MotoGP, Misano 2, LIVE Race: Victory for Enea Bastianini with forceps over Martin, Bagnaia on the mat

The Pramac Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna is about to have its Sunday race where Ducati will look to make history by securing its 100th victory in the MotoGP class. But that is not the only point of interest for today's race. Here are some additional data to follow, distilled as we go up the starting grid for this last European round before the big and grueling overseas tour that begins next weekend...

Francis Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), for its 100th start in MotoGP, qualified on pole position for the third time this year, with Assen et San Marino, setting a new lap record in Misano. This is his fourth pole at Misano in MotoGP. He took his fourth victory in Sprint of 2024, and he is now aiming to achieve his fourth double (Sprint and GP victories) of 2024 as well as his eighth GP victory of the year to make this season his best in terms of MotoGP victories. He will then be the first rider with eight (or more) victories in a single MotoGP season since Marc Marquez in 2019 (12), and Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi et Jorge Lorenzo. He is second in the championship, four points behind Jorge Martin.

100 Victories? Si Ducati wins, it will be the 100th victory for the Bologna factory in the premier class, their 13th in 2024, their seventh in Misano and the fourth consecutive on this circuit. It will be their 11th consecutive victory in MotoGP, equaling their personal best from the 2023 San Marino GP to the 2024 Portuguese GP, a streak interrupted by Maverick Vinales et Aprilia to COTA.

Ducati pourrait win the title for the sixth time in the premier category if they finish the Grand Prix with an advantage of 222 points or more.

George Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) qualified second, making it the ninth time this year that he has qualified in the top three (and the first time since Austria). He finished P2 in the Sprint, for his 12th Sprint podium of 2024. After scoring one point last time out and losing 19 points to Bagnaia in his long-race gamble, he will be aiming to get his eighth MotoGP victory in total, and his third of the season. He is still leading the Championship with an advantage of 4 points on Bagnaia.

Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) qualified third for his first top three in qualifying since Silverstone where he had also qualified P3 en route to the double (Sprint and GP victories). He took his second Sprint podium of the year (after his first Sprint win at Silverstone), finishing P3. A win on Sunday would be his seventh MotoGP victory, equalling Martin et Loris Capirossi in fourth place on the list of drivers Ducati the best performers in the category. It would also be his fifth podium in five visits to the track in MotoGP.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) secured fourth place, matching his best qualifying result this season at Losail, Jerez and Catalunya. He finished P6 in the Sprint, and will now aim to secure a second podium this year after Qatar (P2), or win for the first time since Austria in 2021.

The pilots Aprilia et KTM/GASGAS will aim to give their constructor(s) their first win at Misano. So far, their best result here is P3.

Peter Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) took P5 for his fifth top-six qualifying finish this year. He finished P5 in the Sprint and, aged 20 years and 120 days On Sunday, he will aim to become the second youngest winner of the premier class after Marc Marquez (20 years and 63 days in Austin in 2013).

Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46) took sixth place, which is his fifth top-six qualifying result this year. He finished P8 in the Sprint and will be aiming for his first victory from India last year and to get on the podium for the second time this season after Jerez where he was P3.

Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP), the winner of the last two MotoGP races and third in the Championship, qualified seventh after crashing in both FP2 and Q2. He finished P4 in the Sprint and is now aiming to make it three wins in a row for the first time since 2019, when he made it five in a row from San Marino to Australia.. It would be his sixth MotoGP victory at Misano., extending his lead as the driver with the most wins on this circuit.

Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) qualified eighth and finished P10 in the Sprint, both times as the best Aprilia rider. He aims to secure his 11th MotoGP victory and his second with Aprilia after Austin this season.

fabio quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) qualified ninth, equaling his second-fastest qualifying time so far this season since Portugal, After the France where he qualified eighth. He finished P7 in the Sprint and is now aiming for his first podium since Indonesia last year (P3). He will also be hoping to achieve his best result of the year so far, if he can beat his P7 finish achieved here in the last race and in Portugal.

Franco Morbidelli (Premier Pramac Racing) qualified 10th for his worst qualifying result since qualifying 13th earlier this year at Silverstone. After taking his first Sprint podium here two weeks ago, he scored a point in the Sprint, finishing P9. He will be aiming for his first GP podium since finishing P3 at Jerez in 2021.

What will this Emilia Romagna Grand Prix have in store for us? Before we know, here is the table that summarizes the facts known so far.

MotoGP™ Emilia-Romagna, Misano	2024 - 1	2024 - 2
FP1	1'31.707s Jorge Martin (See here)	1'32.082s Marc Marquez
Practice	1'30.685 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	1'30.286s Francesco Bagnaia
FP2	1'31.237 Marco Bezzecchi (See here)	1'31.451s Pedro Acosta
Q1	1'30.903 Aleix Marquez (See here)	1'31.070s Binder, 1'31.146s Oliveira
Q2	1'30.304 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	1'30.031s Francesco Bagnaia
Sprint	Martin, Bagnaia, Morbidelli (See here)	Bagnaia, Martin, Bastianini
Warm Up	1'31.687 Franco Morbidelli (See here)	1'31.519 Enea Bastianini (See here)
Course	Marc Marquez, Bagnaia, Bastianini (See here)	Bastianini, Martin, Marc Marquez
All time lap record	1'30.304 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	1'30.031s Francesco Bagnaia

 

Welcome to this afternoon of racing on the Marco Simoncelli track.

We are live to make you vibrate!

Make your predictions here and now… Who will win? Bagnaia, Martin? What can I say? 2 drivers are already in orbit since the beginning of the weekend but Bastianini, the excellent finisher that he is, can certainly do something since for once he starts from the front…

Grid

The reminder of the forces present!!

Drivers will have 27 laps to complete

the choice of tires..

Heating tower...

It's off and it's Bagnaia who takes off in front ahead of Martin (after being caught coming out of the corner), Bastianini, Binder and Acosta. MMarquez, 6th, Quartararo 8th

Binder Falls

Bagnaia fails to drop Martin who is only 0.067s behind. Bastainini, Acosta, MMarquez, Bezzecchi, Quartararo, AEspargaro and Miller complete the top 10

Martin tries to pass Baganai but the 2 drivers cross paths again… It’s getting hot!!! and Bastianini is watching behind!!

Martin passes and this time it's good!!!!

There are 23 laps left and we are already vibrating!! Martin takes off with a 0.780s lead over Bagnaia. Bastianini gets closer to his teammate and passes him by following..The leading trio is composed of Martin, Bastianini and Bagnaia.

Behind Acosta, MMarquez, Bezzecchi, Quartararo, Morbidelli, AEspargaro and Vinales who close this top10

Bastianini's goal is clear...not to let Martin go. He is only 0.468s behind the Pramac rider...let's remember what an excellent finisher he is!!!

Remember that there are 19 laps left...Martin will have to keep the pressure on Bastainini...Lap after lap, he is getting closer...

Acosta's fall!

Great race by Quartararo..

MMarquez 4th, comes back strong on Bagnaia to win the 3rd step of the podium…

The gap between Martin and his pursuer Bastianini is gradually widening, with Martin holding a 0.712s lead over the official Ducati.

There are 14 laps left to complete.

The top10 is as follows: Martin, Bastainini, Bagnaia, MMarquez, bezzecchi, Quartarao, Morbidelli, Vinales, AEspargaro and AMarquez.

Bagnaia is back!!!!!

9 more laps!!! and Bagnaia goes into ATTACK mode!!

It's a war of chronos...a psychological war...who's going to crack???

Bagnaia fall!!

As things stand, Martin would have a 29-point lead in the championship...and Marquez on the podium...

Small mistake by Martin, Bastianini tries but in vain…

Long lap for Di Giannantonio, track limits exceeded..

3 more laps…Martin holds on in front of Bastianini. Marquez, Bezzecchi and Quartararo complete the top 5

Last round!!!!

Bastianini passes! in strength...

Bastianini wins ahead of Martin and Marquez 

MotoGP, Misano 2,: ranking