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.
Image Credit: MotoGP on X
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
Image Credit: MotoGP on X
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 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.
Image Credit: MotoGP on X
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.
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.
Francesco Bagnaia wins the Catalan GP ahead of championship leader Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez. Yesterday’s birthday boy Pedro Acosta crashed out when fighting for the lead of the race.
All riders started the race on the medium tyres on the front and rear except for Acosta, M. Marquez and Jack Miller who made the decision to run a medium front tyre and a soft rear tyre. Rear tyre degradation was a large factor in races earlier in the day so the choice for a soft rear was an unexpected one.
Bagnaia had a great start from the front row, but Brad Binder also started well and was making moves around the outside of the track to gain some places. Alex Rins ran wide and accidentally took the long lap loop and fell to the rear of the field.
Acosta and Bagnaia started to break away from the rest of the field but further behind them, Martin made a huge lunge to get past Binder for third place to attempt to catch up with the leaders.
Miller ran deep at turn one on lap two and lost a spot to Raul Fernandez. Acosta kept close to the rear of Bagnaia and looked at making a move at turn ten but wasn’t able to make the move. Acosta continued to stay on the back of Bagnaia’s bike but struggled to find a way past on lap two.
On the third lap, Acosta made the move at turn ten but ran wide so that Bagnaia was able to cut back. At the same corner, Miller crashed.
Martin caught up the leading two riders and passed his countryman Acosta into turn 10 and on lap five, Binder also looked at making the same move on the rookie but was unable to do so. Martin made an impressive move to get past Bagnaia to lead the race.
On lap six, Augusto Fernandez crashed at turn ten.
Again, the front two started to break away from the rest of the field and Acosta set the fastest lap.
Aleix Espargaro, yesterday’s sprint winner, made his way past Binder on lap 11 across the start finish straight and R. Fernandez barged his way past the South African rider at turn one too.
After setting some fast laps, Acosta crashed out the race at turn 10. The champagne was on hold for the rookie rider as he looked to take his first win in MotoGP.
Marquez was able to pass Binder on lap twelve at turn seven as he continued his charge up the field after starting in fourteenth place.
Enea Bastianini received a long lap penalty for taking a short cut at turn two and then he received a double long lap penalty for not taking the initial penalty. He did not take the double long lap penalty and then received a 32 second penalty which was applied at the end of the race.
Martin continued to lead the race, but Bagnaia started to close the gap to the leader. The Italian rider made the move to take the lead on lap 19 at turn 5. Pecco slammed on the brakes to not allow Martin back through. The leading pair had over an eight second lead over the third-place rider Espargaro.
But Espargaro didn’t hold third position for much longer as M. Marquez made the move on him down the start finish straight on the following lap.
The final laps of the race were drama free which allowed Pecco to cross the line in first place ahead of fellow Ducati riders Martin and M. Marquez. After yesterday’s heroics, Aleix Espargaro was only able to manage fourth place ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio. Raul Fernandez finished the race in sixth place ahead of Alex Marquez, Brad Binder, Fabio Quartararo and Miguel Olivera.
Feature Image Credit : Motorsport Images/Gold and Goose
After qualifying on pole position a day after announcing his retirement, Aleix Espargaro stood on the top step of the podium at the Catalan GP after three riders crashed out of the lead. He was joined on the podium by Marc Marquez who started the race in fourteenth and birthday boy Pedro Acosta.
Pecco Bagnaia had a brilliant start from the middle of the front row and was able to take the lead into turn one. Acosta strongarmed his way into second place and Brad Binder found a gap in the track to get through the first turn in third place. Raul Fernandez also joined in the party by getting past Binder a few corners later. Jack Miller made a move on Miguel Olivera at turn ten.
By the end of the first lap, M. Marquez had made it to eighth place after his poor qualifying effort earlier in the morning.
Acosta attacked Bagnaia on the brakes into turn one on the second lap to take the lead but the Italian pulled off a risky move into turn five to get bast the Spaniard. The battle continued into the following lap where Acosta made the same move at turn one to retake the lead. Fernandez and Binder were also able to get past in the next three corners. The factory Ducati rider lost three places in four corners.
Contact occurred between Acosta and Fernandez and this allowed Binder to get past the GASGAS Tech3 rider but not Fernandez who was now leading a MotoGP race for the first time in his career.
Acosta regained second position after making what was becoming his trademark move at the first corner but the gap to leader Fernandez continued to grow as he set the fastest lap.
On the fifth lap, Acosta went slightly deep in turn four but it didn’t affect his position and Bagnaia received a track limits warning. Race leader Fernandez crashed out of the lead at turn ten after carrying too much speed in the corner. This allowed Acosta to take the race lead.
Binder got past Acosta on the start finish straight to take the lead of the race and started to break away from the chasing pack. Franco Morbidelli received a long lap penalty for irresponsible riding on the sixth lap.
Bagnaia capitalised on lap six to take second place from Acosta after the Spaniard ran wide.
The classic Acosta move into turn one happened again on lap seven as he made the move back through on Bagnaia and M. Marquez made a similar move to get past championship leader Jorge Martin for fifth. Bagnaia made an aggressive move into turn three to take second place back.
Binder crashed out of the lead at turn five which allowed Bagnaia to take the race lead.
Espargaro made his way past Acosta at the start of lap eight and the younger rider did have a look at getting past once more bit couldn’t find a way.
Johann Zarco crashed following contact with Alex Marquez at the back of the field.
There were a few laps of calm before the madness resumed on the final lap where M. Marquez made the move that Acosta had been making on everyone else to take third place.
The third crash from the lead happened when Bagnaia crashed at turn five, allowing Espargaro to take over the front of the race with less than a lap to go.
No other riders went down before the chequered flag waved and after dropping down at the start of the race, Aleix Espargaro was able to clamber his way back through the field to win the race.
Championship leader Jorge Martin finished the sprint race in fourth place ahead of Enea Bastianini, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Jack Miller, Maverick Vinales, Marco Bezzechi and Fabio Quartararo, who rounded out the top ten.
Feature Image Credit: Motorsport Images/Gold and Goose
2024 MotoGP Catalunya, Barcelona – Sprint Race Results
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.
Image Credit: MotoGP
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.
Image Credit: MotoGP
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?
Pecco Bagnaia has shown everyone why he is a two-time MotoGP world champion, taking a phenomenal and hard-fought win at the Spanish GP in Jerez.
It wasn’t an easy win for the Italian – he first had to battle with Jorge Martin, after losing the lead to him on lap 2. He kept the pressure on but just couldn’t find a way past. When Martin went down at turn 6 on lap 11, Bagnaia was able to take over at the front, with a comfortable lead of the rest of the pack.
Then, in the latter stages of the race, he had a fiery Marc Marquez on his tail and had to fend off numerous moves from the home hero. Both ended the day with rubber on their leathers after bumping and making contact a few times.
As many MotoGP fans know, there is no love lost between Marquez and Bagnaia after numerous clashes already this year, as well as the behind-the-scenes unhappiness when Marquez moved to Gresini (a Ducati sister team). But it was clear who the fans were cheering for and their deafening cheers were all for their home hero, Marquez.
Marquez certainly won’t be disappointed with 2nd place today. It’s his first race podium in nearly two years and his first podium with Ducati. It will mean even more to him, given that this track nearly ended his career 4 years ago after a horrific crash.
The final podium position was taken by Marc Bezzecchi, who turned parc ferme in a huge party. He was evidently thrilled with his first podium of the year, having struggled so much at the start of the season. It was a much-needed result for him with big boss Valentino Rossi watching trackside this weekend!
Pecco Bagnaia was super aggressive at the first two corners, which saw him rocket from 7th up to 4th. It was an equally positive start for Miguel Oliveira, leaping from 15th to 7th, and Jack Miller, jumping from 15th to 8th.
Meanwhile, Augusto Fernandez, enjoying a pretty poor start to the season, was slapped with a double long lap penalty for a jump start. He then failed to serve this within the required 3 laps so his penalty increased to a ride through penalty instead.
As the grid approach turn 6, the Dani Pedrosa corner, Bagnaia was ridiculously late on the breaks and flew up to 2nd place. He was then quickly battling for the lead and took over at the front as they crossed the line to start lap 2.
The drama continued as we had 3 abreast going in to turn 1, which ended with Bagnaia leading ahead of Martin in 2nd and Marc Marquez in 3rd. As the lap then ended, Bagnaia went wide at the final corner to gift the lead to Martin.
Behind them, as the grid settled down, we had Bezzecchi in 4th, Alex Marquez 5th, Binder 6th, Oliveira 7th and Miller 8th. Enea Bastianini and Fabio DiGiannantonio rounded out the top 10.
Here comes Bez barging through @marcmarquez93 for 3rd 🌶️
On lap 4, we had our first crash of the race. Dani Pedrosa, a wildcard for KTM, went down at turn 8 in a very fast crash. Later in the lap, Bezzecchi was able to snatch 3rd place away from Marc Marquez who responds by setting the following lap next time around. At this point in the race, there was hardly anything between the top 4, with Bagnaia achingly close to the back wheel of Martin but unable to find a way past.
Aleix Espargaro was the next to crash, going down at turn 5 on lap 10. He bumped in to the back of Johann Zarco, taking him down too. Zarco was a completely innocent bystander, with no way to avoid Espargaro’s uncharacteristically silly move.
There were some gaps forming in the pack as everyone settled in to the race – everyone except Bagnaia who was still desperately trying to find a way past Martin who was holding firm in 1st. On lap 11, it seems like the pressure became too much for Martin and the bike folded underneath him, sending him in to the gravel at turn 6. He was left utterly dejected, forced to watch on from the escape road.
So this left us with Bagnaia in the lead, a comfortable 0.8 seconds ahead of Bezzecchi in 2nd. Marc Marquez had now been promoted to the final podium spot, with a gap between him and Binder in 5th, Oliveira in 6th and Bastianini in 7th.
Tyre struggles for Bezzecchi on lap 14 allowed Marquez to finally retake 2nd place. He had made an attempt the lap before, when Bezzecchi went wide on the final corner, but there was some smoke from his rear tyre and he couldn’t find the speed he needed to make the move. It appeared that he was perhaps having a technical problem, possibly with a part of bodywork rubbing on his tyre. But once he made the move, he was able to pull out a 0.2 second gap within just 2 corners.
As Marquez kept putting air between himself and Bezzechi, Bagnaia was now leading by 1.4 seconds.
Further back, there was a battle raging between Miller and Pedro Acosta, with Acosta coming out on top. There has been lots of talk about Acosta potentially replacing Miller next year so he will have been disappointed to be bested by the rookie.
By lap 16, Marquez had reduced the gap at the front to 0.6 seconds and it was game on for the race win today. Marquez was setting fastest lap after fastest lap, including setting a new race lap record. Then, on lap 21, Bagnaia and Marquez were side by side for a large portion of the lap, even bumping in to each other at turn 10. It was a breath taking tussle, with reigning champion Bagnaia coming out on top.
He then proved to us exactly why he is a two-time champion, responding to Marquez’s attack by laying down qualifying-style lap times and further smashing the race lap record. It was a hugely impressive feat, given he was on 23-lap-pld tyres at this point.
It was this blistering pace, with error free laps, that allowed Bagnaia to take the win and leap frog up to 2nd in the championship standings.
Jorge Martin took his fourth sprint race victory at the inaugural Indian GP at the Buddh International Circuit after a chaotic first lap. He was joined on the sprint race podium by Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez.
Martin got a brilliant start when the lights went out and immediately took the lead from pole-sitter Marco Bezzecchi. The Italian rider cut across in front of his teammate Luca Marini and they were both involved in a crash, where the front wheel of Marini and the rear wheel of Bezzecchi made contact.
Marini went down and was taken to the medical centre where he was declared unfit due to a collarbone fracture.
Pol Espargaro, Stefan Bradl and Raul Fernandez were also involved in a turn one incident and Fernandez was the only rider to continue.
Jack Miller also had a good start gaining eight positions on lap one after a poor qualifying session this morning. His KTM teammate, Brad Binder, also improved on his starting position on the first lap by making his way to fifth place.
Marquez got past his Repsol Honda teammate Joan Mir on the second lap and looked incredibly strong on the laps that followed. Unfortunately, Mir lost various places on the fourth lap and then crashed at turn three, ultimately retiring there.
Martin continued to extend his lead at the front of the field to 1.8s by the fifth lap, but there was a charger coming through the field and that was the pole sitter.
Bezzecchi was tenth on the fifth lap and continued to set fastest laps and pass riders who were in his way. And he wasn’t stopping at tenth place.
Johann Zarco had a wobble on lap six and crashed at turn three but was able to rejoin the circuit.
Binder was looking at making a move on Marquez for the final place on the podium. The South African rider was looking for an opportunity to get past Marquez at all the corners on the track.
The gap at the front was extended to two seconds on lap seven and barring any mistakes, it looked as though Martin was on track for another sprint race win.
Polesitter Bezzecchi was able to get past Miller for sixth place on the following lap at turn twelve and then Aleix Espargaro crashed at turn thirteen on the same lap, causing a yellow flag.
But Bezzecchi still wasn’t done with the overtakes as he got past Fabio Quartararo for fifth place on the final lap.
Jorge Martin crossed the finish line with a 1.389s lead from championship leader Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez rounded out the sprint podium. Binder finished just behind Marquez in fourth place and the charging Bezzecchi finished fifth. Quartararo had a positive Saturday in India, finishing in sixth place. The top ten was rounded out by Miller, Maverick Vinales, Raul Fernandez and Fabio Di Giannantonio.
Feature Image Credit: @88jorgemartin on X (formerly Twitter)
2023 INDIAN MOTOGP, BUDDH INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT – SPRINT RACE RESULTS
