#SanMarinoGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Martin denies Bagnaia on home turf as Morbidelli claims maiden Sprint podium
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) extended his Championship lead in “enemy territory” at the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, initially chased by home hero and reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) before pulling away to take another stunning Tissot Sprint win. He’s now 26 points clear as Bagnaia was forced to settle for second, the reigning Champion in turn holding off late pressure from both Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team).
Bagnaia got a good start from pole but Martin got a better one from right behind him, with the #89 in a position to go for it and attack straight into Turn 1. He got the job done and got the hammer down immediately, with Bagnaia on the chase ahead of Morbidelli in third.
Behind, Bastianini made big gains from P8 to slot into fifth, shadowing Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and just ahead of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3). The big loser off the start was Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) as he dropped to the back end of the top ten in the shuffle, ending up just behind Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) as the #93 also looked to move forward.
At the front, Martin pounded on but the gap was hovering around a handful of tenths, with Morbidelli still very much in touch too. Instead, the next move came from the second group as Bastianini went for an attack on Binder and took over in fourth, looking down the barrel of 1.7 seconds to the podium fight with nine laps to go.
Drama then hit for Bezzecchi after the tougher start, with the #72 sliding out of contention, rider perfectly ok but looking for a lot more on Sunday as he takes his second front row start of the weekend. His teammate, Fabio Di Giannantonio, also slid out of the Tissot Sprint early on, riders both ok.
Meanwhile, a Pierer Mobility duel was heating up in the fight for fifth, with Acosta homing in on and then slicing past Binder. Just ahead of them, Bastianini was absolutely caning it through the gap to the Morbidelli, who was dropping off the duel for the win too. The ‘Beast’ took half a second off the deficit to his compatriot in one lap. Simultaneously, Marquez was looking impatient behind Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and he struck with seven to go, next targets: Binder and Acosta. The #93 made a lunge at Binder and made it stick not long after, setting up a final push to get past Acosta.
The other final push was coming in from Bastianini – and Morbidelli. As Martin was able to just eke out an advantage at the top, Bagnaia was fading towards Morbidelli just as Bastianini was catching them both. The ‘Beast’ struck against the Pramac early on the last lap, getting past but sailing wide as Morbidelli cut back inside. They pounded on, with the gap between all three diminishing, and the #21 Pramac gaining on Bagnaia to set up a three-rider train in the final sector.
Meanwhile, Marquez vs Acosta lit up. The #93 shadowed the #31 and inched closer, finally screeching up the inside out of Curvone and holding onto it through T12, from there on out able to hold on to the line.
Behind Martin, who put in another stunning Tissot Sprint to extend his advantage to 26 points and ensure he leaves Misano as Championship leader, holding on to the line was also what it came down to for Bagnaia and Morbidelli. Each did to complete the Sprint podium, with Bastianini forced to settle for fourth.
Marc Marquez pickpocketed fifth with that last lap move on Acosta, with Binder and Miller up next. The final Sprint point went to another impressive Saturday from Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), who managed to hold off Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™).
MOTOGP – RACE: Marquez produces Misano magic to defeat Bagnaia as Martin’s gamble backfires
Just one week after returning to the top step of the podium, Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) reigned supreme once again at the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini. The #93’s prowess in tough-to-judge conditions was back with a bang as a flag-to-flag offered chance to gamble – with a switch, or with a push towards the front. Marquez chose the latter and picked his way through to the front for his first back-to-back wins since 2021.
Reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) also chose to stay out, and remained locked with Marquez for much of the race before settling into second place as a huge twist offered up a chance at key Championship gains: Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) DID take the gamble to pit, and it didn’t pay off. He came back out a lap down after having been forced to switch a second time, taking one point for P15.
Finally, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) took the final spot on the rostrum, keeping his 100% MotoGP™ rostrum record at Misano in tact and making his own gains on Martin in the standings.
There was drama before the start, with spots of rain and tension in the air. The white flags waved, allowing riders to swap bikes, and the stage was set for an enthralling San Marino GP. As the lights went out, Bagnaia secured the holeshot, this time holding off Martin as the #89 got a good start but this time had to also dispatch teammate and front row starter Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) in third.
The two were locked together in the lead and Martin half went for a divebomb move at Turn 2, forced to cede and just avoiding contact with Bagnaia, but there was some contact further back in the aftermath as Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) then tried a move on Morbidelli but clashed with the Italian. The #31 lost a wing but did eventually find his way through at Turn 8 before ceding it again as he went wide at Turn 10. Sadly the rookie’s race then took a twist as he crashed out not long after, with the rain starting to pick up, and Morbidelli was next to slide out. Riders ok.
As the rain started to have a visible effect on the pace, there were decisions to be made. And at the front, Martin was now right back on the exhaust of Bagnaia in the lead, with Marc Marquez making serious progress into the group and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) too. Heading towards pit entry next time round, there was one rider who decided to pit from the group: Martin.
As he peeled in, Bagnaia led Marquez at the front, but not for long. By the end of Lap 8, the #93 was into the lead and Miller was hot on Bagnaia’s heels too, with Martin down in P15 afer rejoining. But the rain didn’t get any worse, allowing Marquez and Bagnaia to stretch away just as Martin realised he was going to have to pit, again.
Re-emerging a lap down but right behind the leaders, the goal for Bagnaia to make Championship gains was now wide open. Those who gambled – Martin, Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing), Acosta after rejoining, Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team) and Aprilia Racing’s Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales all pitted again, all but out of the fight for points.
Meanwhile, the rain had stopped but the gap at the front was only getting bigger. After holding it steady with Bagnaia on his tail, the #93 began to pull away in the lead. Bastianini was also fast coming into podium contention, pipping past Miller to take over in third, and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was next on the scene as he charged through into fourth as conditions improved, but as Bagnaia couldn’t make inroads on Marquez, neither could Bastianini nor Binder bridge their respective gaps.
Marquez kept it upright in some style to take first first back-to-back wins in 2021, throwing his name more firmly back into the Championship hat and on Gresini home turf. Bagnaia’s second place, however, was a stunning 19-point swing in the Championship as Martin’s gamble backfired – and the reigning Champion was happy enough with that for a tough day’s work under pressure.
Behind Bastianini and Binder in third and fourth, a duel to the finish decided fifth. After a tougher start from the front row, Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was storming back through and homing in on Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) as the laps ticked down, glueing the VR46 machine to the rear wheel ahead. The move came in the form of a dive up the inside at Turn 14, and Bezzecchi made it stick and held off the counter attack to complete the top five.
Meanwhile, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team) concluded an impressive weekend, with the #20 matching his and Yamaha’s best results of 2024 so far as they work on moving back towards the front. The Frenchman duelled Miller to the flag in the latter stages, slicing through at Turn 8 to take that P7. Fabio di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s wildcard Pol Espargaro rounded out the top 10, with Martin taking that single point in P15.
It was quite a strange and unexpected type of race to some degree, but still a fun one. I wasn’t fully confident at the start of the race as I had some stomach issue in the morning, but I made sure it didn’t affect me mentally. Once the rain came and saw Franco’s crash, I thought about pushing without overdoing. The temptation of getting back to the pits for the bike swap was there, but luckily enough I chose to stay out on track. Towards the end, with the soft rear-tyre, I felt the drop of grip, but I’m still happy that I was able to finish on the podium in front of my home crowd and I’d like to thank the team and the fans for all the support they gave me.
Enea Bastianini – P3
A shame because my start was good and I was in a decent position. We would have had a good race because we were pushing forward but unfortunately with the rain I crashed on the last corner. Tomorrow we have the test and it’s will be important to use this half a day for Misano ‘two’ and the rest of the season.
Augusto Fernández – NC
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in San Marino.