Two riders. 19 points. One race. And one crown… after super Saturday, it all comes down to this.
It was pretty much a must-win Tissot Sprint for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) at the Motul Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona, so win it he did. But it was also nearing a must-not-bin Sprint for Championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), and he passed his test too. After the elbows came out early on, Bagnaia escaped in the lead and kept it cool as Martin threw down with Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) behind – with the ‘Beast’ winning that duel with a final lap lunge to force Martin to settle for third. It’s now 19 points between Martin and Bagnaia as #TheRematch rolls into the final day of the season.
Revs up, lights out – it was a tight, tight run into the first corner, with it looking like Bagnaia was set for the holeshot before Martin made up the metres to move alongside – and then Bastianini sailed past both. But Bagnaia attacked back in the melee, grabbing the lead again round Turn 3.
There was drama at the same corner on Lap 1 as Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) then tangled, however. Both headed wide and both stayed upright, but Marquez was able to collect it – and Acosta’s front fairing got ripped off, leading the rookie to limp back to pitlane, out of the action.
Bagnaia led Bastianini led Martin, but by the end of Lap 2 the reigning Champion was starting to build a small gap as the #89 lined up Bastianini. He got the job done into Turn 1, close but perfectly-judged, and stayed ahead until the next time round – when Bastianini did an even more brutal carbon copy to take back second.
The two were then locked together for another lap before Martin hit back, finding a few more millimeters to really push both to the edge. With that, the momentum behind for Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) got them involved, but Martin was just clear and Bastianini shouldered his way back through to third. As you were.
At the front, Bagnaia pounded on. Martin was hovering just over a second away but the gap was going up tenth by tenth, with those on his tail not being left behind either. Bastianini had faded briefly but got back within half a second, and both Alex Marquez and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) were now on the scene as Morbidelli started to get dropped.
By the penultimate lap it was Bagnaia holding a small gap ahead of that quartet. But then Alex Marquez was wide at Turn 10 and Espargaro got through, dividing the four into a duel for fourth and a decisive one ahead: the points leader vs his title rival’s teammate for second.
Down the main straight for the final time, Bastianini wasn’t quite close enough. But he was able to close in and by Turn 5, the red machine darted out from behind the Championship leader and went for it. Breath held, the move was aggressive but clean enough, and crucially it got the job done. Now Martin had to decide whether to try and reply or take the third place he’d got pretty secure. He looked tempted but Bastianini offered no way back through.
Bagnaia crossed the line just less than a second clear to ensure the Championship fight rolls on to the final showdown of the season, staying near perfect under pressure. Bastianini got his elbows out to stake a further claim on that third overall, as well as proving his own point.
Martin put in the exact performance needed to ensure he remains in a comfortable position heading into the Grand Prix – now 19 points clear. Can he wrap it up on Sunday?
The duel behind saw Espargaro hold onto fourth, with Alex Marquez completing the top five. Morbidelli, meanwhile, had to fend off Marc Marquez after the #93’s earlier tangle with Acosta. Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) were incredibly close there too, with Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) just losing out in the tussle and denied the final Sprint point, taking tenth.
And so the tension rolls on to Sunday, the gap goes back down to 19 points, and Barcelona holds its breath. Are you ready for one final show? Join us tomorrow to see who takes the crown… lights out is 14:00 CET.
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