Francesco Bagnaia Dominates Motul Grand Prix of Japan, Closing Gap in Championship Battle [Photo Gallery]
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) delivered a stellar performance at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, securing his eighth victory of the season. The reigning World Champion launched off the line perfectly and set a relentless pace from start to finish, adding his name to an illustrious list of winners. Bagnaia’s triumph over Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), who charged from 11th on the grid, has reduced Martin’s championship lead to a mere 10 points, setting the stage for an unmissable end to the season.
Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) rounded out the podium with an incredible ride, defending hard in the closing laps to secure third place. However, there was disappointment for rookie Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), who crashed out of the Grand Prix and ended the weekend with zero points.
At the start, Bagnaia and Acosta battled for the lead, with Bagnaia ultimately prevailing. Martin and Marc Marquez quickly made their way into the top five, with Marquez completing a stunning overtake on Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Drama unfolded further back as Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) collided with Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team), resulting in an early end to Alex Marquez’s race and a Long Lap penalty for the Australian GP.
Acosta’s race came to a premature end on Lap 3 when he crashed at the final corner, promoting Martin to second place. Bagnaia capitalized on the opportunity, stretching his lead to over one second. Marc Marquez continued his charge, passing Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) for third, while Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) moved into fourth after overtaking Binder.
As the race progressed, Bastianini closed in on Marc Marquez, setting up a thrilling podium battle. At the front, Bagnaia maintained a comfortable gap to Martin, responding to any challenges and pushing the #89 to the limit.
On the final lap, Bagnaia remained unstoppable, crossing the line to take the victory and reduce Martin’s championship advantage with four rounds remaining. Martin secured second place, with Marc Marquez completing the podium after a hard-fought battle.
“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,” said Bagnaia.
Bastianini finished fourth, followed by Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) in fifth. Binder, Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) rounded out the top eight, showcasing a strong performance for the Ducati brand.
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Miller completed the top 10, with Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) narrowly beating Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) for 11th place after Quartararo ran out of fuel. Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR), Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team), and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) collected the final points on Sunday.
The MotoGP™ championship now heads to the iconic Phillip Island circuit for the Qatar Airways Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in two weeks, with the title lead down to just 10 points. All eyes will be on Bagnaia as he aims to reclaim the championship advantage in Australia.
Top 10:
- Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team)
- Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) +1.189
- Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) +3.822
- Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) +4.358
- Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) +17.940
- Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) +18.502
- Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) +19.371
- Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) +20.199
- Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) +30.442
- Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) +31.184
