9.02pm – Bagnaia, world championship shot. Martin collapses
(Paolo Lorenzi) Di Giannantonio’s tears, Bagnaia’s relief, Marini’s satisfaction: three Italians on the podium in Qatar, the Roman ahead of everyone – first victory in MotoGP with the absurd prospect of being left alone in 2024 -, after an exhausting chase of the Ducati number one who with second place closes the gap to 21 points from Martin, who ran into a black Sunday. Tenth place pushes him back in the standings, after the authoritative victory on Saturday which had halved the gap from the world championship leader. The situation was reversed in twenty-four hours. The Spaniard, elated by the success of the day before, came back down to earth, triggering a harsh controversy over the tyres. «It’s a shame that a championship is decided like this, for a defective tyre» is his version.
Bagnaia’s crown, which was starting to wobble, was strengthened with an almost flawless run. «I did what I expected on Saturday, but the goal was to win» were his words. The start was perfect, in the lead until three laps from the finish line, Bagnaia was unable to shake off the Gresini rider (“Crazy victory, in his second year in MotoGP” exulted “Diggia”), who overtook him, triggering the Bagnaia’s immediate reaction: Pecco risked crashing into him while braking, being sucked into the Roman’s bike.
The champion’s worst moment, which shocked the Ducati garage (and also Di Giannantonio when he saw the sequence on TV again with Pecco, «what, are you crazy…?»), the only flaw in his GP: «It was traumatic – said the official Ducati rider -, we even touched each other, real luck”.
Behind him, Martin ended up in the sights of first Vinales, then Quartararo, then Miller, and finally also Bastianini. Only his teammate covered his back (Zarco’s gesture to let him pass was dramatic), while Marquez didn’t sink. The showdown is postponed to Valencia, Sunday, at Martin’s house. Bagnaia is confident: «We are ahead, he will have to take risks and I have already won there in 2021. It will be a good fight».
7.07pm – Bagnaia: «It was important to increase the lead over Martin»
“I’m really happy. The start was perfect, I was ahead for a long time, but Di Giannantonio was incredible, so I tried to manage the tire setting in general, then unfortunately I made a mistake and went out. However, I am happy with the result, we managed to increase the advantage which will be important for the Valencia race”
7.04pm – Gioia Di Giannantonio: «Incredible victory, it’s redemption»
«It’s an incredible weekend, the race was fantastic. I knew I had more pace than Pecco, I saw that he made some mistakes and it was an opportunity to seize. I’m speechless, a redemption for me and for all the guys on the team. We did it, we won in MotoGP”, the words of Fabio Di Giannantonio.
7.00 pm – Marini: «What a weekend, now let’s enjoy it»
«It was a beautiful weekend, I really needed it. I’m just a little disappointed because I thought I had the pace to stay with Fabio and Pecco, and I also thought I could win. Anyway, a really great weekend, I thank the team. There’s only one more weekend left so let’s enjoy it and do our best”, the words of Luca Marini
6.52pm – Bagnaia, the lead over Martin now rises to 21 points
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati Gresini) won the Qatar GP, the penultimate round of the MotoGP World Championship, with Francesco Bagnaia second at the finish line and ahead of his rival for the title, Jorge Martin, tenth. The Ducati rider’s advantage over the Spaniard is now 21 points and in Valencia a total of 37 will be up for grabs. Third in the standings is Luca Marini, for an all-Italian podium aboard the Ducatis.
6.42pm – Di Giannantonio wins, Bagnaia second
It ends here! Di Giannantonio wins, then an all-Italian podium with Bagnaia and Marini. Jorge Martin collapses, finishing tenth. Now his gap to Pecco has risen to 21 points and there is only one race left
6.40pm – Di Giannantonio towards victory
Two laps to go, the victory is now in the hands of Di Giannantonio, who after Bagnaia’s mistake has almost three seconds of advantage. Pecco is stable in second place, two seconds ahead of Marini, who has to defend his third place tooth and nail. Jorge Martin tenth and very far from Miller (ninth)
6.38pm – Di Giannantonio overtakes Bagnaia
Here is Di Giannantonio’s overtaking on Bagnaia, who goes long in response! What a fear for the official Ducati rider, who luckily for him always comes back in second place
6.36pm – All-Italian podium?
For the moment, an all-Italian podium, with Bagnaia, Di Giannantonio and Marini. Jorge Martin, on the other hand, is really in crisis and is in tenth place
6.35pm – Bastianini overtakes Martin
Six laps to go, Marini overtakes Binder and takes third place. Bastianini overtakes Martin, now tenth
6.31pm – What a battle for third place
Seven laps to go, splits between Marini and Alex Marquez, both fighting for the third step of the podium together with Binder and Vinales. Di Giannantonio seems to have more than Bagnaia
6.29pm – Fight for the podium, Zarco threatens Martin
Eight laps to go, Di Giannantonio continues to close on Bagnaia. Martin duels with Zarco, who is currently tenth. Battle for the last step of the podium between Binder, Alex Marquez and Vinales
6.25pm - Martin in crisis, he is ninth
Jorge Martin is seeing his World Championship slip away. Evidently there are problems with the Spaniard’s bike (perhaps related to the tyres), because he is losing position after position without fighting as usual. Miller also overtakes him, he is now ninth
6.20pm – Martin sinks
12 laps to go, Vinales passes Martin who doesn’t even attempt a reaction. The Spaniard is also passed by Marquez and Quartararo, he is eighth. Di Giannantonio, battle with Bagnaia
6.18pm – Di Giannantonio makes a comeback on Bagnaia
With 14 laps to go, Di Giannantonio is closing in on race leader Pecco Bagnaia, just two tenths between them. Martin, sixth, doesn’t have the pace to catch up with the leaders (over two seconds behind) and has to defend himself from those behind him (Marquez and Vinales above all)
6.16pm – Martin has to look back
15 laps to go, it’s really tough for Martin. The leaders are far away, while behind Marquez and Vinales they don’t hold back and are really close
6.11pm – Bagnaia leaves
18 laps to go, Martin is sixth and is increasing the pace to catch up on Marini. He is 1.5 seconds late. Bagnaia leaves, six tenths ahead of Di Giannantonio
6.09pm – Martin has to recover
19 laps to go, Di Giannantonio regains third place from Alex Marquez. Martin climbs to seventh place, but has to close the gap that divides him from the group ahead of him
6.07pm – Bagnaia pushes, fast lap
Alex Marquez overtakes Di Giannantonio and moves into third position, Bagnaia tries to push and sets the fastest lap (three tenths ahead of Marini). Twenty laps to go
6.04pm – Martin very badly at the start
Once the first lap has been completed, behind Bagnaia are Marini and Di Giannantonio. Jorge Martin got off to a really bad start, causing the rear to slip too much
6.02pm – What a start from Bagnaia
At the green light, Bagnaia made a great move and immediately took the lead, moving away from Marini. Martin, however, gets off to a bad start, only eighth
5.58pm – The reconnaissance tour begins
There is very little left until the start of the race, only the bikes are left on the track and are heading towards their respective positions on the grid
5.45pm – Bagnaia, the pace to win is there
Pecco Bagnaia, after yesterday’s disappointment, is called to react: «I’m feeling dizzy, there’s little to say», his words in the post Sprint Race: «Anyway, we’ll see in the race. Usually over the long distance we manage to make a difference. The race pace is there, I’ll have to prove it. All that remains is to start strong and impose my pace.”
5.13pm – Bagnaia-Martin sparks in the Sprint
In the Sprint Race won by Martin there was a strong melee between the latter and Bagnaia, with the Spaniard overtaking his rival in a vehement (but correct) manner. Hence Pecco’s response: «I’m happy that he was the one who started it, in order to open up the possibility of being able to do it. It will be beautiful tomorrow.”
4.58pm – Marini starts from pole
Starting from the first spot will be Luca Marini, behind whom are Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez. Fourth place for Pecco Bagnaia, immediately behind him is his rival Jorge Martin
4.26pm – Martin, triumph in the Sprint Race
Martin masterpiece, who won the Sprint Race starting from the second row and thus halved the disadvantage from Bagnaia, fifth after a defensive run. They started side by side in Qatar, Pecco and Jorge, and they ran two races opposite each other. The Pramac rider aggressive from the first corner, the Ducati official free-diving for eleven laps. READ the full story HERE
4.20pm – Moto GP Qatar, where to watch the race on TV
Penultimate chapter of the World Championship as regards MotoGP. Jorge Martin, by winning the Sprint Race, reduced the deficit to 7 points from the current leader Pecco Bagnaia, who will have to answer to him in today’s race. Green light at 6pm. READ HERE where to see it on TV
2023-11-19 20:35:37
#MotoGp #Qatar #Bagnaia #2nd #rises #Martin #10th #accusation #Defective #tire #unacceptable #News
