MotoGP
Published on November 19, 2023 • 17:30 AM by Oléna Champlain

MotoGP Qatar Race LIVE: Fabio Di Giannantonio wins ahead of Bagnaia, Martin struggles to finish 10th

It's the big day of the Qatar Grand Prix long race with big points at stake that Jorge Marin and Pecco Bagnaia are eyeing.

Here we are at the big moment of this Qatar Grand Prix with the big points at stake so important to collect for the world title for both Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. The tone has risen in terms of aggressiveness on the track since the Sprint competition on Saturday and the question of tires, as well as their pressure, will have to be considered more than ever, since in front of them stands a wall of Ducati GP22s with riders on them who will have no reason to make their task easier...

To understand this situation, let's review the starting grid... Luca marini qualified on pole position for the second time with Indonesia earlier this year, setting a new lap record at Losail. In addition, this is his seventh top three in qualifying since the start of the season. He finished third in the Sprint and will be looking for his second MotoGP podium or even his first MotoGP victory.

Fabio DiGiannantonio qualified second for his second best MotoGP qualifying result after Italy last year when he qualified on pole position. He finished second in the Sprint and will be looking for his second MotoGP podium after Australia where he finished third or even his first MotoGP victory.

After going through Q1, Alex Marquez qualified third for his fourth top three in qualifying since the start of the year. He finished fourth in the Sprint, and he will now try to take his first victory in the premier class or add to his collection of podiums: two with Honda and two with Ducati until now.

The leader of the championship, Pecco Bagnaia, qualified fourth, meaning he has qualified in the top six at every race so far this season, with the exception of Indonesia where he qualified 13th, but nonetheless won the GP. He finished fifth in the Sprint only to see his lead reduced to just seven points. He will try to extend this victory on Sunday and if he wins it will be his seventh GP victory of the season, which would equal his personal best in MotoGP set last year.

George Martin qualified fifth for his worst qualifying result since qualifying sixth in Indonesia. He took a solid eighth Tissot Sprint victory of the year and on Sunday he will attempt to claim his fifth Grand Prix victory of the season.

After going through Q1, Johann zarco qualified sixth, which is only the fifth time this season he has qualified in the top six. The previous four times he was on the podium three times (including his first victory in the premier class in Australia). However, he only finished tenth in the Sprint.

Marc Marquez qualified seventh, which is the 11th time this year he has qualified in the top nine. He finished 11th in the sprint after going off the track, and if he were to win the Grand Prix race it would be his first victory since Emilia Romagna 2021, ago 756 days.

Maverick Vinales qualified eighth for his 16th qualifying top nine since the start of the season. He finished sixth in the Sprint, but he's in contention to make history on Sunday by taking MotoGP Grand Prix victories with three different factories (having already won with Suzuki and Yamaha). The other driver who could achieve this feat is Jack Miller, who won with Honda and Ducati and now rides for KTM.

Raul fernandez qualified ninth for his best MotoGP qualifying result, but finished 14th in the Sprint. Nonetheless, he will look to achieve his best MotoGP result if he can beat his 8th place finish at Misano this year.

Aleix Espargaró qualified 10th, which is the eighth time this season he has missed the top nine in qualifying. He did not finish the Sprint after being involved in an early crash involving several drivers. He must be declared fit during a medical examination before the warm-up for Sunday's race, and if he starts, it will be from 16th place after a six-place grid penalty and a €10 fine for hitting Franco Morbidelli in FP000.

Fourth in the Championship, Brad Binder qualified 11th. This was his worst qualifying result since qualifying 14th in India earlier this year (although he finished the Sprint race and GP there in fourth). He finished 7th in the Sprint and on Sunday he will try to win for the first time since Austria 2021. He is now mathematically out of the race for third place overall in 2023, which will be the place of Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team).

The rookie Augusto Fernandez qualified 12th, equaling their second-best MotoGP qualifying result ahead of France and Thailand. He finished ninth in the Sprint to take a point and score on a Saturday for the second time in his rookie season. He is also officially and mathematically the MotoGP Rookie of the Year in 2023.

Image

This is the 15th consecutive pole of Ducati in MotoGP (since Le Mans), thus extending their series of records. This is the 59th consecutive GP where at least one driver Ducati is among the top three in qualifying and Ducati's 17th pole position this season, setting a new record for the most pole positions in a single season in the premier class. This is the second 1-2-3-4-5-6 of Ducati in qualifying after the last time in Malaysia. Ducati becomes the first manufacturer to do so in two consecutive races in the premier class since Honda at Jerez and Mugello in 1998.

Starting grid: 

Qatar

The presentations made, what will this have in store for us? Qatar Grand Prix, the nineteenth and penultimate round of a season where the world title will be decided during next weekend's final in Valencia? Before you know it, here is the table that summarizes the facts known so far.

MotoGP Qatar™

 2022

2023
FP1

1'54.851 Brad Binder (See here)

 1'56.393 Jorge Martin (See here)
Practice

1'53.432 Alex Rins (See here)

 1'52.843 Raul Fernandez (See here)
FP2

1'53.790 Enea Bastianini (See here)

 1'53.531 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
FP4

1'54.420 Johann Zarco (See here)

 XXXXX
Q1

1'53.512 Brad Binder (See here)

 1'52.382 Johann Zarco (See here)
Q2

 1'53.011 Jorge Martín (See here)

 1'51.762 Luca Marini (See here)
Sprint

XXXXX

 Martin, Di Giannantonio, Marini (See here)
Warm-up

1'54.519 Enea Bastianini (See here)

 1'53.346 Maverick Vinales (See here)
Course

Bastianini, Binder, P. Espargaro (See here)

 Di Giannantonio, Bagnaia, Marini
All time lap record

1'52.772 Francesco Bagnaia 2021 (See here)

 1'51.762 Luca Marini (See here)

We are live!!! Welcome to Qatar

A new chapter of the MotoGP 2023 epic will take up residence in a few minutes before our eyes..We will tremble, vibrate, rejoice..feel anxious for the one that each of us wants to see win.. Who from Bagnaia or Martin will cross the STEP towards the title???

There will be a fight in any case and we will have fun!

Here we go for your predictions! It's here and now...

22 laps will be completed on this Losail track

Jorge Martin must scrape at least 7 points to get back into the battle…

Opening of the track.

“The Beast” is ready too!

Marc Marquez in Commando mode!! Everyone has their own way of getting ready.

Here is the choice of tires..

Warming round…

They are launched and it is Marini who takes the lead before Bagnaia passes. Martin is 8th. Zarco is 7th, Quartararo is 11th.

Missed departure for Martin..

Bagnaia leads in front of Marini, Di Giannantonio, AMarquez and MMarquez.

Technical problem for Lecuona

Bagnaia takes off with 0.491s on his pursuer Marini. AMarquez, Di Giannantonio and Binder complete this top5

Zarco misses, which benefits Martin, he is 7th

Di Giannantonio passes AMarquez, he takes 3rd position. 19 rounds remain. Quartararo is 11th

MMarquez loses time, Martin passes him and takes 6th position.

A very quick Di Giannantonio took 2nd position, Binder attacked AMarquez and took 3rd place on the podium.

Ahead Bagnaia is 0.644s ahead of Di Giannantonio, 2nd.

A.Espargaro returns to the pits. He gives up.

With 16 laps to go, Bagnaia leads the way ahead of Di Giannantonio, Binder, AMarquez, Marini, Martin, MMarquez, Vinales, Zarco and Quartararo.

Di Giannantonio is gradually returning to Bagnaia, he is only 0.222s behind. Martin is 2.070s behind from his 6th position. 

At this moment... Bagnaia would have a 22-point lead over Martin in the championship: nothing is decided, however...

Martin is threatened by Vinales... he passes him but the Martinator responds. It's hot...Vinales passes just like MMarquez.. Martin is now 8th.

Quartararo passes Zarco, the Nice native ranks 9th. MMarquez makes a mistake and Martin returns to 7th position. Quartararo passes Martin in turn, he recovers 7th position. Binder gets started and passes Martin, the Pramac driver sinks, he is now 9th.

There are 9 laps left and Bagnaia holds on in front of Di Giannantonio. The Gresini driver is 0.229s behind. Binder, AMarquez and Marini complete this top5

For the current championship Bagnaia would have 25 points ahead of Martin...the task is becoming more complex for the Spaniard..

Martin is pissed…

Di Giannantonio is getting closer..0.130s behind Bagnaia..

6 more rounds...

The top5 is as follows: Bagnaia, Di Giannantonio, Marini, AMarquez and Vinales.

Bastianini attacks Zarco and it passes. He rushes into Martin's saddle and thus recovers 9th position. 

Di Giannantonio regains leadership! 3 rounds left

Bagnaia too greedy... risks falling by touching Di Giannantonio...

2 more laps, the top10 is as follows: Di Giannantonio, Bagnaia, Marini, Vinales, Binder, Marquez, Quartararo, Bastianini, Miller and Martin.

Last round…

Zarco touches MMarquez at the back, he drops to 12th position

Victory for Di Giannantonio ahead of Bagnaia and Marini. 

Bagnaia has a 21-point lead in the championship over Martin…

The big winner of the day is Bagnaia…

The disaster for Martin…10th

Marini 3rd

      MotoGP Qatar Race: classification

 

Credit classification motogp.com