Franceco Bagnaia keeps his MotoGP title chances alive after Solidarity GP win, as Enea Bastianini passes Jorge Martin for P2.
It was a clean getaway in MotoGP sprint in Solidarity GP at Barcelona as Ducati’s Enea Bastianini shot into the lead from eighth at Turn 1 before losing it to teammate Francesco Bagnaia, who made a good start but the outside line didn’t work in his favour.
Bagnaia took the lead from Bastianini as Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin was third from teammate Franco Morbidelli. The pair of Gresini Ducati of Alex Marquez and Marc Marquez slotted in fifth and sixth, where the latter made early contact.
He came in front of GASGAS Tech 3’s Pedro Acosta, who lost his front fairing to drop down the order and retire eventually. Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo was seventh from slow starter Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, as VR46 Ducati’s Marco Bezzecchi was ninth in points.
While Bagnaia generated a lead, Bastianini and Martin went head-to-head against each for second. The latter took second on the main straight, but the former got through again at the same place a lap later. Bastianini seemingly slowed the pace slightly.
It allowed Martin to get back on him to take second, as Bastianini almost lost to Morbidelli who had A Marquez on his tail. The Spaniard finally got through the Italian for fourth, as the Pramac rider lost fifth to Espargaro a lap later.
Espargaro managed to claw back up to fifth after a slow start. Morbidelli was sixth from M Marquez, as Quartararo made inroads to eighth from Bezzecchi in the points. At the front, Bagnaia checked himself out in the lead, but Martin couldn’t shed Bastianini.
The Italian waited for the last lap to make the pass at Turn 5 taking the inside line to snatch second from title leader Martin, not just crucial for Bagnaia but also his chances to finish third against M Marquez in the riders’ standings.
Bagnaia did enough to win the MotoGP sprint in Solidarity GP as Martin’s third place means he has to finish at least ninth in the final race on Sunday. A mistake from A Marquez allowed Espargaro to take fourth away from the fellow Spaniard.
A Marquez had to settle for fifth from Morbidelli, M Marquez and Bezzecchi, who picked off Quartararo in the latter stages. The Frenchman lost the final point to KTM’s Brad Binder, who recovered well from a low-key qualifying position.
Result: https://x.com/MsportXtra/status/1857791689873584291
