Francesco Bagnaia took a crucial MotoGP win in Thai GP ahead of rival Jorge Martin, as Pedro Acosta fights through to third.
It was a wet start in the MotoGP race in Thai GP which caught out Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez in the sighting lap. He managed to hop on the second bike in a wet start which saw Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin shot into the lead from Ducati’s Francesco Bangaia.
Honda’s Marc Marquez was third from fast-starter Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo, with GASGAS Tech 3’s Pedro Acosta in fifth, KTM’s Brad Binder sixth, Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli seventh and VR46 Ducati’s Fabio di Giannantonio in eighth.
The Top 10 saw LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco ninth and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro 10th, as Ducati’s Enea Bastianini dropped to 11th after a bad start. Even VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi dropped down the order and eventually crashed out from the grand prix.
There was a wide moment from Acosta which allowed others to gain as Morbidelli was handed a Long Gap Penalty for colliding with Quartararo which dropped the Frenchman to the back of the field but he managed to continue on outside the points.
The lead changed hands when Martin went wide from the lead to drop to third behind M Marquez, handing the Thai GP lead to Bagnaia. There were crashes for Trackhouse Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori and Raul Fernandez in successive laps.
Savadori continued but Fernandez couldn’t, as Morbidelli eventually crashed out too after setting the fastest lap. As Bastianini moved up to sixth, he had a tumble to drop outside the points after re-joining the pack at the back.
The pair of KTM riders picked up with Jack Miller up to fourth from teammate Binder. Despite the multiple wide moments, Acosta hung on to sixth, resisting pressure from di Giannantonio. The points fight continued on at the fag end among the Honda riders.
At the front, M Marquez started to challenge Bagnaia for the Thai GP lead and had it for multiple times but only to lose out straightaway. In the push, the Spaniard had a fall while trying to save a moment. He re-joined but was outside the points.
It put a gap between Bagnaia and Martin, as Miller was up to third from Binder and Acosta, with di Giannantonio not far behind. Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales was seventh from teammate Espargaro, Zarco and A Marquez in the Top 10.
There was a second crash for Quartararo but he continued on still unlike teammate Alex Rins who crashed out, as M Marquez made contact while passing Honda’s Joan Mir for 15th. It resulted in a penalty where he was asked to drop a place.
There was a late fall for Tech 3’s Augusto Fernandez as the fight for third saw Acosta press on against Miller after passing Binder. The two went on for a couple of corners taking the outside line but the Spaniard took third away from the Australian.
It was a crucial MotoGP win for Bagnaia to cut Martin’s points lead, as Acosta was third from di Giannantonio who passed Miller as well in the penultimate lap. The Australian had to be content with fifth from teammate Binder, as Vinales was seventh.
Zarco managed to clear Espargaro for eighth, as A Marquez rounded out the Top 10 ahead of teammate M Marquez who climbed up to 11th. But he did not give back the place he was asked to. After the race he dropped one place to 12th eventually.
It promoted Honda’s Luca Marini to 11th, as LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami was 13th from a recovering Bastianini and Mir in the Top 15 points places, with Quartararo being the last classified finisher in 16th.
Result: https://x.com/MotoGP/status/1850464667908374535
Here’s how MotoGP sprint panned out in Thai GP
