MOTO GP

Enea Bastianini acts as the ‘Beast’ and stands between Jorge Martín and victory

Ducati’s 100th victory in the MotoGP World Championship was spicy and it was Enea Bastianini who inscribed his name on this occasion. The ‘Beast’ overtook Jorge Martín at the limit in turn 4 of the last lap, which took him off the line and almost ended with both of them on the ground.

The Madrid rider’s gesture of snubbing him as soon as he crossed the finish line was the heated reaction of a rider who had had a practically perfect race, but who had once again missed out on victory. In any case, ‘Martinator’ congratulated his rival on the same lap of honour, apologised for the gesture and accepted a second that was worth carats.

And the crash of Pecco Bagnaia with 7 laps to go allowed him to once again take a 24-point lead in the riders' standings, just before packing his bags and starting the Asia-Pacific tour. And the constructors' championship is already decided, with no surprises, and with six races to spare, Ducati has won its fifth consecutive title.

This time the start was not decisive. And Martín once again stole the show from Bagnaia at the first throttle and arrived first at turn 1, but the Italian returned the win at turn 2 and started at the front of the race, ahead of Bastianini, Acosta and Márquez, who had recovered two starting positions.

In that first part of the race it seemed that Bagnaia had some problem and Martín was stuck to his wheel. The Italian's slow pace allowed Bastianini, Acosta and Márquez to join the party and on the fourth lap, Martín was able to overtake his rival and take the lead of the race.

Bagnaia's block allowed the Madrid native to easily open a gap of 1 second, when Bastianini overtook his teammate on the fifth lap. The 'Beast' easily recovered his disadvantage and stayed within that half-second range, behind Martín, who very soon received the warning for track limits and had to manage throughout the race to not make any mistakes that would penalize him with a long lap.

The one who failed on the ninth lap was Acosta, who gave up fourth position to Márquez, who at times believed he could catch up to Bagnaia, who continued to ride slower.

Halfway through the race, Bagnaia reacted, setting two consecutive fastest laps in 1’30 (1’30.877) which allowed him to make up almost a second on the leaders and escape the pressure of Márquez, but it was a mirage, because with 7 laps to go, the Italian crashed at turn 8.

Martín was immediately warned from the board, who slowed down a bit and began to think about the end of the race. Bastianini began to harass three laps from the end, but the Spaniard did not give in. Nor did he make any mistakes.

The last lap began with both bikes within a tenth of a second and with Bastianini smelling blood. And at turn 4 the Italian found a tiny gap to get his bike in. Both Ducatis collided, Martín went off the track and Bastianini was left alone on the track, able to celebrate a controversial victory without pressure.

Behind, Martin was logically angry, and Marc Marquez was unexpectedly on the podium, losing third place to Bastianini, both of whom are separated by one point. The Italian is 59 points behind the leader and the Spaniard 60 points behind.

Marco Bezzecchi, the only one who opted for the soft rear tyre, finished fourth, and Franco Morbidelli rounded out the top five for Ducati. Maverick Viñales overtook Fabio Quartararo at the last minute to finish sixth. Bad luck for the Frenchman who ran out of fuel on the last lap and lost two positions. Aleix Espargaro and Alex Marquez finished 8th and 9th. Good results also for the two official Hondas, Joan Mir 11th and Luca Marini 12th.

MotoGP race podium:

Enea Bastianini: “It was an incredible race because Jorge didn't make a single mistake throughout the race. I tried, but he closed the line. On the last lap I saw a gap at Turn 4 and I went in. It was incredible to win at home.”

Jorge Martín: “It was a very tough race. I was struggling to overtake Pecco but he was faster. I saw Enea coming up behind me and trying to close the gap. I think his final move was too much on the limit because he pushed me off the track and I couldn’t counterattack. Then I made some gestures at the end… but I think I was the strongest and deserved the win.”

Marc Márquez: “Before the race started, I spoke with the team and we agreed that a fourth was a good result for us. At one point I saw that Bagnaia was struggling a bit, but then he changed his pace and was very strong until his mistake. For me this podium was a gift, because the other three were faster than me.”

Reporter: Chechu Lazarus