Bagnaia Doesn’t Quit With Sprint Race Win

The battle for the top spot in the 2024 MotoGP championship has been a game of tug o war between Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia. In the Mandalika sprint race Martin crashed from the from the lead and lost out on valuable points that would’ve shut the door on any comeback by Bagnaia this weekend. Martin was however able to recover to P10. Bagnaia’s post race mood was on the opposite end of the spectrum while he celebrated the.

Bagnaia said, “I’m very happy with this win. It wasn’t an easy race, as the track temperature was the highest ever encountered so far at this track. This morning, we managed to make another step forward and in qualifying I understood how to be effective in the first two sectors. I still struggle at turns 15 and 16, but it’s a very tricky point where I almost tucked the front on a couple of occasions. This is why in the race I pushed as hard as I could in the first three sectors, as I knew I wasn’t the fastest rider in the last split. This is a strategy that could have worked only today, so we’ll keep working in the warmup in order to improve some more ahead of the race.”

Enea Bastianini Continues Positive Form

Enea Bastianini’s finished P2 in the sprint ahead of Marc Maruqez and has opened up the possibility of contending for the championship title race. Martin now holds a 12 point lead over Bagnaia and a 50 point lead over Bastianini. There are enough races for the top of the table to shift in any direction come the final round of the season and the battle for 2024’s championship is heating up. Referring to the race

Bastianini said “It was a good sprint race; too bad for the start and especially for the mistake at turn one, which compromised a bit my chances of winning today. I had a good pace and I was very competitive under braking, and that allowed me to bridge the gap and to overtake a few riders. Tomorrow’s race will definitely be a tough one: Jorge crashed today, but he’ll be very competitive tomorrow. The fact that we’ll likely have to go for the medium rear tire will mix things up a bit further.” Marc Marquez rounded out the top three.

Full Sprint Race Results From Mandalika

Jorge Martin secured pole position in Indonesia in record setting fashion after shattering the lap record and secured pole position for the upcoming Sprint and Grand Prix. Martin was in a world of his own finishing over a half a second ahead of Marco Bezzecchi. Pedro Acosta returned to the top 3 for the Gas Gas MotoGP side. The finish again didn’t do Francesco Bagnaia’s championship hopes any good after he finished fourth and never really challenged for pole position. Similarly where Bagnaia’s teammate found early success in the weekend he too fell short of expectation finishing qualifying P5. Both Ducati Lenovo riders will start on the second row and will lean on a good start to get them back in to contention for tomorrow’s sprint race.

Despite a crash in the session Bastianini walked away from qualifying unscathed.

Qualifying Results

Ducati Lenovo rider Enea Bastianini has found a new swing of form on the track the second half of the 2024 season. Bastianini led practice beating out championship leader Jorge Martin by a slim 0.04s. Bastianini commented on the session, “It was a positive day. The track was a bit dirty this morning, but it improved a lot throughout the day. Obviously the times dropped significantly in the afternoon, but the feeling with the bike was already good from the first session; we then made some adjustments, which worked well. We were strong in the time attack, while the medium rear tyre requires a few laps before getting into temperature. We’re all very close lap-time wise so it won’t be easy tomorrow in qualifying. In any case, I’m very happy with today’s performance.”

P2 finisher Martin also offer his comments, “I’ve felt really good all day. I tried different types of tyres and I feel great. Not having to make any changes to the bike allowed me to focus on the riding. I’m happy with how the day went, and I’m ready for tomorrow”.

Franco Morbidelli finished in third which will be advantageous heading into Q2. Despite finishing 4th Francesco Bagnaia was right there with the front runners with the top 4 being separated by less than a tenth of a second. Qualifying is up next.

Indonesia Practice Results

Sunday was a drama filled race for the world’s premier motorcycle racing class; MotoGP. Ducati Lenovo rider Enea Bastianini lead the effort for Ducati to secure the win and clinch the constructors world championship. The 2024 season has been a battle for Bastinaini but he has found himself in the front pack on more than one occasion this season. His work this year has been a stark contrast to his 2023 campaign where he suffered from a seemingly season ending injury. Bastianini wasn’t done though. His performance in 2024 left fans wondering when his first win of the season might come. Now that its here Bastianini offered his comments.

Bastianini Comments on Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Win

“This victory is a great achievement, because we built up to a crescendo this weekend. Yesterday we were missing something to battle for the win, but we worked until late in order to put all the pieces together and to find a solution ahead of today’s race, and it worked. Jorge (Martín) was extremely fast throughout the race and there was a moment in which I wasn’t sure if I could have stayed with him, as I started experiencing a bit of vibration at the rear-end. As the laps went by, however, I tried to understand how to minimize the issue. In the final laps, something extra obviously comes out that enables you to battle for the win. In the end, I made my move: when I dove in, Jorge tried to close the door and that forced me to lean a bit, which led to the front-end locking. I tried to rely on the rear as much as I could, while making sure I could make the turn, and it worked.”

Francesco Bagnaia Crashes; Loses Ground to Martin

Francesco Bagnaia’s championship run took a hit this weekend after he crashed out of the grand prix after he lost the front end and slide out during the race. Bagnaia said, “Today simply went the way it did. I was already having some issues with the front locking since the start of the race so even when the rear tyre started to perform with 15 laps in and set the fastest lap of the race two times in a row, I still tried to be as careful as possible, especially under braking. Then, I lost the front as hit the brakes, despite being still in an upright position. It was a strange day no doubt, but we’ll be ready next time.”

Jorge Martin increased his championship lead to 29 points after the weekend. Its a bit early to start discussing championship scenarios. Martin was happened with the result. Martin commented saying, “I gave my all to win this race. I am disappointed with how it ended because I led for almost the entire race, and Enea’s overtake was on the limit. Nevertheless, I managed to avoid a crash and consolidate my championship lead. We are now heading into a part of the championship that I love, and I’m really looking forward to it”. Martin benefitted from the points haul while Bagnaia DNF the race.

Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Results

Championship Standings

Francesco Bagnaia bested Jorge Martin in today’s Tissot Sprint race ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Bagnaia and Martin have traded back and forth blows all season. The two traded leads at the front but Bagnaia was able to hold off a late charge by Martin that saw martin run wide and Bagnaia took advantage. Martin would chase for the remainder of the race. With Bagnaia’s teammate Enea Bastianini finishing in third.

Bagnaia Speaks on the Win

“I did everything to make sure my riding was as close to 100% as possible and luckily I managed to do so,” he said. “Today’s race pace was crazy. Just two weeks ago, to be lapping in the 31.2/3 was already an incredible achievement, while today we were consistently quicker than that. Once again, I didn’t get the best of starts and I found myself also behind Brad (Binder). Once I moved up to second, I found myself with a 0.7secs gap, and it was hard to get the better of Jorge (Martín); without his mistake, it would have been a lot harder to overtake him. I was very quick in that sector, and I would have tried to pass him there anyway. I’m happy because we narrowed the gap down to the lead a bit more, but the most important race awaits us tomorrow and it’ll be key to get a good start and be in the lead from the get-go. I’d like to thank the team for the amazing work done and the fans for being here with us.”

Sprint Race Results

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.”

Pedro Acosta Returns to Form

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.

Acosta 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