Pedro Acosta's dream of a first MotoGP victory turned into a nightmare in Saturday's Sprint Race in Japan. The KTM rookie, who started from pole position, led the race with command before crashing out with just four laps to go. Despite a difficult start, Acosta quickly regained the lead after being passed by Pecco Bagnaia in the early stages of the race.
The fall ofAcosta paved the way for bagnaia, who was able to take advantage of the opportunity to take the lead and impose himself in this Sprint Race. But this victory was not without suspense, since in the last laps, his teammate Enea Bastianini et Marc Marquez (Ducati GP 23 Gresini Racing) almost caught up with him. The battle between Bastianinand et Marquez was intense, with the Italian driver responding brilliantly to the eight-time world champion's attempts to overtake.
Pecco Bagnaia crossed the finish line just 0,181 seconds ahead of bastianini and 0,349 seconds on MarquezThis success, the sixth of the season in a Sprint race for the driver Ducati, allows him to get closer to 15 points from Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) in the general classification. Martin, who started from the fourth row, made a great comeback to finish fourth, taking advantage of the fall ofAcosta and early abandonment of Brad Binder (KTM).
Franco Morbidelli finished fifth on the Pramac Racing Ducati GP24 Factory, ahead of Fabio di Giannantonio (VR46 Racing Team) and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing). Jack Miller (KTM) and Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) completed the top 10, the latter having paid the price for a poor start from the front row.
Friendly fire 🔥😱@ takanakagami30's home #TissotSprint came to an early end after a contact with teammate @JohannZarco1 💔
The Frenchman was later handed a Long Lap Penalty by the Stewards ⚠️#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/SWMJ9yYoUH
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) October 5, 2024
Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati VR46 Racing Team) finished eleventh, followed by Raul fernandez (Aprilia Trackhouse) and fabio quartararo, who saved the honor of Yamaha finishing 13th. Luca Marini, best driver Honda, finished 14th, followed by Johann zarco, penalized for causing his teammate to fall Takaaki Nakagami.
Other finishers include Augusto Fernandez (KTM GASGAS Tech3), alex rins (yamaha), Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia TrackHouse), and the wild card Remy gardner. Joan Mir et Aleix Espargaró fell but not seriously.
Guess who won all the #TissotSprint of the triple header! 🥇🥇🥇@PeccoBagnaia is simple unstoppable on Saturdays lately! 👊#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/oPGoimwUHo
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) October 5, 2024
With this victory, Pecco Bagnaia is getting dangerously close to George Martin in the championship and shows that he remains a serious contender for the title, while the bad luck ofAcosta deprived him of a first victory in MotoGP. But Sunday will be another day in this Japanese Grand Prix suspense. Here is the program.
2024 MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix Schedule
Sunday October 06
MotoGP Warm-Up 02:40-02:50
Moto3 race 04:00 p.m.
Moto2 race 05:15 p.m.
MotoGP race 07:00
Sprint Race Results MotoGP
MotoGP General Ranking