On Saturday, in Japan, Pecco Bagnaia won an incredible Tissot Sprint at the Motegi ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez, reducing the points gap to 15 while Martin failed to reach the podium. The gap in the championship is down to 15 points, also benefiting from the fall of the rookie and pole sitter Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) who will be keen to take his revenge this Sunday for this long race, starting from his pole position . So, let’s review this starting grid.
Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) took his first MotoGP pole position, setting a new lap record at Motegi. This is the first KTM/GASGAS pole position since Miguel Oliveira at GP du Portugal 2020 then on his way to winning the race. Aged 20 years and 133 days, Acosta
East the third youngest pole-sitter in the premier category after Fabio Quartararo and Marc Marquez. Victim of a fall in the sprint while he was in the lead, he will try to become
the second youngest winner of the premier category after Marc Marquez (20 years and 63 days in Austin in 2013). As there was no rookie registration before Q1,
Acosta is now mathematically Rookie of the Year.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) qualified second, as in 2023 at Motegi, for his 10th qualifying top three so far this season. He won
his sixth Sprint victory in 2024and it will now aim to achieve his fourth double
(Sprint and GP victories) of the season. If he wins the GP race, 2024 will be his best MotoGP season in terms of wins and he will be the first rider to win eight wins (or more) in a single MotoGP season Since
Marc Marquez in 2019 (12), and will join Marquez, Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo as the only riders to win eight or more Grand Prix races in a single MotoGP season. He is second in the championship, but is only 15 points behind Martin.
And Ducati wins, it will be its 13th consecutive victory in MotoGPthus setting a new personal best. They would be the first factory to achieve 13 consecutive victories since Honda from the 2001 Pacific GP to the 2002 German GP.
Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) qualified third, which is their sixth top three finish in qualifying so far this season and best result
Aprilia in qualifying at Motegi. This is his first front line since Assen. He scored a point in the sprint, ending P9. A victory would be his 11th MotoGP victory and his second with Aprilia, with COTA this season.
With Acosta, Bagnaia et
Vinalesthis is only the second time there have been three drivers from three different manufacturers in the top three in qualifying so far this year with Austin.
Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) qualified fourth, earning his eighth qualifying top six finish this season. He won his fourth Sprint podium of the year, finishing P2and he will now aim to take his eighth MotoGP victory overall and his third of the season.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) Qualifying position qualified fifth for his second best qualifying so far this season after Losail, Jerez, Catalunya and Emilia-Romagna where he finished fourth.
He withdrew from the sprint due to a technical problem and will aim for Japan to finish on the podium for the second time since the start of the year with Qatar (P2), or to win for the first time since Austria 2021.
Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) qualified sixth for his fifth qualifying top-six this season. He finished P5 in the Sprint and will aim to secure his first GP podium since being P3 at Jerez in 2021. He came close last weekend.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) qualified seventh for his best qualifying since sixth at Assen earlier this year. He has finished P6 in the Sprint. A victory would be his second in the premier category and a podium, his third.
Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) qualified eighth, missing the top six in qualifying for the first time since finishing 13th in Aragon.
He finished P10 in the sprint and will aim to take his first victory since India last year and get on the podium for a second time in 2024, with Jerez where he finished third
Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) qualified P9 after his fastest lap was canceled due to track limits. He finished P3 in the Sprint for his eighth Sprint podium of 2024. He will aim to win for the third time this year with Aragon and San Marino.
Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) qualified 10th, the eighth time he has missed the top nine in qualifying. He finished P7 in the Sprintand he will now aim to add to his collection of podiums in the premier class (two with Honda and three with Ducati so far) or take his first victory in MotoGP.
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing qualified 11th after falling in Q2. It’s his worst qualifying result since Austria last yearwhere he qualified 12th. He has finished P4 of the Sprint and this Sunday he will try to achieve his ninth victory in MotoGP and his fourth of the season. He is still leading the championship, but with less than 15 points ahead of
Bagnaia.
Starting grid Japanese Grand Prix:
MotoGP Sprint Race Results
MotoGP General Ranking
What will this have in store for us? Japanese Grand Prix ? Before you know it, here is the table that summarizes the facts known so far.
| MotoGP™ Japan, Motegi |
2023 |
2024 |
| FP1 | 1’45.192 Jorge Martin (See here) | 1’45.209 Francesco Bagnaia (See here) |
| Practice | 1’43.489 Brad Binder (See here) | 1’43.436 Brad Binder (See here) |
| FP2 | 1’44.622 Marco Bezzecchi (See here) | 1’44.569 Francesco Bagnaia (See here) |
| Q1 | 1’43.997 Marc Marquez (See here) | 1’43.746 Franco Morbidelli (See here) |
| Q2 | 1’43.198 Jorge Martin (See here) | 1’43,018 Pedro Acosta (See here) |
| Sprint | Martin, Binder, Bagnaia (See here) | Bagnaia, Bastianini, Marc Marquez |
| Warm Up | 1’46.047 Jack Miller (See here) | (See here) |
| Course | Martin, Bagnaia, M.Marquez (See here) | (See here) |
| Record | 1’43.198 Jorge Martin (See here) | 1’43,018 Pedro Acosta (See here) |
Welcome to the Motegi route!!
It’s race day, we’re ready, are you?
Here is the atmosphere in rain mode for the Japanese public!
Grid…
The stage location…Nakagami!
MotoGP, Japan Race: classification
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