand Prix is an event that conjures up emotions in MotoGP; it\u2019s been the scene of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":621737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,806,805,803,804,85,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-621736","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-motor","11":"tag-motor-sports","12":"tag-motosport","13":"tag-motosports","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-text"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}