-Jorge Martin finishes second
-Marc Marquez crashes
-Aleix Espargaro takes the third spot
The 2024 Austrian GP Sprint was quite action packed and it was reigning MotoGP World Champion Pecco Bagnaia who won what can only be described as a crucial race for him.
Pecco’s brilliance
As the lights went out, Ducati Lenovo Team’s Pecco Bagnaia made a brilliant start from P2 and managed to wrestle the lead from Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin. The duo traded places a few times on Lap One itself, setting the stage for a mega battle for the win.
A few laps later, Martin tried to outbrake Pecco going into the chicane after Turn One. He overshot the corner entry and had to take the escape route to rejoin the race. The rule states that the rider using the escape route has to drop his pace by one second to nullify the advantage. Having not met the criteria, Martin was handed a long lap penalty, ending his chances of taking another Sprint win.
Bagnaia, meanwhile, was in cruise control as he set a good enough race pace to seal the win. This was crucial for his title hopes for this year.
Marquez’s blunder
Marc Marquez was the benefeciary of Martin’s penalty as he was elevated to P2. Riding the Gresini Racing Ducati to its limit, he tried to stay with Bagnaia. However, an error caused him to lose the front under braking and crash out of the race. This was another Sprint DNF that has hurt his title chances.
Jorge Martin was probably smiling under his helmet as he got to know that Marquez is out of the race, handing him the second position. This ties Martin and Pecco in the 2024 MotoGP World Championship
Aprilia Racing’s Aleix Espargaro was elated to cross the finish line in third, giving him valuable points and another chance to savour the podium in what is his last year in MotoGP.
The main race of the 2024 Austrian GP will take place today at 5:30pm, IST.
