Francesco Bagnaia’s Solidarity GP win was in vain as Jorge Martin did enough in third to be crowned the 2024 MotoGP champion.
It was a clean start to the final MotoGP race in Solidarity GP at Barcelona, as Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia led the way from Gresini Ducati’s Marc Marquez, with Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin in a good spot in third to win the title.
Ducati’s Enea Bastianini climbed up to fourth from Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, who dropped at the start but gained a couple of places. GASGAS Tech 3’s Pedro Acosta was sixth from the fighting pair of Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli and Gresini’s Alex Marquez.
VR46 Ducati’s Marco Bezzecchi was ninth with Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo rounding the Top 10 from KTM’s Brad Binder. The South African climbed up and even passed Quartararo and Bezzecchi to be ninth after few laps in the grand prix.
He had a look at Morbidelli as well but the Italian managed to keep him at bay but lost seventh to A Marquez. The Spaniard was up to sixth after passing Acosta, as Bastianini and Espargaro exchanged places for fourth just ahead of them.
Espargaro got through Bastianini but the Italian got back as they continued to fight for fourth until the Spaniard got ahead for a couple of laps. Bastianini tried a move again but went wide to drop to eighth in the fight with Morbidelli and Binder.
This allowed Espargaro to slot himself in fourth and keep Martin on his toes ahead. Bagnaia maintained his lead ahead but had a small hiccup for M Marquez to close in on him, but the Italian managed to handle it well to keep the position.
Espargaro, meanwhile, came under pressure from A Marquez and Acosta, as Morbidelli in seventh held off Bastianini, Binder and Bezzecchi in the Top 10. A crash for Honda’s Joan Mir allowed Quartararo to back up in 11th from Trackhouse Aprilia’s Miguel Oliveira.
The rest of the points position mid-way in the grand prix had KTM’s Jack Miller in 13th from Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez and LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco. Both Bagnaia and M Marquez held onto first and second comfortably, with Martin in third.
Espargaro managed to hold off A Marquez, but Acosta came under pressure from a rising Bastianini. The Italian passed him for sixth as the Spaniard dropped to ninth after he was cleared by Binder and Morbidelli on successive laps.
There was nothing Bagnaia could do at the end despite his 11th MotoGP win of the season in Solidarity GP, as he lost the title to Martin by 10 points in the end. The latter scored 508 points after finishing third to Bagnaia’s 498.
Martin became the first rider from an independent team to win the MotoGP title. M Marquez, meanwhile, was second and clinched third in the riders’ standings. Espargaro defended fourth A Marquez but the Gresini rider managed to take it in the end.
Binder beat Acosta in the riders’ championship after passing Bastianini on the final lap for sixth. Morbidelli was eighth from Bezzecchi who passed Acosta for ninth in the end. Quartararo was 11th in the points from Olivera, Miller, Zarco and Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales.
Honda’s Luca Marini missed out on points in 16th from LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami, R Fernandez, Tech 3’s Augusto Fernandez, Yamaha’s Alex Rins, VR46’s Michele Pirro and Honda’s Stefan Bradl to round out the 22 runners.
Result: https://x.com/MsportXtra/status/1858144431519445468
Here’s how MotoGP sprint panned out in Solidarity GP
