MotoGP
MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix Review: Bagnaia shines in Spielberg
Bagnaia masters the Red Bull Ring to deliver yet another dominating weekend.
The Red Bull Ring in the Austrian mountains was the stage to the 11th Round of the 2024 FIM MotoGP world championship. Read about it all in DRC’s weekend Review for the 2024 MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix. Read the weekend preview here .
Bagnaia completes the Double
The Ducati domination continues. After missing out last time in Silverstone, Francesco Bagnaia was on top form as he scooped up both the Sprint and the Race victory at the Red Bull Ring. The Italian qualified second behind title-fight rival Jorge Martin, missing on pole by just one and a half tenths.
Pecco produced a fantastic hole-shot lights out on Saturday. He and Jorge Martin were then scrapping for the lead, after which Martin had to serve a Long Lap Penalty and settle for second in the sprint, Pecco finishing with a very comfortable margin.
Going into Sunday, both Bagnaia and Martin were tied on 250 points, with Pecco becoming the leader by the virtue of more race wins.
On Sunday, Bagnaia got a good start, and converted it into the lead at the end of Lap 1, completing the move and becoming the leader officially as He and Martin barreled into Turn 1 on the second lap. After which, he went on to inflate his lead eventually finishing a whopping 3.2 seconds ahead of Jorge. Bagnaia would go on to put in the fastest lap of the race. The speedy 1:29:519 also breaking the lap record in the process. This show of performance puts the reigning champion 5 points ahead of his nearest rival Martin.
Marquez has a topsy turvy weekend
Difficult, draining and rocky were the words to describe Marquez’s weekend in Austria. The Spaniard qualified third, half a second off pole. Although he was happy about the front row start, he was also dissatisfied with his lack of pace.
Come Saturday, he would maintain that third place, but as Jorge Martin served his long lap penalty, Marquez pounced and took second place. He had the pace to secure a silver medal in the sprint, but crashed out at turn 3.
Sunday didn’t bear much luck for the Spaniard either, as he collided with the Prima Pramac Ducati of Franko Morbidelli. The pair, who also collided in Sachsenring, saw Marquez coming off worse once again and dropping deep into the field. Marquez would then go on to make his way through the field, picking off places one after the other, to finally finish fourth.
One positive from his weekend was the great race pace he showed. He was able to keep up with Jorge Martin and even pull a gap on him. Qualifying pace needs to improve, however, as he tries to prove why he is the right choice for the Ducati ride next year.
Aprilia, Honda and Yamaha fail to deliver
Aprilia for the second weekend in a row, fail to deliver the goods after a promising start. Friday was frustrating for Aleix Espargaro, but he recovered to a third place finish in the sprint after Marquez crashed out. On the other factory Aprilia was Maveric Viñales, disappointed by a low P6 in Qualifying. The Trackhouse Aprilias were also disappointing, finishing 13th and 20th in Qualifying.
Things would only get difficult for Sunday. Both the factory Aprilias went backwards from the start, finishing P7 and P9. Oliveira on the Trackhouse Aprilia could only muster 12th. A growing concern for the Aprilia bikes is that they are loosing a lot of pace as the race goes on. After a decent start, every single Aprilia was overtaken as they sunk to the lower points paying positions.
Meanwhile, the Japanese manufacturers were once again starved for pickings. Honda and Yamaha combined managed to score only two points at the hands of Nakagami. Honda and Yamaha seem to be deep in the lower-midfield slump, and still have miles to return to the top competition.
Lukewarm home race for KTM
Celebrating the Austrian GP as their home grand prix, KTM had a weekend with very high peaks and the lowest of lows.
Pedro Acosta, who is the lead KTM rider in the championship, started with three different crashes on Friday. That, however would be the least of his troubles. The wonderkid was unable to recreate his magic that got him multiple podiums earlier in the year. He finished the race in 13th, scoring 3 points in a tumultuous weekend. His teammate Augusto Fernandes also struggled over the weekend, finishing with a single point.
The factory KTM team had a much better weekend though. The KTM hero Brad Binder made it to Q2, albeit in 12th place. His team-mate Jack Miller produced a blistering lap to start fifth come race-day, the Aussie still looking for a ride for next season. However, the talking point in qualifying was the Wildcard.
Pol Espargaro impressed and not only managed to get into Q2, but also out qualified Binder and started 10th. He would then finish 11th, in the points for KTM on Sunday.
Come raceday, Jack Miller went backwards, but still just. He was only overtaken by Marquez as he charged. However, that would all change as Miller crashed out of sixth at the turn two chicane. This was his first major points paying position since the last year, and will surely hamper his chances of getting a seat next season.
The Sunday man Brad Binder delivered a brilliant home race for KTM on the other side of the garage. He managed to climb up all the way from P12 to P5, and was set for a P4 finish had Marquez not charged past him. This now puts him 6th in the bigger scheme of things and he overtakes Pedro Acosta as the lead KTM in the championship.
Rider Market and Injury Updates
The MotoGP grid will be getting a new rookie next season. Trackhouse Racing have signed Moto2 rider Ai Ogura for two years starting 2025.
Congratulations are also in order for Frank Morbidelli, who joins Pertamina Enduro VR46 for the 2025 season and beyond. VR46 have also extended Fabio Di Gianntonio’s contract for another two years.
In other news, Diggia suffered a pretty heavy crash this weekend, which left him with a dislocated shoulder. He was not able to start either race and qualifying, and it is uncertain if he will recover for the next round.
Championship Standings
This is how the championship looks like after the Austrian Grand Prix:
The next round of the world championship will take place from Aug 30-Sep 1 at the Aragon circuit in Spain.
Follow DRC for more updates related to the world of motorsports.
MotoGP
MotoGP 2024: Marquez wins back-to-back in Magical Misano
Marc Marquez won a chaotic flag-to-flag race in Misano as Jorge Martin gambles and looses out big.
The 2024 MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix was a race of treacherous conditions, insane rides and vicious gambles. With uncertain weather conditions, this flag-to-flag race is already amongst the greats. Join us as DRC reviews a fantastic San Marino Grand Prix weekend. Read more MotoGP news, reviews and previews here.
Table of Contents
What is a flag-to-flag race?
Before we get into the review, lets talk about what a flag-to-flag race in MotoGP is. Unlike Formula One or other forms of car racing, MotoGP or any Motorcycle Grand Prix racing employs other forms of pitstops. MotoGP pitstops work in the sense that there are different bikes with different sets of tires on them, so if you want to pit, you just ride into your box and hop onto another bike.
In MotoGP, a rider can freely enter the pits during qualifying and practice, but only at certain times during the sprint and the race. This is during times where the weather conditions have drastically changed and it would be unsafe for riders to continue on the same tires. This is signaled to the riders in the form of a white flag, allowing them to enter the pits. This type of race with changeable weather conditions wherein a rider can use multiple bikes in the same race is called a Flag-to-Flag race.
Some famous flag-to-flag races in MotoGP include the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, the 2016 German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring and the 2015 San Marino Grand Prix at Misano.
Marquez reigns in the chaos
Marc Marquez did not have a good saturday at all. After his comeback win in Motorland Aragon last week, the Spaniard looked quick from the get go. But his chances at pole slipped when he crashed out from a pole worthy lap in Q2. He would then start and finish the sprint in a lackluster ninth place.
He was in ninth for a little while when the race started, but quickly picked off places from Fabio Quartararo, Alex Marquez and Marco Bezzechi before capitalizing on Pedro Acosta and Franky Morbidelli’s crash to move up into fourth. This was when the chaos started. A white flag was waved in leu of rainfall at the track. Jorge Martin was the first to enter the pits to swap bikes and Marquez moved upto third behind Jack Miller and Bagnaia. He would then pass both of them the next lap and win comfortably with a huge margin of 3.1 seconds.
Martin on the other hand, changed bikes too early and was racing with wets on a relatively dry track. He had to pit again and had to go a lap down, ultimately finishing 15th. Francesco Bagnaia followed his guts and managed to finish second ahead of team mate Enea Bastianini who once again, sliced through the field on a late charge to the podium.
This in Marc’s own words, was a ‘special win’ as he led Gresini to their first home win. He also dedicated his win to the late Fausto Gresini, in whose honor the team was running a special livery.
KTM and Jack Miller Impress, while Aprilia struggle
KTM was the main contender of Ducati in Misano instead of the Aprilias. Pedro Acosta was the lead KTM as he qualified fifth ahead of another KTM of Brad Binder, both the Gresini Ducatis and the factory Ducati of Bastianini. Binder would then show why he is called the ‘sunday-man’ after losing out in the start to utimately finish in fourth. Acosta the rookie was also impressive, dueling with the Prima Pramac Ducati of Morbidelli until he crashed from fourth place. Thankfully he was able to get back up but finished a lap down in seventeenth.
Another talking point for the weekend was Jack Miller. The Australian finished 8th, but there is more to that story. He was running as high as second, and even dueled with Bagnaia and Bastianini, but would then be passed after his tires ran out of grip. This is a much needed result for Miller, as he is without a ride next season and this race showcased just how great his racing skills are. Wildcard Pol Espargaro finished tenth, making it three KTMs in the top ten, ahead of every single Aprilia.
The Aprilias struggled for pace all weekend. Maverick Vineales was the lead Aprilia in Qualifying in 11th, while Miguel Oliviera was the only Aprilia to score points in the weekend when he finished eleventh in the race. Top Gun finished sixteenth, a lap down while Raul Fernandes finished eighteenth a lap down. Aleix Espargaro retired from the race in a pretty dismal weekend for Aprilia.
Fabio and Yamaha blitz out, while Honda No-Show
Fabio Quartararo and Yamaha have clearly taken their recent lump very seriously, and are hard at work trying to fix the bike’s problems. This weekend at Misano was a very good one for them. Fabio locked in his world title here back in 2021, and now he puts Yamaha in the top 7 this year. Quarataro finished 6th and 9th in the practice sessions, guaranteeing himself a spot in Q2. He would then outqualify the Aprilia of Maverick Vineales and then go onto to finish an impressive seventh in the race. Alex Rins was also running in the top 12, but finished 19th at the flag due to the downpour.
Honda on the other hand, had a mixed weekend. The LCR Honda team, who were running Stefan Bradl as a wildcard this weekend, finished 9 points at the hands of Johann Zarco, Taka Nakagami and Stefan Bradl respectively in 12th through 14th. The factory Repsol Honda team on the other hand was a no show. Both Joan Mir and Luca Marini were sick from friday and decided not to participate in the race saturday itself, with Mir set to miss the Misano test as well. This comes as a salt on wounds type situation for Honda, after Repsol ended thier partnership with them earlier this weekend.
Championship Standings and the next races
Following the San Marino Grand Prix, the championship looks like this:
The next race is also at Misano with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix taking place September 20-22.
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The last time we were in Motorland Aragón, the year was still 2022 and Francescco Bagnaia was yet to win a Moto GP championship. Fast forward to 2024 and Bagnaia is the rider to beat this weekend as he leads Championship. All you need to know about the race weekend and what news has dropped since the last race, read it all in the weekend preview report from DRC.
5 points in it: The Title battle
Last time out at Austrian GP, it was a blockbuster show by the World Champion.
After entering the weekend just behind Martin and a point to prove, Pecco put on a masterclass and won both the Sprint and Race. Now leading the Champion, Bagnaia still can’t rest as his nearest rival is just five points away. Bagnaia is also en-route to shatter his own record of most wins in a season. He is currently sitting at 7 wins which is equal to his record. Hence a win here will be one for the history books.
However, Bagnaia will not be the only one gathering eyes this weekend.
Jorge Martin has proved time and again this season that he’s a force to be reckoned with. We have seen a number of times this season how the Championship leader gets changed after every other Race weekend. And with Martin just trailing to Bagnaia by 5 points, it is very likely to happen again.
The other protagonist in the title fight is Enea Bastianini. The last time around the Motorland Aragón circuit, Bastianini tasted the winner’s champagne as he just pipped Bagnaia at the last lap. (0.042s). A similar show by Bastianini would stregthen his hold at the title fight.
Marquez in desperate need of a come-back at Aragón
Marc Marquez is not having the best of form lately. After crashing out at the Silverstone Sprint, Marquez entered Austria with determination to do himself one better.
However, his Silverstone form was yet to leave him. He was running in P2 in Sprint after Martin had to serve his Long Lap penalty but he fell off his bike, throwing away a well points paying position. In the race, Marquez fell down the owing to a crash with Franco Morbidelli, but eventually did well enough damage limitation and finished fourth.
Marquez currently sits 4th in the championship, 83 points away from the table-topper Bagnaia. This gap is not impossible to claw back, however, Marquez will need to improve his Qualifying pace and rectify his mistakes in races to still have a chance at the Championship.
Driver signings, Private tests and more
The most recent signing in the Moto GP paddock is of Fermin Aldeguer to Gresini Racing.
He was signed by Ducati back in March and now gets the seat of the outgoing Marc Marquez. Currently sitting in P5 in the Moto 2 Championship, the Spaniard impressed the Ducati squad after finishing P3 in Moto2 in 2023 season. He has been signed for a period of 2 years.
In other news, Yamaha are coming into this weekend after conducting a private test last week at Misano. For the same, Andrea Dovizioso stepped up as a replacement for the recovering Cal Crutchlow.
The tests seem to have brought some positivity into Japanese team. Fabio Quartaro exclaimed-
“We had the opportunity to try some new things at the private Misano test. At the test we noticed that the new items give us a small improvement. This weekend we’ll have another chance to try these items, but this time in a race-weekend setting.“
With continued push by the Japanese team, Yamaha riders look in a better place to finally aim for better positions at the Motorland Aragón.
When and Where to watch
All the sessions from Motorland Aragón will be streamed on Eurosport (TV) and JioCinema (Web Broadcast).
The Schedule is as follows:
Friday
14:15-15:00 – Free Practice Nr. 1
18:30-19:30 – Practice
Saturday
13:40-14:10 – Free Practice Nr. 2
14:20-15:00 – Qualifying
18:30 – Sprint
Sunday
17:30 – Race
Make sure to follow DesiRacingCo to keep up with Moto GP at Motorland Aragón.
Moto GP has shown time and again the closest racing action. And this time around for the Austrian GP, we fans are expecting nothing less. What are the news since the last time we went racing and who are the favourites for this week, read it all in the weekend preview from DRC.
Title fight: Bagnaia’s turn to fight
At the start of the British GP last time around, Bagnaia was leading the championship by 10 points over Martin. However, as we came out of Britain, Martin was back at the top of the leaderboard.
Overall, Martin looked like the better rider of the two that weekend. However, Bagnaia is no slouch. With Martin having only a marginal difference of 3 points to Bagnaia, the championship is highly volatile. Bagnaia has had massive success at this track. From winning both Sprint and the Race last year, this track is considered strong for the World Champion. A double win at the Ring could very well mean we could be watching a different championship leader yet again, come the end of the weekend.
The other protagonist in the Championship has also changed after British GP. Enea Bastianini has had an absolute spectacular run of performance at the British GP.
After trailing Marquez for P3 by 11 points, Bastianini put up a fight and now sits 13 points ahead of Marc. This makes him just 49 points afar from the table-topper Martin. This difference might look huge but when a total of 37 points are on offer every race weekend, Bastianini is very well into the title contention.
KTM, Honda and Aprilia debut a ‘Wildcard’ entry
In a bid to gather more data, the teams of KTM, Honda and Aprilia have decided to debut their test riders this weekend.
KTM have won twice around this venue. Hence, coming into this weekend, they have a lot to do to put up a show for their home fans. Following this, they have decided to debut Pol Espargaro as a wildcard entry for Redbull KTM Factory Racing. The team has had a fantastic roster of drivers, as we saw at the last race when Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta had a close battle.
Click here to read the review from the last round.
Hence, KTM Factory racing will be looking to gather more data to put together the final pieces for their development.
Aprilia Racing are debuting Lorenzo Savadori, their test rider, this weekend with a lab bike.
After getting pole, Aprilia Racing rider Aleix Espargaro had to settle for a Sprint podium and P6 in race. And he was the better of the two riders. Aprilia hasn’t had a good result in Spielberg as of yet. The best result the Noale outfit has managed here is a P6. Hence, a good haul of points or a pole position will be huge.
The Honda team is another outfit that is deploying a wildcard this weekend. Their test rider Stefan Bradl will be out with the HRC test team bike.
With Luca Marini and Joan Mir confirmed as riders of the factory team, their pairing remains unchanged. It’s their satellite team that is expected to drop the news this weekend. In an interview to DAZN, LCR Honda’s Team Principal, Lucio Cecchinello has revealed that Moto2’s Ai Ogura, Somkiat Chantra and their current rider Takaaki Nakagami are the names that are being looked at. He even went as far as confirming that an announcement could be made by this weekend.
Read the full report here.
Track Information
The track in use this weekend will be the famous Redbull Ring. This track consists of 10 turns, with a stop-go style, different to the usual fast and flowing tracks of Moto GP.
When and Where to watch
All the sessions will be streamed on JioCinema (Web Broadcast) and Eurosport (TV coverage).
The schedule is as follows:
Make sure to follow DesiRacingCo. to never miss a motorsport update.
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