Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP, cuts Martin’s championship lead to 10 points

It was the eighth Grand Prix victory of 2024 for Ducati Lenovo rider, who is seeking a third straight MotoGP title.

Reigning MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia has won the Japanese Grand Prix in Motegi to complete a weekend double and cut his gap to rival Jorge Martin at the top of the world championship down to 10 points.

The Ducati Lenovo factory rider, who qualified in second after dominating practice and won Saturday’s sprint, kept Martin at bay for 20 laps on Sunday to clinch an eighth win of the season for the first time in his career.

Martin’s second-place finish on Sunday moved him up to 392 points while Bagnaia is second on 382, with four races left in the 2024 championship season.

“I feel super happy. We managed to gain 11 points during this weekend,” said Bagnaia, whose win was the 900th by an Italian in MotoGP history.

The race began in overcast conditions at Motegi’s Twin Ring circuit, with pole-sitter Pedro Acosta overtaken before the first turn of the first lap as Bagnaia darted past him into the lead.

Championship leader Martin began in the fourth row after crashing during qualifying, but had a spectacular opening lap on his Pramac Racing Ducati bike as he launched himself off the line and quickly moved up from 11th to fourth.

The battle for the riders’ championship came to the forefront in the fourth lap when Martin rose to second as he overtook Brad Binder and rookie sensation Acosta, who crashed in Saturday’s sprint, once again went down.

But Bagnaia kept his cool, managing the race lead and maintaining a healthy distance between himself and Martin to take the chequered flag, finishing 1.189 seconds clear of the Pramac Racing rider.

“Jorge today was much stronger, so I was just trying to manage the gap,” Bagnaia said.

“I think the pace was incredible. We have to move on to the next one with the same ambition, the same strategy, and try to continue like this.”

Gresini Racing’s Marc Marquez completed the podium after starting ninth on the grid. The six-time MotoGP champion put in a masterful performance, fending off a string of attacks in a hard-fought battle for third with Ducati’s Enea Bastianini.

“Another podium. It was a difficult weekend, but we’re on the podium again, so super happy,” Marquez said.