(Motorsport-Total.com) – Under threatening rain clouds, which did not unleash during the race, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) dominated and won the MotoGP race at the Grand Prix of Austria 2024 on Sunday at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.
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Sovereign Spielberg victory also on Sunday for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
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With his third consecutive win in Spielberg (after 2022 and 2023), Bagnaia has now regained sole leadership in the MotoGP overall standings for 2024. Jorge Martin (Pramac-Ducati) finished second, while Enea Bastianini on the second factory Ducati took third place.
For Ducati, this marks the eighth consecutive time in the current 2024 season that they have claimed the podium completely for themselves. And in Spielberg, it is already the ninth victory of a Ducati rider in eleven Grands Prix since the MotoGP comeback (2016).
Bagnaia amazed by pace – Martin expected more
“The pace was incredible. Jorge and I accomplished something unbelievable today regarding speed and consistency,” says Bagnaia. “I tried to improve a little compared to him in every lap to build up a lead. I knew that anything could happen with the rear tire in the last laps. I am very happy to have won here three years in a row.”
For Jorge Martin, there are “no excuses” after P2. The Pramac rider explains: “The start was a bit better, but overall it’s a bit frustrating. I thought I could fight with ‘Pecco’ until the end today. But the front tire got extremely hot.”
“In the end, I tried again because I thought his tire might be a bit more used than mine. But I was too much at the limit. That’s why I took this second place. I expected more today,” says Martin.
Enea Bastianini stated after P3: “I think this podium exceeds my expectations. I struggled with the front tire in the warm-up. That was also the case in the race. I was aggressive and wanted to stay close to ‘Pecco’ and Jorge. But that was difficult. This third place is okay. We are improving. I can be satisfied.”
Martin wins the start – Marquez/Morbidelli collision
Jorge Martin from pole position and Francesco Bagnaia from the second starting position entered the race as tied championship leaders. Unlike in the sprint on Saturday, this time it was not Bagnaia but Martin who entered the first corner in the lead.
Meanwhile, both Marc Marquez (Gresini-Ducati) and Franco Morbidelli (Pramac-Ducati) took a wide line in Turn 1 and fell back into the midfield. Marquez had a poor start from the front row because the holeshot device did not work. Just before the first corner, there was contact with Morbidelli, causing both to be carried beyond the braking point.
Jorge Martin maintained the lead in the first lap but was overtaken by “Pecco” Bagnaia as the leader in the second lap. Behind them at the start of the race were Ducati rider Enea Bastianini and KTM riders Jack Miller and Brad Binder also in top-5 positions. Bastianini had made a perfect start from P7 and was already third in the first corner.
As Bagnaia, Martin, and Bastianini quickly pulled away from the KTM duo of Miller/Binder, Marc Marquez and Morbidelli worked their way back to the front after the start collision. The Gresini star quickly reached the top 10, while the Pramac rider took a few more laps to appear there.
Jack Miller crashes right in front of Marc Marquez
Meanwhile, Marco Bezzecchi (VR46-Ducati) intervened in the KTM internal duel between Miller and Binder for the fourth position. Miller had to give way to his teammate Binder and then to “Bez” within a few laps. It wasn’t long before Miller had to contend with the recovering Marc Marquez.
After contact from Marquez’s right arm with the rear wheel of Miller’s KTM at the entrance to the chicane, Miller went down at the same spot a lap later. Thus, Marquez moved up to sixth position without a fight.
At the front, the trio became a duo, as Bastianini could not quite keep pace with Bagnaia and Martin. However, the gap between Bastianini and top-3 pursuer Brad Binder was even larger. Behind Binder, Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez positioned themselves to attack.
Marquez overtook Bezzecchi in the chicane. Shortly after, he also went for Binder in Turn 6. Thus, Marquez was already fourth with more than ten laps to go despite the botched start. However, there was no more to be gained.
Francesco Bagnaia cruised safely to his third consecutive victory in Austria. Jorge Martin finished second for the second day in a row. And Silverstone winner Enea Bastianini improved by one position from the sprint, completing the all-Ducati podium in third place.
While Marc Marquez finished his recovery drive after the start collision with Franco Morbidelli in fourth place, Morbidelli could only manage “P8”. Between the two, Brad Binder as the best KTM rider, Marco Bezzecchi, and Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) crossed the line in positions five to seven.
No championship points for Yamaha
The top 10 was completed by Aleix Espargaro on the second factory Aprilia and Alex Marquez on the second Gresini-Ducati. The best of the three wildcard starters in the field was once again Pol Espargaro, who finished P11 with the further developed KTM RC16 featuring numerous updates.
Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse-Aprilia; 12th), Pedro Acosta (Tech3-GasGas; 13th), Takaaki Nakagami (LCR-Honda; 14th), and Augusto Fernandez (Tech3-GasGas; 15th) rounded out the scoring positions. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) finished only P18 after a long-lap penalty (track limits) and remained without championship points, just like teammate Alex Rins (16th).
Aprilia’s wildcard starter Lorenzo Savadori finished P19. Honda’s wildcard starter Stefan Bradl at least completed the race unlike Saturday, finishing P22 as the last of those who finished. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse-Aprilia) and Luca Marini (Honda), who both retired from the race at the pit, did not reach the finish – Marini very early on, Fernandez just before the end.
The MotoGP calendar 2024 continues in two weeks (August 30 to September 1) at MotorLand Aragon near Alcaniz in Spain.