Marc Marquez continues to impress at his Gresini Racing post with yet another win that has sky rocketed Marquez into the championship race discussion. The win marked back to back grand prix victories for the 7 time world champion. Despite not riding for the factory team Marquez has shown that experience can sometimes outweighs performance. It was a mixed conditions race that required the riders to swap bikes. Marquez attributed his win to the correct strategy call by the team to stay out and charge forward.
Marquez said, “Those rain drops helped a lot… Maybe Fausto looked down and gave us a helping hand. I thought I had nothing to lose and gave it all. Honestly, I would have never got back to the pits to change the bike, and surely not that soon. Had it rained for a couple of more laps then maybe… but I chose to follow the instincts of the home riders who stayed out. I can’t say if it’s an open championship again, but we want to continue looking for consistency.”
Martin Gambles and Loses
Unfortunately for Jorge martin his triumph in yesterday’s race ended in todays race as he chose to come in to the pits when provide to be the wrong called and cost him a shot at the win.
Martin would settle for 1 ppoint in P15 which dropped his championship lead down to 7 points as Francesco Bagnaia finish the race P2 and gained ground on Martin this weekend. Martin said, “I was quite comfortable, but it started raining heavily in sectors one, two, and three. For this reason, I decided to change bikes. Now that the race is over, it’s clear that the strategy wasn’t the right one. I’ve learned my lesson, and now it’s time to look ahead”.
Bagnaia’s teammate Enea Bastianini completed the podium in P3 to close out the weekend.
San Marino Grand Prix Results
World Standings After the San Marino Grand Prix
Jorge Martin sent a reminder to Francesco Bagnaia than he is still the championship front runner after a hard fought win today at Misano for the San Marino Grand Prix Sprint. Bagnaia started from pole position and had a good start but Martin had a better one easily getting past Bagnaia on the first lap of the race. Martin dropped the hammer on the competition and was in a race of his own at the front. Behind Francesco Bagnaia and Franco Morbidelli battled it out for P2; with Bagnaia winning that battle and settling for P2.
Martin began to lose ground in the closing stages of the race which allowed Bagnaia and Morbidelli to climb back to contention for first place. Martin however shut down all efforts and secured the win and a 26 point buffer in the championship points race. The grand prix kicks off tomorrow.
Sprint Race Results
Francesco Bagnaia bounced back from last weekend poor outing at the Aragon Grand Prix by topping the table in Practice today sending him through to Q2. Bagnaia visibly and verbally display his fight through the pain of lingering soreness from last weekend’s crash. However despite this he was still the fastest on track. He said, “This morning it was hard without painkillers, while this afternoon things got better and I managed to be fast. The main problem is at the start of the session and whenever I get back on track as it’s hard to even tuck in due to the pain in both shoulders. Once we get a few laps in, things improve. We still managed to find a solution that allows me to focus on my riding and not on the pain.
Today we mainly worked on the set-up with the medium rear tire, even though as we saw with Jorge (Martín) the soft option can easily hold well for the whole sprint race distance. The choice for tomorrow won’t be an easy one. At the moment, Martín and (Marc) Márquez are our main rivals: they are both competitive despite the fact that they interpret the track very differently, even compared to me, but this is a very complete track and each of us have an edge in different areas of the track.”
Marc Marquez In the Championship Fight?
Its a bit early to be discussing a potential championship run for Marc Marquez in 2024. However, his recent form suggest that there could be a path forward as he has solidified himself as a mid season front runner. Finishing P2 in practice behind Bagnaia by just under 2 tenths of a second. Marquez said, “We’re happy with today: we were able to get the same feeling and the quick lap-times came. We’re still missing something in order to be at our best, but right now I see myself on row two and maybe in the podium battle. We need to improve in the third sector as those right-hand corners don’t play to my strengths, but we’re there.”
Jorge Martin the current championship leader finished P3 in practice but seems unbothered by the riders ahead. The focus seemed to be more on the team to get the bike to 100% for qualifying. “I felt very comfortable, very fast, and I was able to do exactly what I wanted with the bike,” said Martin. “In the afternoon, I tried the soft tire, hoping to make another step forward, but I didn’t find what I was expecting. So, we made some other changes and found a satisfactory pace. Third is a good result for a Friday, and we’ll keep working to improve even more”.
Full Practice Result from Misano
Marc Marquez turned head for the Gresini Racing side this weekend at Aragon after he led every session on the weekend resulting in a win in the Sprint race as well as winning the Grand Prix. The win marked Marquez’s 60th Grand Prix win. Francesco Bagnaia had a horrible start that saw him drop to P8 and got into the dirty section of the track which compromised his grip. Marquez wouldn’t look back and controlled the race at the front for the remainder of the race. With Pedro Acosta and Jorge Martin battling behind Marquez was able to focus on pulling away from the pack and focus on managing his tires.
Francesco Bagnaia started to build an attack for the podium places fighting back to P4 with 5 laps to go. However, after a mistake from Gresini’s Alex Marquez running wide Bagnaia was able to attempt a pass. The move ended up being catastrophic for both riders. After Bagnaia came around the outside of Alex Marquez and made contact with the front wheel of Marquez sending both riders into a violent crash into the gravel trap. Bother riders appear to be ok.
FIM Issues Decision on the Incident
The FIM stewards determined that the crash was a racing incident and that no further action required. The Statement read: “The incident between Bagnaia #1 and Marquez #73 on Lap 18 at Turn 13 was placed under investigation and reviewed after the Race.
‘The FIM MotoGP Stewards interviewed both riders and heard the explanation of the incident from both of their perspectives, and as well reviewed multiple broadcast and other available image sources and machine data.
‘During the hearing both riders explained that the grip levels off of the racing line were difficult, and in the Stewards opinion these were a contributing factor in this case of the riders ability to have choices to avoid contact.
‘The conclusion of the FIM MotoGP Stewards after taking all points into consideration, and with no conclusive evidential factor, is that neither rider was determined to be predominantly responsible for the incident.’
Jorge Martin reclaimed the championship lead this weekend now with a 23 point lead of Francesco Bagnaia who leaves Aragon disappointed. The MotoGP season is in for a busy season ending with 8 more race weekends to go to decide the championship.
Aragon Grand Prix Race Results
MotoGP World Championship Standings
Marc Marquez put on a masterclass today in the Aragon Sprint race to claim his first sprint race win. The win came in dominant fashion with Marquez finishing 3 seconds ahead of Jorge Martin who finished P2 and reclaimed the lead in the championship. Francesco Bagnaia who had the championship lead coming into the weekend dropped down the pecking order after a bad start. He seemingly never was able to get into his rhythm and settled for P9 in Q2.
Marquez was brief with his words after securing his first win in the last 1042 days. He said, We need to enjoy this moment: despite being just a sprint race, today is time for celebration. It has been a tough race and it’ll be even tougher tomorrow especially with regards to tyre management, but we must be happy now. This win, as tiny as it is, is part of the learning curve we’re in.”
After a string of poor finishes Pedro Acosta found himself back on the podium in today’s Sprint race finishing P3 behind Jorge Martin. In more dramatic fashion Acosta found the pace to break the ceiling of the Q2 finishers after he failed to make it in the Q2 after Friday’s practice.
Pedro Acosta celebrates P3 finish during the Aragon Sprint Race. Photo Courtesy of Red Bull Gas Gas Factory Racing Tech3Acosta said, “Missing out on Q2 yesterday was a real shame for us, but I am happy with our qualifying. This morning, I woke up feeling confident, and everything worked today. We made it to the front row from Q1, I was feeling very well on the bike. Of course, the track conditions helped us today, but we have been competitive all day, and it is something that we had not been able to do during the last couple of rounds. Good work, let’s continue working with the team, and let’s try enjoying Sunday.”
Full Aragon Sprint Race Results
After securing the win on Sunday Francesco Bagnaia solidified his lead at the front of the MotoGP pack with a 5 point lead leaving Austrian on top of the tables. Bagnaia secured the lead in dominant fashion after holding off Martin in the Grand Prix. Bagnaia has stayed poised in the in the last two rounds to close the gap to Martin. Martin has secured good finishes in the last few rounds, but in doing so he’s lost points to Bagnaia which could be worrisome for the Pramac side. The race at the front is currently a two man show with third place sitter and Bagnaia’s teammate Enea Bastianini sitting in third place after a slow start by 61 points. However, given the form and development of the Ducati Lenovo bikes its not unreasonable to assume that Bastianini may start to cut into the lead of Martin because its clear the factory Ducati team has found something the Pramac Racing team hasn’t.
Marc Marquez Charges to a Hard Fought 4th
After a later charge Marc Marquez fell just short of the podium. However, the Gresini side was pleased with the results. Marquez said, “This has been probably the best weekend of the season feeling-wise. Great Friday, excellent qualifying and two ‘easy’ podiums within reach. They didn’t come, yesterday because of a crash and today a few too many little issues especially at the start. Still, we’re leaving Spielberg in good spirits, while hoping the stars will align in order to be even more competitive.”
Full Austrian Grand Prix Results
After an early mistake in the early stages of the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint Race Francesco Bagnaia lost P1 to Jorge Martin. Martin however, made a mistake running wide into turn two whihc allow Bagnaia to make the pass and pull away from the field. The win moves Bagnaia to level point in the championship race with both Bagnaia and Martin holding 250 points. Tomorrow’s Grand Prix will determine if a new championship leader will take the reigns.
After the race Bagnaia said, “I enjoyed a lot the battle today as, while doing so, I managed to lap in 1:28.7 which was two tenths faster than last year’s pole position time. This is incredible: I knew it was important to lead from the start and Jorge (Martín) tried everything to stay ahead. I tried to overtake him but then he ended up wide. As soon as it happened, I checked the gap and I saw that he was 0.3secs behind, meaning he hadn’t lost one second, so I was sure he would likely end up receiving the long-lap penalty. Then it was all about managing the gap at the front. All in all, it was a fantastic win and I now have plenty of data for tomorrow’s full race. It still won’t be easy, but right now I’m very satisfied”.
Jorge Martin finishes a Hard Fought P2 in the Sprint
Despite a good start Martin had to fight to keep his podium slot. Marc Marquez put the pressure on Martin until Marquez crashed out of the race which allowed martin to regain P2 and keep the championship race manageable. He said, “Today, it was harder than usual to start because of my hand. Even though I was strong and competitive, I was able to fight for the victory. In the end, I’m a bit disappointed with the result, but tomorrow I will have another chance in the race. I received a penalty, which is fair because it is what’s written in the regulations, even though it might be reviewed because I lost time, gave up the position, and then had to take the long lap. Anyway, I did my best, and now it’s time to rest a bit before I start thinking about the race”.
Aleix Espargaro rounded out the top 3 finishing third for Aprilia Racing.
Full Sprint Race Results
As the riders head into qualifying Francesco Bagnaia has not emerged as the weekend front runner after topping main practice this afternoon at Speilberg. After falling behind in FP1 Bagnaia bounced back in true reigning champion form. After finishing main practice Bagnaia said, “We’re happy, because we were able to try everything we had scheduled to try. This track suits my riding style well and I felt comfortable already from the first run. This afternoon, we made another step forward during the second run which was in the same direction we took from the morning, and that helped me a lot; unfortunately I didn’t feel like it was worth taking the risk to try the hard front tire, which would have still been an important piece of the puzzle; we chose not to as most of the riders who tried it ended up crashing.”
Jorge Martin Stays in Top 3 for Pramac
After leading FP1 Jorge Martin found himself short of the benchmark 1m28.508s lap set by Bagnaia. However the day was still a positive one for the Prima Pramac Team after Franco Morbidelli took Ps and Martin just behind in third. The riders said:
Franco Morbidelli, Prima Pramac Racing rider – Practice, P2
“I am very happy with today’s performance. We have been improving step by step throughout the day, and I am glad to have done a great time attack, which is extremely important to secure direct access to Q2 on Friday. Thanks to Ducati and Prima Pramac, I found a familiar team, and that has been important for my continued progression and adaptation to the bike. The weekend is still long, but it’s fantastic to start as well as this”.
Jorge Martín, Prima Pramac Racing rider – Practice, P3
“In general, the sensations have been good today. In the afternoon, I had a bit more work to do because I wanted to improve the feeling I had in the morning. There were a few adjustments needed, and we made them. We had to make quite a few changes to the bike, and in the end, I was able to maintain a good rhythm, test all compounds of tyres, and do much more work than usual. In the end, I was able to be competitive, so I’m pleased”.
Full Practice Results
Jorge Martin topped FP1 this morning as he comes into the Austrian Grand Prix weekend with a 3 point lead in the MotoGP championship race. The session was eventful with Pedro Acosta crashing out again bringing out the red flag which halted the session. Acosta tucked the front end and slid out resulting in a low side crash in turn 4.
Prim Pramac topped the table as a team with Franco Morbidelli finishing P2 in the session. FP2 is up next later this afternoon. Championship contender Francesco Bagnaia finished 4th in the session.
Austrian GP FP1 Results
Francesco Bagnaia turned up the heat in the championship race this weekend at TT Assen after he double down on winnings topping the tables in both the TT Assen Sprint and Grand Prix races. Bagnaia struggled in early season to find his rhythm but those issues seem to have passed. This weekend’s pints haul draws him closer to Jorge Martin who had to settle for P2 in both races now only holds a 10 point lead in the championship. Bagnaia said, “Everything was perfect. We like to be very fast, very precise, and the weather was fantastic. We had the opportunity to put our best down and the chance was perfect.”
TT Assen Race Results
World Champions Standings