Category: Moto GP

• Six-time champion makes perfect start at factory Ducati
• He overtakes brother Alex with three laps left in Thailand

Marc Márquez continued his perfect start to life with factory Ducati as the six-time MotoGP champion completed a weekend double at the season-opening Thailand Grand Prix on Sunday, finishing ahead of his younger brother, Alex Márquez.

Marc Márquez, who won the sprint race on Saturday, got off to an electric start on pole in hot and humid conditions at the Buriram International Circuit but Alex, who had qualified second on the grid, managed to break free to take the lead in the seventh lap of the 26-lap race.

Continue reading...

• Aprilia rider hit the track face first as his helmet shattered
• Spaniard has three weeks to recover before season starts

Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin fractured his hand and his foot which will both require surgeries after a nasty crash in pre-season testing in Sepang, Malaysia, on Wednesday, casting doubts on his title defence this season.

Martin, who made the switch from Pramac Racing to Aprilia after winning the 2024 MotoGP championship, lost control of his bike on turn two where a highside launched the 27-year-old into the air before he landed hard on the tarmac.

The Spaniard also hit the track face first as his helmet shattered and the session was briefly halted with red flags. He was taken to the medical centre by ambulance before being moved to the hospital for further checks.

Continue reading...

• Spaniard wins by 10 points after third-place finish
• Francesco Bagnaia earns victory in Solidarity Grand Prix

Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martín was crowned the 2024 MotoGP world champion after he finished third at Sunday’s season-ending Solidarity Grand Prix, which was won by his title rival Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati.

Martín led by 19 points heading into the final race of the season and the Spaniard needed to finish in the top nine to clinch the title if the polesitter and double champion Bagnaia won the race. Gresini Racing’s Marc Márquez finished second in Barcelona. The original venue was Valencia, but it was changed after the recent floods.

Continue reading...

• ‘I ran over his legs and I was worried for him,’ says Joan Mir
• Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia goes on to win race at Sepang

Jack Miller believes he is lucky to have walked away from a horror crash on the opening lap of MotoGP’s Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit.

The Australian motorcycle star was left thanking his lucky stars after his early crash on Sunday as his racing helmet struck the rear tyre of Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha before Joan Mir’s Honda then ran over his legs.

Continue reading...

• Márquez, Martín and Bagnaia ask for change in venue
• Valencia v Real Madrid La Liga fixture postponed

MotoGP riders on Thursday said it would be unethical to stage the season’s final race in Valencia, with the six-times champion Marc Márquez saying funds needed to go to people devastated by floods instead of being spent on repairs for the event. At least 140 people have been killed in the flooding.

“Ethically speaking, I don’t think it should be held,” Gresini Racing’s Márquez said of the race scheduled for 17 November. “Now [the organisers] have to meet and decide, but [if it were up to me] I would have already decided.

Continue reading...

• Ducati rider makes most of treacherous conditions
• Title race tightens with two races of season to go

Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia put in a sure-footed display at a rain-drenched Buriram International Circuit as he romped to victory in the Thailand Grand Prix on Sunday and slashed his gap to Jorge Martín, the championship leader, down to 17 points.

Bagnaia, the defending MotoGP champion, took advantage of errors by Pramac Racing’s Martín and Marc Márquez of Gresini Racing to take the chequered flag and clinch his ninth win of the season. Martín finished second while the GasGas Tech3 rookie Pedro Acosta was third.

Continue reading...

• Six-time champion Márquez fought back from 13th to win fifth title
• Jorge Martín finishes second as Ducati secure top five places

Spain’s Marc Márquez has recovered from a nightmare start in which a mosquito infiltrated his visor to claim a sensational fifth Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix victory. Having fallen back to 13th after wheel-spinning off the start line, the six-time world MotoGP champion produced a flawless ride and finally overtook his countryman Jorge Martín with four laps to go at Phillip Island on Sunday.

Martín fought back in a tense sprint to the finish line but the experienced Márquez held him off to close the gap on Martín and the Italian Francesco Bagnaia at the top of the world championship standings.

Continue reading...

• Italian seals sprint race and grand prix double in Motegi
• Martín’s overall lead just 10 points with four races to go

Francesco Bagnaia won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday to complete a weekend double and cut his gap to Jorge Martín down to 10 points at the top of the world championship standings.

The Ducati rider qualified in second after dominating practice and winning Saturday’s sprint race. Bagnaia quickly overtook the pole sitter, Pedro Acosta (Tech3-KTM), who crashed out while trying to reclaim the race lead on the third lap in Motegi.

Continue reading...

• Spaniard seals redemptive victory after accident last year
• Bagnaia 21 points behind Martín after finishing third

Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martín led a crash-hit Indonesian Grand Prix in Mandalika from start to finish, to win his third race of the season and extend his lead over the reigning champion, Francesco Bagnaia, to 21 points in the MotoGP standings.

Martín started on pole in hot and humid conditions at the Mandalika International Street Circuit and stayed in front throughout the race, despite having his fellow Spaniard Pedro Acosta breathing down his neck.

Continue reading...

• Jorge Martín’s bike swap backfires in damp conditions
• Francesco Bagnaia finishes second, Enea Bastianini third

Marc Márquez won the San Marino Grand Prix ahead of Francesco Bagnaia on Sunday after the championship leader Jorge Martín’s gamble to swap bikes when it rained briefly at the Misano circuit backfired when the weather cleared up.

Márquez’s masterclass in damp conditions gave him his second victory in as many races after he won the Aragon Grand Prix last weekend as he denied the Italian factory Ducati team a win on home turf, with Enea Bastianini finishing third.

Continue reading...

• Six-times champion finishes five seconds clear of Martin
• Bagnaia crashes to help Martin extend overall lead

Six-times MotoGP champion Marc Márquez stormed to victory at the Aragon Grand Prix in front of his home crowd on Sunday as the sprint winner completed a perfect weekend, while Francesco Bagnaia crashed out after a clash with Álex Márquez.

The 31-year-old Marc Márquez, who claimed his eighth Aragon pole on Saturday, took the chequered flag almost five seconds ahead of fellow Spaniard and world championship leader Jorge Martín for his first win since the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Continue reading...

• Italian delivers sprint and main race double at Spielberg
• Jorge Martín second, Marc Márquez fourth after error

Francesco Bagnaia won the Austrian MotoGP on Sunday to complete a weekend double and go five points clear at the top of the world championship, taking the chequered flag ahead of his rival Jorge Martín.

The two-time world champion Bagnaia, who qualified second on the grid for Ducati Lenovo after dominating practice and winning the sprint on Saturday, overtook Prima Pramac Racing’s Martín on the second lap.

Continue reading...

• Ducati rider wins ahead of Martín and teammate Bagnaia
• Prima Pramac’s Martín takes championship lead

Enea Bastianini of Ducati won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday to complete a weekend double, taking the chequered flag ahead of new world championship leader Jorge Martín and two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia.

Having qualified second on the grid, Bagnaia had taken the lead over pole-sitter Aleix Espargaró on the opening lap but found himself in the battle for third in the second part of the race after Prima Pramac’s Martín overtook him with eight laps to go.

Continue reading...

• Martín slid off track with two laps to go
• Brothers Marc and Álex Márquez finish second and third

Ducati’s reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia went top of the MotoGP championship after winning the German Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of Marc Márquez after title rival Jorge Martín crashed while he was leading the race with two laps to go.

Márquez’s brother Álex finished third to make it two brothers on a MotoGP podium for the first time since Japan’s Nobuatsu and Takuma Aoki finished second and third in Imola 27 years ago.

Continue reading...

• Francesco Bagnaia cuts gap in title race with Jorge Martín third
• Enea Bastianini finishes second after late overtake on Martín

Francesco Bagnaia won the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday at the Mugello Circuit, while his Ducati teammate Enea Bastianini overtook Jorge Martín, who started on pole, on the final lap to take second place.

Pramac Racing’s Martín, the current championship leader, looked well set to challenge Bagnaia for top spot in the final stages of the race. Instead, the reigning champion pulled clear and Bastianini found the pace to overtake Martín at the final sector and grab second place to delight home fans.

Continue reading...