There are weekends when results matter less than usual.

This is one of them.

Barcelona didn’t go well on the performance side. Friday I felt good — seventh in pre-qualifying, straight into Q2. Then on Saturday something broke in my feeling with the bike. A crash in qualifying, ninth in the Sprint — I couldn’t brake hard, I couldn’t accelerate, I couldn’t do pretty much anything fast. A weekend of struggle, with no easy explanations.

But what happened in the race put everything else into perspective.

On lap 12, Acosta’s KTM lost power on the straight. Alex Marquez didn’t even have time to react. The impact was violent — one of those crashes that sends a chill through you. Red flag. Alex was taken to hospital, conscious. Diggia stayed on track with his left hand injured by debris and rode all the way to the end — and won. Chapeau.

At the second restart, Turn 1, Zarco lost the front and triggered a pile-up. I saw it up close. He got trapped under the bikes. Second red flag. Johann taken to hospital.

At the third start I tried to manage as best I could in a difficult tyre situation, I also had a problem with the brake lever and ran wide a couple of times. Fourth place in the end, after the penalties to others.

The standings say +15 over Jorge. Points-wise it went well. But honestly — the important thing is that Alex and Johann are okay. Everything else — the points, the standings, the missed overtakes — takes a back seat. We were lucky. That’s the thought I carried back to the box, and the one I’m closing this weekend with.

In two weeks it’s Mugello. Home. I can’t wait to get back there, also because this weekend left a bitter taste on the performance side and I want to make up for it.

But first of all — get well soon Alex, get well soon Johann.