Bagnaia Holds Narrow Lead in Championship Race

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

Prima Prmaca Racing and Yamaha have announced that starting in 2025 Prima Pramac Racing will leave its Ducati station for blue at Yamaha in a multi-year deal that benefits both parties in their endeavors to grow in MotoGP.

Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing: “These are busy times for Yamaha, both on track and behind the scenes. Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMC) and Yamaha Motor Racing (YMR) have made it no secret that they are putting all their effort into bike development.

“We now enter the next phase – one that we have been looking forward to for a long time: the arrival of a second Yamaha team. The new partnership with Prima Pramac Racing will take a different form than we have used in the past. Rather than a satellite team, with this new agreement Yamaha have put their trust in Pramac Racing, and we will be providing them with Factory bikes of the same specification used by the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team. “The targets are to accelerate bike development, which remains YMC and YMR’s key priority in our quest to return to winning ways, as well as having four competitive riders in the MotoGP championship in two top-class teams.“

In addition to the MotoGP programme, our collaboration includes a future Moto2 project to provide a platform to groom future MotoGP riders. It is too early to give details about this programme right now as this will be developed in the months ahead.

I would like to extend my personal appreciation and thanks to Paolo Campinoti, CEO of Pramac, and Gino Borsoi, Team Manager of Prima Pramac Racing, for their faith and trust in Yamaha. We have the greatest respect for their team, and we assure them of our full commitment to make this new partnership highly successful for many years to come.”

Day 1 at TT Assen was an all out shootout between the championship front runners. Francesco Bagnaia came out on top but the task to finish on top was no easy feat. The top 15 were separated by less than a second when it came to best lap times. Given the small margin between the front runners some surprising names found themselves in Q1 for qualifying tomorrow. Having missed the cut off after a brilliant start to the season Pedro Acosta will have to fight through Q1 along side Fabio Quartararo for a shot at a podium in tomorrow’s Sprint race.

The cathedral of speed, TT Assen is known for high speed action and also for being a bit of a spoiler for the front runners. Jorge Martin looks to extend his championship lead while Francesco Bagnaia looks to take away the top spot after Martin has failed to pull away decisively in the championship based on his recent shortcomings. Qualifying and Sprint race action kicks off tomorrow.

TT Assen Practice Results

Ducati Lenovo wowed the masses in Italy when Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini pulled out a 1-2 finish at Mugello after Bagnaia had previously secured the win in the Mugello Sprint Race. It was a perfect weekend for Bagnaia on the first stop on home turf for the 2024 campaign. The Italian jump up at the start of the race after qualifying fifth place. By the end of the first lap he was in first and would hold the lead for the rest of the race. Behind, Jorge Martin was able to recover from a slow start but would eventually lose out in the end to Bastianini and Martin settle for third. Unfortunately for Martin, Bagnaia’s double win further cut into Martin’s grasp on the championship.

Martin Retains Lead But Needs Answers

Despite not winning this weekend Jorge Martin retains an 18 point lead in the championship. His performances when he finishes races have been stellar however a recent string of mistake has seen his championship lead dwindle week by week. Martin said, “I was able to achieve the best result possible in a very complicated Grand Prix. It has been a difficult event, and after the crash on Saturday, the team and I decided to make a significant modification to the set-up. This important change paid off. Thanks to my team for the support, tomorrow we have a test day and then a short break. My motivation and my strength are higher than ever”.

If Martin is to retain his lead in the championship he will needed to return to his winning ways at the next round. The close Bagnaia gets the harder the championship title fight will be.

Italian Grand Prix Results

Championship Standings

After crashing out of FP3 Francesco Bagnaia came back with a vengeance in qualifying and the sprint race. Bagnaia started the sprint from P2 but got a much better start easily passing polesitter Jorge Martin. With Martin moving backwards Bagnaia took full advantage extending his lead out front. Martin would later crash out of the race with 4 laps remaining.

In the latter stages of the race the battle was on between Marc Marquez and Bagnaia for the top spot. Bagnaia’s teammate Enea Bastianini also crashed out of the race paving the way for Marquez to make his charge to the front. The pair battled but Bagnaia continued to shut the door and by the checkered flag he had built up a 1.5 second lead ahead. The win means Bagnaia cut 12 points off of Jorge Martin’s point advantage in the championship.

Pedro Acosta Continues Run of Podiums

MotoGP rookie wowed the masses again as he stayed poised behind the fighting ahead and lunged into P3 finding himself yet another podium this weekend. The top 5 was rounded out by Franco Morbidelli who matched his highest MotoGP finish of the season in P4 and Maverick Viñales in P5.

Sprint Race Results and Championship Standings

Championship Standings.

MotoGP is back after a quick turn around after leaving the festivities surrounding the Catalan GP last weekend. Up next is the Italian Grand Prix on the legendary Mugello Circuit. Jorge Martin looks to continue to build his championship lead while Francesco Bagnaia is poised to cut further into Martin’s point lead after coming off of a win in the Catalan Grand Prix last weekend.

Mugello is the first stop in Italy for the MotoGP riders campaign. Bagnaia will look to capitalize on home turf as he finds himself in unfamiliar territory having to fight his way back into the top spot. This year’s MotoGP grid is much more competitive at this point in the season than last year. Bagnaia seemingly had run away with the championship until a late stroke of form from Jorge Martin saw him come in contention for the title in the closing rounds of the season. With two races this weekend the battles on track between Martin and Bagnaia will be a treat for the fans in attendance.

Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello

Located 30km north-east of Florence in the beautiful countryside of Tuscany, Mugello is a modern circuit with excellent facilities. Bought by Ferrari back in 1988, the 5.245km track has been renovated to a high standard and has a growing reputation as one of the world’s most up-to-date, scenic and safest race circuits.

A blend of slow and fast turns with sweeping curves, long straights and off-camber corners make Mugello one of the most challenging circuits for the riders and engineers. Having hosted its first MotoGP event back in 1976 the venue became a permanent fixture in 1991 after extensive refurbishment. Set within a beautiful tree lined Tuscan valley, Mugello also offers ample viewing areas for a particularly boisterous and partisan Italian crowd.

The Italian Grand Prix Weekend Schedule