MotoGP in Japan

06.10.2024

Sprint

The Ducati Lenovo Team has scored the perfect result in today’s sprint race for the Japanese Grand Prix, in what is the sixteenth event of the season. Francesco Bagnaia took the win in the 12-lap encounter at the Twin Ring Motegi as he crossed the finish line ahead of his teammate Enea Bastianini.

Bagnaia had the perfect start from second place on the grid and stayed in the lead until lap four, when he was overtaken by Acosta at turn five. After the latter crashed out with four laps to go, Bagnaia did a great job in managing the small margin on his nearest rivals, despite a few drops of rain in the closing stages and a resurgent Bastianini on the final lap. Thanks to his seventh sprint race win of the season, Pecco has narrowed the gap to the leader Martín down to 15 points.

Bastianini also did an excellent start from row two as he took the outside line on Acosta at turn one. A slight mistake at turn 5 during the opening lap cost Enea one position, but the Italian did well in not losing ground to the riders ahead. Bastianini had a great battle with Marc Márquez with two laps to go, eventually taking second place back with a successful overtake at turn 11. He then bridged the gap to Bagnaia during the final lap as he crossed the finish line only 0.186secs away from his teammate.

The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action tomorrow at 9:40 local time (GMT +9) for the warmup session, which will be followed by the 24-lap, Japanese Grand Prix – scheduled at 14:00.

Francesco Bagnaia (#1 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st
“It surely wasn’t an easy race as there were some wet patches and a few drops of rain. We used the sighting lap to get a better understanding of the track conditions, at the expense of some race performance. I had a good start and managed to lead in the early laps, but Pedro (Acosta) was really strong and he was pushing a little bit beyond what I thought was my limit. When I thought about letting the tyre cool off a bit, before pushing again, he crashed out of the race. It wasn’t an easy situation as there were again a few drops of rain. I was aware of the lead I had on Enea (Bastianini) during the last lap, so I just chose to manage the gap and to avoid any risk.”

Enea Bastianini (#23 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 2nd
“It was a great sprint race. I wasn’t close enough to Pecco (Bagnaia) to try and take the win as I had lost a bit of time in the final two-three laps. Marc (Márquez) did get really close and managed to overtake me, but at turn 11 I simply released the brakes, and it worked. This battle pushed me into giving that little extra on the last lap, while trying to avoid any unnecessary risk. It’s true that I did a competitive lap, but Pecco surely managed the lead he had. This second place his still an excellent result.”

Race

Francesco Bagnaia and Ducati Lenovo accrue maximum points in the Japanese Grand Prix as they took the win in the 24-lap race at the Mobility Resort Motegi, in what was the sixteenth event of the season. Enea Bastianini crossed the line in fourth place, not far from podium positions.
Bagnaia had a great start from second place on the grid and took the lead mid-corner into turn one. The reigning world champion stayed in front up to the chequered flag, showing an excellent place while managing the margin on Martín the best possible way, not allowing the latter to get in contention for the win. This is Pecco’s first win at Motegi with Ducati, the eighth of the season for him, a new personal record for the Italian.

Bastianini’s start was solid from row two, although he could not be as effective as he would have liked in the first two laps. After dropping down to seventh place at the start of second la, Enea had to battle hard to overtake first Miller and then Binder, whom he managed to edge with 15 laps to go. With clear track ahead of him, the Ducati rider #23 was finally able to find a good rhythm as he gradually bridged the gap to Marc Márquez but ultimately came up half a second short of third position at the chequered flag.

As the sixteenth Grand Prix of the season draws to a close, Bagnaia is still second in the championship standings, albeit now with a much-reduced, ten-point gap to Martín. Bastianini is third, 79 points behind the leader. The Ducati Lenovo Team still leads the teams’ standings (695 points), with Ducati already crowned the constructors’ champion.

The riders of Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action on October 18-30 at Phillip Island for the Australian Grand Prix, the fourth-last event of the 2024 season.

Francesco Bagnaia (#1 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st
“We’re leaving Motegi with the maximum number of points available, so I’m really happy. We did a perfect job during the weekend. It wasn’t easy, because in the early stages of the race Pedro (Acosta) was very close and pushing hard, while at the end Jorge (Martín) was making up ground; when the lead dropped to less than a second, I tried to find that little extra pace-wise and it worked. The final lap was hard though, given the grip level we had left. We managed to complete plenty of laps with used tyres throughout the weekend and worked well with regards to mapping. Now we head to Phillip Island with full awareness of our abilities.”

Enea Bastianini (#23 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 4th
“The race didn’t go as I’d hoped. After the overtake by Brad (Binder) I lost a few more positions as he made me go wide at turn 10 and others took advantage. After that, I tried to do the best, but it was too late already; the two at the front had pulled away already and Marc (Márquez) managed to overtake Binder much quicker than I did. It took me a lot longer and stressed the rear tyre in the many attempts – and this impacted my performance in the second half of the race. I tried to bridge the gap to Marc, and I got really close to him, but not close enough to give it a try.”

Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“Pecco is a true champion. It’s truly hard to predict who will eventually come out victorious for the title, but it’s an incredible show. I’m very proud of the team and of all of those who are working hard for this goal. Enea had a solid race and did well in staying focused; a pity for the first laps, which took away any chance to win. This is surely something we must keep working on.”

Race results

Pos.	Nr.	Driver	Team	Bike	Time
1	1	F. Bagnaia			42:09.790
2	89	J. Martin			+1.189
3	93	M. Marquez			+3.822
4	23	E. Bastianini			+4.358
5	21	F. Morbidelli			+17.940
6	33	B. Binder			+18.502
7	72	M. Bezzecchi			+19.371
8	49	F. Di Giannantonio			+20.199
9	41	A. Espargaro			+30.442
10	43	J. Miller			+31.184
11	5	J. Zarco			+31.567
12	20	F. Quartararo			+32.299
13	30	T. Nakagami			+33.003
14	10	L. Marini			+35.974
15	25	R. Fernandez			+39.321
16	42	A. Rins			+40.839
17	87	R. Gardner	Yamaha Factory Racing Team		+59.547
DNF	31	P. Acosta
DNF	12	M. Viñales
DNF	37	A. Fernandez
DNF	32	L. Savadori
DNF	36	J. Mir
DNF	73	A. Marquez

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