Jorge Martín is the MotoGP world champion! The rematch is complete and the Spaniard has just been crowned world champion in the category after the Barcelona Solidarity GP, finishing third. Pecco Bagnaia led from start to finish and took his 18th victory of the year, but finished the year 10 points behind his opponent. Marc Márquez finished second and finished third overall.
Everything was in place for the start of the most decisive GP of the season, where the new 2024 world champion would be known. The battle was on between Jorge Martín and Pecco Bagnaia, the Pramac Racing Spaniard entering the race 19 points ahead of his opponent and a two-time consecutive class champion. The #89 was 24 laps away from glory and putting his name on the list of class champions, but Bagnaia still had his say.
But the fight did not stop there, with the last place on the podium disputed between Enea Bastianini and Marc Márquez, the Italian getting the better of his opponent for the moment after finishing on the podium yesterday.
It was also the last full-time race for Aleix Espargaró and Takaaki Nakagami, with Augusto Fernández also saying goodbye (for now) to the grid, and many drivers contesting their final races with their respective teams, such as Márquez, Franco Morbidelli, Jack Miller, Miguel Oliveira, Maverick Viñales, Pedro Acosta, Martín, Marco Bezzecchi, among others.
The race started with Bagnaia in good form and taking advantage of his pole position, Martín immediately moving up to second place, Márquez was third and Bastianini fourth, having started from eighth position. Espargaró fell to fifth place.
Martín had meanwhile been overtaken by M.Márquez and all he had to do was control the risk. The Spaniard was 0.188s behind his compatriot and future Ducati factory rider, but ninth place was enough for him to finish champion.
Within three laps, Martín eased his pace and was now 0.8s behind the race leader, while Espargaró gained ground and was now fourth, but it didn't take long for the Italian to react and regain the lead. position.
In five laps, the Pramac driver was already more than 1s behind Bagnaia, who in turn was 0.180s ahead of M.Márquez. Espargaró, once again, overtook Bastianini, who fearlessly declared that he had helped his best friend Martín.
If M.Márquez took the lead and won and Bagnaia was second, Martín could even finish the race in 14th place and remain champion.
Meanwhile, Álex Márquez came sixth after beating Pedro Acosta, the best KTM rider on the track.
At the end of the seventh round, Joan Mir crashed again this year and was forced to retire. Shortly after, Franco Morbidelli overtook Bastianini, but the Italian Ducati rider reacted and regained the position, while a little further back, Brad Binder beat Bezzecchi.
Martín had the teammate he wanted in the race maintaining fourth place and now had Á as his most direct pursuer. Márquez, who moved into the top five after a mistake from Bastianini.
After ten laps, here are the top ten: Bagnaia, M.Márquez, Martín, Espargaró, Á.Márquez, Acosta, Morbidelli, Bastianini, Binder and Bezzecchi.
The race was tense and the nerves were palpable, with Martín seeing the weather working in his favor and the laps going off without a hitch. Despite trailing the leader by almost 2s with 11 laps to go, third place was more than enough to become champion. Márquez was also further behind Bagnaia, who was now 0.5s ahead of his future teammate: if the Italian won, it would be his 18th victory of the year.
Among the Aprilia riders, Espargaró remained fourth, Miguel Oliveira was 12th, Raúl Fernández 15th ahead of Maverick Viñales. Fabio Quartararo was the best Yamaha rider in 11th position, Acosta the best KTM rider in sixth, and in the Honda category Johann Zarco was the reference point in 14th.
The race continued at a good pace and was already in the last quarter, with six laps to go, and Martín was third with a delay of 3 seconds over Bagnaia, but he was running his race and seemed “only” concerned with control and managing your actions on the track.
It is worth noting that Binder was already seventh, and Pedro Acosta, in the opposite direction, was ninth. If the race were to end now, the South African would climb to fifth place in the championship and be the best KTM rider overall.
Round after round, Martín saw his dream getting closer and Bagnaia could only hope for disaster from his opponent if he still wanted to dream of the title, because it did not depend only on him, but he did his part brilliantly, leaving no doubt that he was the fastest driver in Montmeló.
And the title was done! Jorge Martín is the new MotoGP world champion!!!
