It may have been the most boring race of the season, but #TheRematch has delivered an emotional, stressful and ultimately hugely enjoyable final weekend of the 2024 MotoGP season.
For the first time in MotoGP’s history, a satellite rider has won the championship. Jorge Martin only needed a 9th place finish today to seal the title but he took a comfortable podium to round out his season in style.
He started 4th on the grid, kept his nose clean at the start and spent the rest of the race in 3rd. Whilst there were battles further behind him, Martin had a lonely race and only needed to keep the bike upright to take the championship. He crossed the line in tears and quickly retreated to the celebration area where he appeared in his new Martinator leathers.
It was a difficult day for peerless Pecco Bagnaia. There was nothing more the Italian could have done this weekend – he took pole and a sprint win on Saturday before leading every single lap of the feature race today. Ultimately, it was mistakes earlier in the season that left him stuck with 2nd in the championship.
Despite the close title race, it was Marc Marquez who was Bagnaia’s closest rival today. He has had a very difficult weekend and has himself said that he was struggling with the track surface and challenges that the Barcelona circuit throws up. But he was able to stay close on the tail of his future team mate, and was typically within 1 second of Bagnaia for the entire race today.
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Behind the podium finishers, there was a hot battle for “best of the race” in today’s race. Firstly, we had Alex Marquez and Aleix Espargaro battling hard for 4th place. It was Marquez who came out on top, rounding out a fantastic weekend of blistering form for him.
Just behind them was another battle between Brad Binder, Franco Morbidelli and Pedro Acosta. As Acosta dropped back towards the end of the race, Marco Bezzecchi was also drawn into the battle. After plenty of dicing and lots of on-track fun, this group finished the day with Binder in 6th, Enea Bastianini in 7th and Morbidelli in 8th. Bezzecchi and Acosta then rounded out the top 10, in 9th and 10th respectively.
It was a tricky day for Bastianini – he started the day in battle with Aleix Espargaro for 4th, but drifted back as the race progressed.
Espargaro is an incredibly close friend of Jorge Martin and he spent his last MotoGP race clearly acting as his ally out on track today. Firstly, he was fending off Bastianini and then Alex Marquez.
Our only non-finishing rider today was Joan Mir who ended the day in the same way he has most races this weekend – in the gravel. He will be eager to put 2024 behind him and start fresh when testing kicks off later this week.
TOP TEN
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CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
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LOOKING AHEAD TO 2025
Believe it or not, the paddock is already making plans for the 2025 season – we will give Jorge Martin some time to celebrate his title but testing begins bright and early on Tuesday morning.
This will be our first time to see riders on their new machines. Martin will take his #1 plate to Aprilia, Marc Marquez will be on the factory Ducati and our new rookies, Ai Ogura, Fermin Aldeguer and Somkiat Chantra, will also be on their new premier class machines.
Crew On Two will have all the updates for you so stay tuned.
Pecco Bagnaia has mastered the tricky conditions in Barcelona today, taking a brilliant sprint race win to keep his championship hopes alive. He was joined on the podium by his teammate, Enea Bastianini, and championship leader, Jorge Martin.
MotoGP has called this weekend the “rematch” weekend and it’s certainly shaping up to a dramatic end to a dramatic season. Coming into this weekend, Jorge Martin was leading the championship by 24 points – comfortable, but by no means done and dusted for the Spaniard. That meant that Martin just needed to win today’s sprint race in order to seal the title.
However, it was his closest rival who took the victory today. Pecco Bagnaia took a dominant and convincing win, with no one able to come close to him at all in the race. He was totally at one with his machine all day today, taking pole position and then leading for most of the race.
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His Ducati teammate, Enea Bastianini, came home in 2nd. He had an amazing start, leaping from 8th to 1st in just one corner. He then had an 8-lap long battle with Martin for 2nd place, before drifting back in the pack during the middle of the race. In typical Bastianini fashion, he came back strong in the latter stages of the race and enjoyed another nail-biting battle with Martin before finally taking 2nd. The Ducati team were elated with a 1-2 finish today.
Martin has been struggling all weekend, complaining about rear grip and a lack of confidence in the front of the bike. He was therefore thrilled to take 3rd place, despite not being able to win the title today.
Aleix Espargaro, on his final weekend as a MotoGP rider, finished in 4th. He enjoyed a brilliant qualifying session earlier today, stating that this track is his “favourite”, which saw him start on the front row of the grid.
Alex Marquez finished in 5th – a brilliant result for him after a weekend of equally brilliant form. The top ten was then rounded out by Franco Morbidelli, Marc Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi, Brad Binder and Fabio Quartararo in 6th to 10th respectively.
There was just one retirement in the race today – our only rookie, Pedro Acosta, made contact with Marc Marquez on lap 1 which saw the front fairing of his GASGAS Tech3 bike ripped off. He sadly wasn’t able to continue on his “naked” bike and soon retired to the pits.
Pecco Bagnaia has added to Saturday’s sprint race victory with a second win on Sunday. He was joined on the podium by championship leader, Jorge Martin, and his future 2025 teammate, Marc Marquez.
In the history of MotoGP, only 4 riders have won more than 8 races in a single season. Today, Pecco Bagnia became the 5th rider to join that list. He took a dominant win, heading into the lead on lap 1 and not looking back from there.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Italian though – he faced pressure in the late stages of the race from Jorge Martin who surged his way up through the grid and eventually ended the day in 2nd.
Rounding out the podium places was Marc Marquez, who mostly enjoyed a quiet race once he had made his way up to 3rd.
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As the race started, we had Pedro Acosta on pole for the first time in his MotoGP career. He was quickly bested by Bagnaia who had the better line in to the first corner and was able to take the lead away from the rookie.
The first lap was full of drama, which included a scuffle between Maverick Vinales, Franco Morbidelli and Jorge Martin, in which Vinales was forced to sit up and let off the throttle to avoid an incident. Towards the end of lap 1, Enea Bastianini made a late move on Brad Binder to take 3rd – however, this move forced both riders off the ideal racing line. Martin saw the door open in front of him and makes a brilliant move up the inside of the turn 10 hairpin. This move sees him get pasta both Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini, jumping from 6th to 4th. Binder is the biggest winner in the battle, and is able to retain 3rd.
One corner later, the drama continues as Jack Miller makes a similar move with a similar outcome. He forces his KTM machine up the inside of turn 11 and overtakes Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini to take 5th place. Even more impressive is that Miller started the race in 14th and made up 9 places in just one lap.
Again, one corner later, we have our first crash of the race as Joan Mir and Alex Marquez go down at turns 12 and 13. In a very odd crash, Maquez’s bike got caught in Mir’s rear wheel. Despite staying upright, dragging the extra Gresini machine behind him eventually sends Mir down and the pair retired from the race. After the race, Marquez was deemed to blame for the incident and was handed a long lap penalty ready for the next race in Australia.
Lap 4 saw our second crash of the race as polesitter Acosta went down at turn 14. It appears that he took too much kerb on the inside of the corner before the bike just slid out from under her on the exit of the corner.
At the same time as Acosta’s early exit from the race, Martin continued to fight his way up through the field. He had now made his way past Binder and was in to 2nd place, with only title rival Bagnaia ahead.
One lap later, Binder lost another place. This time, it was Marquez who made his way through to take 3rd place.
It was a difficult race for Vinales – after starting on the front row, he was quickly swallowed by a first lap incident and kept heading backwards from there. Whilst battling with his teammate, Aleix Espargaro, for 10th place, he crashed out on lap 12.
Just as the race seemed to be calming down, the rain began to fall. On lap 10, the white flag was flown which indicated that the riders could now head to the pits and swap their bikes if they wished. None chose to do so and the rain appeared to be light enough for them to contend with on dry tires.
After a hot battle that lasted a number of laps, Bastianini was finally able to find a way past Binder. The pair had been dicing and overtaking each other before Bastianini made a move that stuck to claim 4th.
Binder was then in the clutches of Morbidelli, in 6th, who is enjoying a recent up turn in form. The battle would continue for the rest of the race, with Morbidelli eventually coming out on top.
The race then settled down again and gaps grew between the riders. By lap 16, Bagnaia had a 1.5 second lead over Martin, who himself was a comfortable 4.4 seconds ahead of Marquez. Bastanini was the fastest rider on the track and catching Marquez quickly – he had reduced the gap down to 0.8 seconds and was desperate to find a way past.
Whilst Martin did attempt a late-race surge for the lead, he wasn’t able to get the gap to smaller than 0.7 seconds and, eventually, crossed the link 1.1 seconds behind Bagnaia.
Today’s race in Mandalika was tough for riders up and down the grid, with only 12 bikes finishing the race. However, the two riders at the front were able to control the field and keep their noses clean in an exceptional display of their abilities.
After a difficult Saturday, Jorge Martin has enjoyed a perfect Sunday here in Mandalika. He started the race on pole, led every lap and controlled the whole race on his way to a brilliant win. He was untouchable with his nearest rival rarely able to get within a second of him.
On the cool-down lap and in parc ferme, he was celebrating as if he had won the title. After crashing during the sprint race, and crashing out of the lead of last year’s Indonesian GP, this was undoubtedly a display of relief from the Prima Pramac rider. This the first race win for Martin since Le Mans, and he will be keen to capitalise on this momentum as we now reach a crucial part of the season.
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It was an equally fantastic day for rookie rider, Pedro Acosta, who came home in 2nd. He started the race in 3rd, claimed 2nd place on lap 3 and never looked back. As he crossed the line, he was instantly under investigation for a tyre pressure infringement. The team still celebrated in the park ferme and, two hours after the podium celebration, it was confirmed he would keep his 2nd place as no further action was needed.
Martin’s closest championship rival, Pecco Bagnaia, came home in 3rd. Whilst he wasn’t able to end the day ahead of Martin, he will still be pleased with this result. After a horrible start, with the bike bouncing off the grid and dropping him down to 6th, he eventually was able to find his rhythm and make his way back up to 3rd.
It was ultimately a race of attrition today with only 12 riders meeting the chequered flag.
This started on the first lap as Jack Miller hit the kerb on the inside, at the change of direction between turns 2 and 3. This sent his bike down and, as he slid across the track into the gravel, he took down with him Alex Marquez, Luca Marini and Aleix Espargaro. For Marquex and Espargaro, it was their fourth crash of the weekend – certainly a weekend to forget for them both.
It was also a retirement for yesterday’s podium-finisher, Marc Marquez, who wasn’t able to enjoy the same result today. On lap 12, his bike went “bang” and he pulled off the track with his Gresini machine on fire.
For several laps before this technical issue, Marquez had been enjoying a fantastic battle with VR46 rider, Fabio DiGiannantonio. The pair were dicing and fighting, overtaking each other on most corners in a brilliant but clean display of tough racing.
Enea Bastianini, who was setting a blistering pace and numerous fastest laps as he fought his way up into the podium positions, went down at turn 1 of lap 21. He ultimately overcooked it in the corner and the bike went down in the breaking zone.
Both Marquez and Bastianini were clearly disappointed as they made their way back to the garage. Could today’s difficult result be the end of their championship battle?
There were also DNF results for Fabio DiGiannantonio, who crashed out while under pressure from Marc Marquez at lap 9, Joan Mir, who crashed on lap 13, and Augusta Fernandez, who retired with a mechanical failure.
It was a more positive day for Franco Morbidelli and Marco Bezzecchi, who finished in 4th and 5t respectively. Both riders have had a tough season so far so will certainly enjoy today’s results and the battles they enjoyed along the way.
With action up and down the grid throughout the race, today’s race was a Mandalika classic!
The 2024 MotoGP World Championship is turning into a story of mistakes, not successes. It’s a title that won’t be won, but rather won’t be thrown away. Today, it was Jorge Martin’s turn to make a devastating mistake which he will look back on with frustration as we draw ever closer to the final race in Valencia.
Image Credit: Enea Bastianini on X
It was a race of contrasts today for our two championship leaders, Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. With a pole position, a brilliant start and a comfortable early lead, it should have been plain sailing for Martin from there on out. However, he seemingly pushed his tyres too hard too early and ended up crashing at turn 16 of the first lap.
This gifted the lead to his closest rival, Bagnaia, who kept his nose clean and spent the rest of the race with a fairly comfortable lead. It was a near-perfect performance from Bagnaia, despite the dusty, slippery track conditions and chaos happening behind him.
Joining him on the podium were two other championship contenders who have been able to pull closer to the battle at the front.
Enea Bastianini was able to bring home a brilliant Ducati 1-2. It was a strong race from him after stating in 5th but showing his speed as he fought his way up to 2nd.
Marc Marquez took the final podium spot, ending the sprint race in 3rd. He started the race in 12th after a crash in Q2. A classic Marqeuz-style first lap saw him leap up from 12th to 5th before turn 1, and the rest of the race was his to enjoy from there.
Martin failed to score points today – he rejoined the back of the grid after his crash but, despite a valiant battle and a number of aggressive moves, he ended the day in 10th. He looked visibly dejected as he met the chequered flag, undoubtedly considering what could have been today.
It was a much more positive day for Marco Bezzecchi who is back to his former self this weekend, after struggling so far this season. He started the race on the front row and ended the day in 4th – he would have been hoping for a podium finish but, on lap 7, he missed his breaking and almost hit the back of Bagnaia. This forced him out wide, on to the dirt, dusty part of the track and he dropped back from 2nd to 4th, where he spent the rest of the race.
Just behind Bezzecchi were Franco Morbidelli, Pedro Acosta, Maverick Vinales and Johann Zarco in 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th respectively. This group were in a huge battle for much of the race, jostling for position and enjoying overtakes on most laps of the race.
This group were also fighting with Fabio Quartararo who is enjoying a much more positive weekend for Yamaha this weekend. Whilst he qualified in 6th, he faded towards the end of the race after a lap 8 bump with Morbidelli which saw him drop down the field. The Frenchman ended the day in 12th.
Pecco Bagnaia was in a league of is own today, as he comfortably wins the Austrian GP – it’s his third consecutive win at the Red Bull Ring.
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Pecco Bagnaia has taken a stunning victory today at the Austrian GP today, in the weekend that has seen him re-take the lead in the championship standings. He started 2nd on the grid, took the lead on lap 2 after an exciting battle with his closest championship rival, Jorge Martin, and then never looked back.
Whilst it wasn’t the most thrilling race, or the action-packed weekend we have historically seen at the Red Bull Ring, you cannot deny the stunning performance from Bagnaia today. His ride was utterly flawless whilst, all weekend, others were making mistakes around him. He kept his cool and showed why he is such a brilliant champion after being perfect for every moment of the race.
Jorge Martin, despite starting on pole and leading the first lap, couldn’t bring home the win today. He simply wasn’t able to keep Bagnaia behind him, nor could he close the gap for the lead. It was an undoubtedly frustrating day who felt he could win this race. He leaves Austria having lost 8 points to Bagnaia in the title fight too.
Enea Bastianini brought home a double podium for Ducati today, ending the day in 3rd. It was a very quiet race for the Italian, who sat in 3rd from lights out all the way to the chequered flag without facing any real challenge. Today is his sixth podium of the year and good momentum after double win in Silverstone last time out.
Marc Marquez just missed out on the podium today, coming home in 4th. Most of the on-track action came from the Gresini rider today – he had a ride height device issue whilst sitting on the grid and, as they went to the first corner, he had contact with Franco Morbidelli which left him back down in 10th. He fought hard and gave the Austrian fans lots of entertainment as he came past two KTM riders, two Aprilia riders, a VR46 rider and his own brother on the second Gresini bike. Given his performance today, he may be left thinking about what might have been if his race start had been a clean one.
One of the victims of Marquez’s pressure was KTM rider Jack Miller, who crashed out when the Spaniard was hutning him down. The bike slipped out from under him at the chicane of turn 2, on lap 11.
It was an equally tough weekend for fan-favourite, rookie Pedro Acosta. He has faced a difficult weekend after crashing three times on Friday and then struggling to be on the pace. He simply wasn’t able to set the tarmac on fire today in his normal way, and ended the day in 13th.
Pecco Bagnaia has taken a flawless Sprint Race win at the Red Bull Ring today. This puts him level on points with Jorge Martin, but gifts him the lead in the title race thanks to count back.
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Today was Pecco Bagnaia’s third Sprint Race win of the season, as he took the gold medal at the Spielberg race track. He took the lead in to the first corner of the race and managed to hold on despite an early challenge from pole sitter, Jorge Martin.
He spoke after the race about his “need to be calm”, which proved crucial as his nearest rivals all made mistakes around him.
If you use the shortcut you have to lose 1 second when rejoining the circuit🧐
The first mistake came from pole sitter Martin – whilst temporarily in the lead, he had a huge moment when under pressure form Bagnaia. He went off the track but was then slapped with a long-lap penalty for not losing enough time when he rejoined the circuit.
Next was Marc Marquez who looked set for a podium finish before crashing out at turn 3 on lap 10. At the point in the race, he was 2nd and chasing down Bagnaia but the front of his bike washed out as he pushed his Gresini bike a little too hard.
His brother, Alex Marquez, also faced a similar fate today as he crashed out on the first corner of the first lap. Whilst he was able to rejoin the field, he finished the day down in 20th.
And just like that the silver medal slipped away from @marcmarquez93‘s hands! ❌
Ultimately, the final podium position was taken by a thrilled Aleix Espargaro who managed to keep his nose clean and capitalise on the mistakes infront of him. He celebrated like it was a race win as the soon-to-be-retired Aprilia rider soaks up his final season as a MotoGP rider.
Behind him, there were a number of great battles between Enea Bastianini, Jack Miller, Franco Morbiedlli and Brad Binder who eventually came home in 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th respectively. It was a solid recovery ride for Miller who has a huge wobble off the start line and nearly went down in the opening moments of the race.
The final point was taken by Pol Espargaro, who finished in 9th. The Spaniard is here as a wildcard for KTM to test some new parts for them – he will be undeniably thrilled with a points finish.
Top Ten
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Championship Standings
Despite being level on points, Bagnaia has stolen the lead in the standings from Martin, thanks to 6 his race wins, versus Martin’s 2 wins.
Le Man is a circuit full of history and prestige. Today, it delivered a stunning race as we watch a phenomenal season unfold in front of us.
Jorge Martin will be leaving France with both a medal and a trophy, after claiming a double victory in Le Mans. He has taken a stunning win which showcased both his speed and his intelligence. At the start of the race, he slotted in behind Pecco Bagnaia and stayed close on his tail, letting Bagnaia dictate the pace whilst he calculated and weighed up his options, before making the move on lap 21.
Despite leading for those 21 laps today, Bagnaia ended up settling for 3rd. He was also bested by Marc Marquez on the very final lap of the race, as he recreated yesterday’s amazing result with another 2nd place today – the perfect gift for Gresini’s 1,000th race. However, it was a much trickier race than yesterday’s sprint for Marquez as he fought his way through the grid and found himself involved in numerous battles with the likes of Enea Bastianini, Maverick Vinales and Fabio DiGiannantonio.
Pedro Acosta, the only rookie on the grid this year, has ended his points scoring run with a DNF today. He made an aggressive move when fighting for 3rd place with Aleix Espargaro and DiGiannantonio – three into one at turn 8 was never going to end well!
It was a promising day for home hero Fabio Quartararo – he has been much more on the pace throughout this weekend but sadly crashed out halfway through the race. He and the crowd alike were visibly disappointed but there are plenty of promising signs to take away from today.
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AS IT HAPPENED
Compared to yesterday’s sprint race, today’s feature race started under slightly cooler conditions, with the wind picking up. But it could have been worse – We were predicted rain today, but that thankfully didn’t appear.
As the lights went out, Pecco Bagnaia was quick to jump to the front of the grid, having started in 2nd. It was another good start for Marc Marquez, but not quite as impressive as yesterday – today, he gained 5 places in the opening corners, leaping up to 8th.
It was a difficult start for both Marco Bezzecchi and Maverick Vinales. Bezzecchi’s front tire jumped up on the start line and left him vulnerable to the rest of the grid who swallowed him, leaving him in 9th – 4 places down on his starting position. Vinales went deep into turn 1 and was forced to go very wide. He journeyed in to the run off area and rejoined the field in 5th, losing 2 places.
So as the grid finished the first lap, it was Bagnaia leading from Jorge Martin and Aleix Espargaro. Fabio DiGiannantonio was in 4th, with Vinales in 5th. The top ten was rounded out by Pedro Acosta, Enea Bastianini, Marc Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi and home hero Fabio Quartararo respectively.
Bagnaia was eager to try and put some clean air between himself and Martin but the Prima Pramac rider just wouldn’t let the Ducati escape. He was happy to sit in behind the reigning championship and allow him to dictate the peace whilst he calculated the right time to make a move.
On lap 3, we had our first crasher, with Pedro Acosta going down at turn 8. He was fighting with Espargaro and DiGiannantonio for 3rd but Acosta was just too aggressive in to the corner. As he went down, his back wheel was hit by DiGiannantonio who, somehow, impressively kept his bike upright! This is the first race of the season where the rookie has failed to score points.
The following lap, Bezzecchi’s horrible day came to an end as he crashed at turn 6. He was trying to get the cut back on Bastianini, who he was fighting with for 7th place.
A few laps later, Marquez was making moves on Vinales as they fight for 5th. Vinales made his bike as wide as possible as he defends and manages to keep hold of the position. Meanwhile, DiGIannantoni is continuing to fight with Espargaro for 3rd – he is clearly desperate to make a move. He eventually gets past at the La Chapelle corner on lap 8, the following lap.
At this point in the race, the top riders were all battling in pairs, with Bagnaia and Martin fighting for 1st, DiGiannantonio fighting for 3rd as well as Vinales and Marquez battling for 5th. These battles continue until lap 10, and that allows Bastianini, in 7th, to catch up and join the fight. By lap 11, just 2 seconds covered the top 7 riders.
On the same lap, Espargaro goes wide at Garage Vert whilst fighting with Vinales. This sees him gifting 4th place to his Aprilia team mate, only for Marquez to quickly rob him of 5th place as well.
The following lap sees Bastianini making a very late move on Espargaro and pushing him completely off the track. Bastianini is gifted 6th as a result, but he is quickly slapped with a long lap penalty for cutting turn 9 as he recovers from the battle.
At the halfway point of the race, it felt like things were starting to settle down. Martin was still in 2nd but stuck close to the rear tire of Bagnaia in 1st. There was then a 0.9 second gap to DiGiannantonio in 3rd and Vinales in 4th. Marquez was 0.3 seconds behind in 5th, with Bastianini in 6th. Home hero, Fabio Quartararo was having a solid race so far in 7th, just ahead of Espargaro, Miguel Oliveira and Franco Morbidelli in 8th, 9th and 10th respectively.
The calm doesn’t last for long as, on lap 17, it was heartbreak for the French crowd as Quartararo crashes out at turn 9 on lap 17.
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Meanwhile, Marquez makes a move on DiGiannantonio for 3rd. DiGiannantonio just refuses to give up the place and gives us a masterclass in brave defending. The continued battle almost gives Vinales the opportunity to take 4th from Marquez. This close battle continues for a few laps and, eventually, Marquez makes a move for 3rd place that sticks. As DiGiannantonio tries to make the cut back, he goes too wide and lets Vinales up to 4th. The Gresini rider is then forced to rejoin in 5th but, unfortunately, the stewards decided that he didn’t lose enough time when rejoining the field and was handed a long lap penalty.
With Marquez now released into some free air, he starts chasing down the leading pair who are 2 seconds down the road. Martin is closer than he has ever been in the race so far and looking like he is ready to set up a move, with just a handful of laps remaining.
At the start of lap 20, Martin makes his first move on Bagnaia but the reigning champion is quick to cut back and regain the place. The following lap is when Martin makes exactly the same move, again at turn 2, but this time makes the move stick and firmly shuts the door on Bagnaia. This fighting means that the gap to Marquez has now been cut in half, and he is just over a second behind them and catching them at a rapid pace.
As the laps continue to tick down, there is nothing between the leading group with Martin now leading from Bagnaia and Marquez.
None of the riders seem comfortable on their soft rear tires but it’s Marquez who seems to be handling these best. He is continuing to close on Bagnaia and on the final lap, with just four corners remaining, he eventually makes his move. With some stunning late breaking, he throws his Gresini up the inside of Bagnaia and manages to make the apex perfectly at turn 7 and 8. This gives Martin some breathing room at the front as Martin sets up defensive moves in the final corners, blocking Bagnaia before he can even think about making a move.
As they cross the line, Martin celebrates a stunning and well-calculated victory with a smash of his bike’s screen. Marquez is equally as thrilled with is performance and celebrates like it was a win.
FULL RESULTS
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CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Martin has been able to extend his championship lead with today’s win – he was leading by 28 points but this has now increased to an impressive 38 points as he continues to enjoy a brilliant start to his season.
Bagnaia returns to 2nd in the standings but now has Marquez hot on his heels, as both riders leapfrog Bastianini.
Jorge Martin has further extended his championship lead thanks to a Sprint Race victory at the French GP. He enjoyed a fairly easy race, with no real competition, as he cruised to the chequered flag. After being fastest in Friday practice, taking pole position and now this win, it’s been a perfect weekend so far for the Spaniard.
His main competition was Marco Bezzecchi who spent most of the race in 2nd place. At lap 6, he looked to be closing in on the leader but, after facing huge pressure from Marc Marquez, he went down at turn 9 on lap 10. It’s a disappointing result for the VR46 rider who looked to be much more on the pace this weekend and is finally showing us his true colours after a tough start to the season.
Instead, it was Marc Marquez who came home in 2nd place. It was an amazing result for Marquez, after a mistake in qualifying meant he didn’t make it through to Q2. He was forced to start from 13th on the grid but, in a matter of corners, he had thrown his Gresini bike up to 6th. By lap 2, he was in 4th and was soon gifted two more places after Aleix Espargaro faced a double long lap penalty for a jump start and Bezzecchi crashed out. Marquez was understandably thrilled with this result and was thumping his first to his chest as he crossed the line.
The final podium spot was claimed by Maverick Vinales who has looked to be on good form this weekend. However, speaking after the race, he told media that his race was more focused on defending, rather than attacking. There will be work for him tomorrow if he wants to recreate this result in the main race.
It was a day to forget for reigning champion, Pecco Bagnaia. He crashed in this morning’s qualifying session and then had to retire from the race with an undisclosed technical issue. As the race started, Bagnaia was quickly swallowed up by the grid and dropped from 2nd to 15th in only a few corners. He then had a moment on lap 3, heading off the track and into the run-off area at Museum Corner, which dropped him to last place before retiring a lap later.
WHEELIES from Bagnaia and Martin! 😎
That’s how we start the Tissot Sprint in Le Mans ✊🏼
— MotoGP on TNT Sports (@motogpontnt) May 11, 2024
Not only was it a bad race result, but it also drops him down to 3rd in the championship. He is leap-frogged by Enea Bastianini who came home in 4th place today. It was a much-needed positive day today for the Ducati rider, with so many ongoing discussions about who will partner with Bagnaia at that team next year.
Pedro Acosta continues his scoring record – he is the only rider on the grid to score points in every race and sprint race so far this season. He came home in 6th place but was very lucky to meet the chequered flag – he had a huge moment at turn 13 of the penultimate lap and did incredibly well to keep the bike upright.
Tomorrow’s race will be double the length with double the points on offer. Can Pecco Bagnaia make amends and get his title fight back on track? Or will Jorge Martin round out a truly perfect weekend?
Today’s Sprint race at the Spanish GP was a test for rookies and experienced riders alike, as everyone had to battle with a partially damp track and invisible wet patches of tarmac which ended races for so many. It was chaotic from start to finish, in typical MotoGP fashion!
Despite the sun shining, the track was hiding plenty of treacherous damp spots which brought down even the most experienced and talent riders today. By the time the chequered flag fell, over half the grid had crashed with only 9 riders making it over the line safely.
The first of those riders to cross the line was Jorge Martin, who mastered the conditions to take the win. It’s his second Sprint Race win of the season and extends his lead at the top of the championship standings.
However, for much of the race, it looked like Martin would have to settle for 2nd place as Marc Marquez was took the lead off him on lap 7. However, Marc was on of the riders to fall victim to the track conditions and went down on lap 9. He was able to re-join the pack and eventually came home in 7th.
Rookie Pedro Acosta continues to impress as he enjoyed his first trip to the Sprint Race podium today, coming home in 2nd place. This came despite a terrible start to the race that saw him get swallowed up by the grid and drop way down.
Fabio Quartararo won’t have been on many people’s betting slips for a podium today, but the Frenchman kept his nose clean and was able to capitalise on the many crashes happening around him. He was clearly thrilled with the result, having started the race from 23rd on the grid.
The final result was a topsy turvy list, with many of the midfield riders able to take home some crucial points today.
Image Credit: MotoGP
AS IT HAPPENED
Marc Marquez started the race on pole but, as he moved across the track in a fierce defensive move, he was quickly swallowed up by the pack and dropped back to 3rd. Instead, it was Brad Binder who flew off the line in the classic KTM fashion we have come to know recently.
As the field settled in to their positions, Binder was leading from Jorge Martin in 2nd, Marc Marquez in 3rd and his brother Alex just behind in 5th. Just behind them was Pecco Bagnaia, who went wide and let Marco Bezzecchi through and in to 5th. The following corner, the roles were reversed and Bezzecchi went wide to gift 5th place back to Bagnaia. Meanwhile, at the front, Martin took over in the lead – a position where he always feels comfortable!
Our first victim of the damp patches was Aleix Espargaro, in 12th, who went down at turn 8 in a very fast crash. A few corners later, Jack Miller then went down at turn 13 but, unlike Espargaro, manages to get the bike running again.
As the grid crossed the line to end lap 1, Martin was leading by 0.2 seconds – a gap which soon grew as Marc Marquez began a battle with Binder for 2nd. Marc took over in 2nd place, much to the thrill of the crowd, but as Binder fought back, he pushed them both wide and let Alex Marquez ahead of them both.
Binder then starts battling with Pecco Bagnaia and Fabio DiGiannantonio. At turn 1, the South African made an overly aggressive move up the inside of Bagnaia, forcing himself in to a gap that didn’t really exist. This left Bagnaia sandwiched between the two and with nowhere to go but the gravel trap.
DiGiannantonio also went down at the final corner of the same lap – he was only marginally offline but the bike just folded underneath him.
On lap 5, Martin was leading with a comfortable 1.3 second gap over Marc Marquez. Alex Marquez was still in 3rd with Binder in 4th, Pedro Acosta in 5th and Enea Bastianini in 6th. At this point in the race, it felt like things were starting to settle in to a rhythm.
The following lap, something seemed to ignite in Marc Marquez and he reduced the gap at the front to just 0.8 seconds whilst also setting the fastest lap of the race so far. On lap 7, the gap was now just 0.3 seconds and as Martin goes wide at turn 9, Marc Marquez is there to reap the reward. The crowd were deafening as their home hero took over at the front.
On lap 9, and completely synchronised, Alex Marquez, Binder and Bastianini all went down at turn 5 after hitting a damp past at exactly the same time. Then, a few corners later, Marc Marquez faced the same fate. Again, just one lap later, the same thing happened to Maverick Vinales at turn 5. Not even the most talent riders were safe!
Only Marc was able to rejoin the pack, taking 10th place. But he was clearly frustrated and began making silly moves as he tried to push his way back up through the field. First was Joan Mir, who’s back tired was bumped by Marc and he was forced to sit up and go wide. Then, on the last lap, he made a similar move on Miguel Oliveira.
Meanwhile, up at the front of the field, Martin had been gifted the lead by Marquez’s error. He was now leading by 3 seconds and tiptoeing round the track to make it home safely. Rookie Acosta was equally safe in 2nd place, 7 seconds ahead of Fabio Quartararo who was taking the final podium position.
Just behind the Yamaha was wildcard rider and old favourite, Dani Pedrosa who was testing for KTM. He tried his best to make it past Quartararo but simply couldn’t find a way past and had to settle for 4th as the chequered flag fell.
FULL RESULTS
Image Credit: MotoGP on X
POST-RACE UPDATE
2 hours after the chequered flag fell, the news broke that Dani Pedorsa, KTM’s wild card rider, had been promoted to the podium! Fabio Quartararo was demoted to 5th after being found guilty of a tyre pressure infringement. Four other riders, including Quartararo’s own team mate, were also punished for the same reason. This means that Raul Fernandez drops to 7th, Fabio di Giannantonio drops to 13th, Jack Miller drops to 14th and Alex Rins drops to 15th.
