MotoGP in Australia

21.10.2024

Sprint

The Sprint Race for the Australian Grand Prix saw the Ducati Lenovo Team on the podium courtesy of the third-place finish by Enea Bastianini, who crossed the line ahead of his teammate Francesco Bagnaia - fourth.

Bastianini had a good start from tenth place on the grid as he moved up to fifth place during the opening lap. As the race progressed, Enea made his way to third place, which he took following an overtaking manoeuvre on his teammate with six laps left, before securing his thirteenth podium finish of the season.

Bagnaia also had a positive start to the encounter as he consolidated third position during lap one. Pecco then managed to get the better of Bezzecchi for second place at the start of lap four, before being overtaken by Marc Márquez and Bastianini around halfway point in the race. In the closing stages, the reigning world champion successfully defended fourth position up to the chequered flag.

The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action tomorrow morning at 9:40 local time (GMT +11) for the warmup session, with the 27-lap, Australian Grand Prix race scheduled to get underway at 14:00.

Enea Bastianini (#23 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 3rd
“We managed to be effective in this Sprint Race. Already from the sighting lap, I had noticed that the bike was moving a lot less at the rear-end, and that’s when I knew we could have had a good race. Obviously it wasn’t easy, especially given my starting position, but we managed to make up a lot of ground at the start and to improve our performance lap after lap. I tried to get closer to Marc (Márquez) in the final stages, but he had a little extra in the final laps. For tomorrow, it’ll be important to have the right approach also regarding the tyre choice, and I believe this will shuffle the cards in terms of competition compared to today.”

Francesco Bagnaia (#1 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 4th
“We decided to make some set-up adjustments both in qualifying and in the race, as I didn’t have the right feeling, but then we ended up in the wrong direction and made things worse in the areas where things were good, while not addressing those in which we felt we had to improve. The pace was not bad to put up a fight, but it was surely worse than yesterday’s and this is why we have to analyse the data and understand how to move forward ahead of tomorrow. I tried to bridge the gap with Jorge (Martín) but the wind was bothering me quite a lot, especially in the fast corners.”

Race

The Ducati Lenovo Team has wrapped up the Australian Grand Prix with a podium finish courtesy of Francesco Bagnaia, third at the chequered flag in today’s 27-lap race at Phillip Island. Enea Bastianini crossed the line in fifth position.

Bagnaia entered turn one in third place and moved up to second position on lap four - following Bezzecchi’s long-lap. After briefly taking the lead during lap twelve, Bagnaia was overtaken by Martín and Marc Márquez and then gradually lost ground from the leading duo as the race progressed. In the final laps, the reigning world champion managed the margin on the following riders to secure third place.

Bastianini made up a few positions at the start before finding himself in a five-way battle for fourth. Enea did his best to get the better of Di Giannantonio in the closing stages and was eventually fifth at the line – missing out on a top four finish by only 13 thousandths of a second.

With three Grand Prix left, Bagnaia sits second in the championship standings, 20 points in arrears of Martín. Bastianini is fourth, with 93 points to bridge. The Ducati Lenovo Team is still atop the team standings with 735 points, with Ducati already crowned the 2024 constructors’ champion.

The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action on Friday at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand for the eighteenth event of the season.

Francesco Bagnaia (#1 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 3rd
“Obviously I’m not happy with the result, but we could have hardly done any better today. We managed to improve a little compared to yesterday and I did all I could to stay with Jorge (Martín) and Marc (Márquez) but ended up struggling on corner entry - and they were simply better than us today. The next two circuits on the calendar are usually better for me feeling-wise, and we’ll make sure to be ready.”

Enea Bastianini (#23 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 5th
“The expectations were a lot higher, but already from the start I had noticed that the feeling was not the best. My lap-times were a lot slower compared to the warmup: I was unable to push, and the front tucked on many occasions. It didn’t go as I’d hoped and it’s a pity. In light of how both yesterday’s race and this morning’s warm up went, I was expecting a better performance, but unfortunately it turned out to be more a challenge than we had foreshadowed. We need to understand what happened before turning our attention on the next races starting from Thailand, where we’ll try to bounce back.”

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