| Grand Prix: | Argentine Republic |
| Flag: | Argentina |
| Official Name: | Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina[1] |
| Location: | Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo, Santiago del Estero, Argentina |
| Course Mi: | 2.986 |
| Course Km: | 4.806 |
| Race No: | 2 |
| Season No: | 19 |
| Date: | 8 April |
| Year: | 2018 |
| Pole Rider Motogp: | Jack Miller |
| Pole Rider Motogp Country: | AUS |
| Pole Rider Motogp Bike: | Ducati |
| Pole Time Motogp: | 1:47.153 |
| Fast Rider Motogp: | Marc Márquez |
| Fast Rider Motogp Country: | ESP |
| Fast Rider Motogp Bike: | Honda |
| Fast Time Motogp: | 1:39.902 on lap 22 |
| First Rider Motogp: | Cal Crutchlow |
| First Rider Motogp Country: | GBR |
| First Rider Motogp Bike: | Honda |
| Second Rider Motogp: | Johann Zarco |
| Second Rider Motogp Country: | FRA |
| Second Rider Motogp Bike: | Yamaha |
| Third Rider Motogp: | Álex Rins |
| Third Rider Motogp Country: | ESP |
| Third Rider Motogp Bike: | Suzuki |
| Pole Rider Moto2: | Xavi Vierge |
| Pole Rider Moto2 Country: | ESP |
| Pole Rider Moto2 Bike: | Kalex |
| Pole Time Moto2: | 1:56.137 |
| Fast Rider Moto2: | Xavi Vierge |
| Fast Rider Moto2 Country: | ESP |
| Fast Rider Moto2 Bike: | Kalex |
| Fast Time Moto2: | 1:44.329 on lap 21 |
| First Rider Moto2: | Mattia Pasini |
| First Rider Moto2 Country: | ITA |
| First Rider Moto2 Bike: | Kalex |
| Second Rider Moto2: | Xavi Vierge |
| Second Rider Moto2 Country: | ESP |
| Second Rider Moto2 Bike: | Kalex |
| Third Rider Moto2: | Miguel Oliveira |
| Third Rider Moto2 Country: | PRT |
| Third Rider Moto2 Bike: | KTM |
| Pole Rider Moto3: | Tony Arbolino |
| Pole Rider Moto3 Country: | ITA |
| Pole Rider Moto3 Bike: | Honda |
| Pole Time Moto3: | 1:53.782 |
| Fast Rider Moto3: | Jorge Martín |
| Fast Rider Moto3 Country: | ESP |
| Fast Rider Moto3 Bike: | Honda |
| Fast Time Moto3: | 1:55.968 on lap 18 |
| First Rider Moto3: | Marco Bezzecchi |
| First Rider Moto3 Country: | ITA |
| First Rider Moto3 Bike: | KTM |
| Second Rider Moto3: | Arón Canet |
| Second Rider Moto3 Country: | ESP |
| Second Rider Moto3 Bike: | Honda |
| Third Rider Moto3: | Fabio Di Giannantonio |
| Third Rider Moto3 Country: | ITA |
| Third Rider Moto3 Bike: | Honda |
The 2018 Argentine Republic motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the 2018 MotoGP season. It was held at the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo in Santiago del Estero on 8 April 2018. In the MotoGP class, Jack Miller scored his first MotoGP pole position.
Having been declared a wet race at the time of the sighting lap, all but one rider selected rain tires. Pole-sitter Jack Miller being the only rider to initially go out on slick tires. Prior to the warm-up lap, every rider on rain tires elected to return to the pits to change to slick tires. Returning to the pits after the sighting lap usually results in the rider starting the race from pit-lane, however, the race officials deemed it a safety concern to have all but one rider start from pit-lane. The start of the race was delayed due to the unusual situation. Eventually, the grid was reset positioning the entire field in their original qualifying positions, but filling the grid from the rear. The result was Jack Miller (who didn't return to the pits for a tire change) in the first position on the grid and the other riders in formation several rows back.
After the warm-up lap, Marc Márquez stalled his motorcycle while lining up on the grid. Attempting to restart his bike, Márquez pushed the motorcycle away from his grid position. He was successful in restarting the stalled motorcycle, but race officials ran out and instructed him to return to pit-lane. Márquez ignored the race officials' instructions, proceeded to ride his motorcycle back in the opposite direction toward his original starting position and rejoined the rest of the riders who were all waiting for the race start. After jumping to an early lead, Marc Márquez was issued a ride-through penalty for riding his motorcycle in the opposite direction on the track. Rejoining near the back of the field, Márquez began advancing position passing slower riders. In his attempt to regain positions, Márquez was issued a second penalty when he collided into Aleix Espargaró being required to drop a position for irresponsible riding. Márquez earned his third penalty of the race for crashing into yet another rider. This time he collided into Valentino Rossi in the closing stages of the race, resulting in Rossi being pushed onto the wet grass where he fell. Rossi was able to remount and finish the race, but was unable to secure any points after being taken out by Márquez. Márquez continued to finish the race in 5th position, which would have earned 11 championship points, but receiving a 30-second time penalty after the race for crashing into Rossi put him outside of a points earning position. In this race, Marc Márquez earned 3 separate penalties.[2]
In the closing laps there were multiple passes for the podium positions between Zarco, Rins and Crutchlow as the riders struggled with tire wear and damp patches on the track.
Cal Crutchlow took Honda's 750th victory and became the first non-factory rider to lead the championship since Sete Gibernau in the 2004 Catalan Grand Prix, as well as the first British rider to lead the championship since Barry Sheene in 1979. Repsol Honda failed to score for the first time since the previous year's event.
| Pos. | No. | Rider | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 35 |  Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | 24 | 40:36.342 | 10 | 25 | |
| 2 | 5 |  Johann Zarco | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 24 | +0.251 | 3 | 20 | |
| 3 | 42 |  Álex Rins | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 24 | +2.501 | 5 | 16 | |
| 4 | 43 |  Jack Miller | Alma Pramac Racing | Ducati | 24 | +4.390 | 1 | 13 | |
| 5 | 25 | Maverick Viñales | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 24 | +14.941 | 9 | 11 | |
| 6 | 4 |  Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati Team | Ducati | 24 | +22.533 | 8 | 10 | |
| 7 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 24 | +23.026 | 4 | 9 | |
| 8 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 24 | +23.921 | 12 | 8 | |
| 9 | 55 |  Hafizh Syahrin | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 24 | +24.311 | 23 | 7 | |
| 10 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Alma Pramac Racing | Ducati | 24 | +26.003 | 18 | 6 | |
| 11 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 24 | +31.022 | 16 | 5 | |
| 12 | 45 | Scott Redding | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 24 | +31.891 | 15 | 4 | |
| 13 | 30 |  Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda Idemitsu | Honda | 24 | +32.452 | 24 | 3 | |
| 14 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 24 | +42.061 | 22 | 2 | |
| 15 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati Team | Ducati | 24 | +42.274 | 14 | 1 | |
| 16 | 19 | Álvaro Bautista | Ángel Nieto Team | Ducati | 24 | +42.625 | 19 | ||
| 17 | 12 |  Thomas Lüthi | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 24 | +43.350 | 20 | ||
| 18 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 24 | +43.860 | 6 | ||
| 19 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 24 | +52.082 | 11 | ||
| 20 | 17 |  Karel Abraham | Ángel Nieto Team | Ducati | 24 | +1:03.944 | 13 | ||
| 21 | 10 |  Xavier Siméon | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 24 | +1:10.144 | 17 | ||
| Ret | 38 | Bradley Smith | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 17 | Accident | 21 | ||
| Ret | 41 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 13 | Electronics | 7 | ||
| Ret | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 0 | Accident | 2 | ||
| Sources: [3] [4] | |||||||||
| Rider | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cal Crutchlow | 38 | |
| 2 | Andrea Dovizioso | 35 | |
| 3 | Johann Zarco | 28 | |
| 4 | Maverick Viñales | 21 | |
| 5 | Marc Márquez | 20 | |
| 6 | Jack Miller | 19 | |
| 7 | Danilo Petrucci | 17 | |
| 8 | Valentino Rossi | 16 | |
| 9 | Álex Rins | 16 | |
| 10 | Andrea Iannone | 15 |
| Rider | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mattia Pasini | 38 | |
| 2 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | 33 | |
| 3 | Francesco Bagnaia | 32 | |
| 4 | Xavi Vierge | 28 | |
| 5 |  Miguel Oliveira | 27 | |
| 6 | Álex Márquez | 27 | |
| 7 |  Marcel Schrötter | 15 | |
| 8 | Remy Gardner | 14 | |
| 9 | Joan Mir | 14 | |
| 10 |  Brad Binder | 10 |
| Rider | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arón Canet | 40 | |
| 2 | Jorge Martín | 30 | |
| 3 | Marco Bezzecchi | 27 | |
| 4 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | 26 | |
| 5 | Lorenzo Dalla Porta | 25 | |
| 6 | Niccolò Antonelli | 21 | |
| 7 |  Gabriel Rodrigo | 18 | |
| 8 | Adam Norrodin | 16 | |
| 9 | Enea Bastianini | 13 | |
| 10 | Alonso López | 10 |
