Francesco Bagnaia Wins Sprint GP Emilia-Romagna 2024 Getting Closer To Jorge Martin
JAKARTA - Francesco Bagnaia of the Ducati Lenovo Team is getting closer to the top of the standings after performing brilliantly at the Sprint Gran Premio Pramac dell "Emilia-Romagna", Saturday, September 21. The Italian racer was initially moved to second place, but managed to regain the lead position in Lap 8.
Bagnaia secured an important victory after competing closely with the title rivals, Jorge Martin of Prima Pramac Racing, who is now only four points ahead of Sunday's main race, September 22. Meanwhile, Bagnaia's teammate, Enea Bastianini, managed to finish third after starting Sprint well.
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Will we see a new name at the top tomorrow or will the gap increase? 🤔
We won't have to wait long to find out 🍿#EmiliaRomagnaGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/cIgL9HrLcL
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 21, 2024
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Will we see a new name at the top tomorrow or will the gap increase?
We won't have to wait long to find out #EmiliaRomagnaGP pic.twitter.com/cIgL9HrLcl
Martin made a perfect start at the start of Sprint, shot fast towards Turn 1 and immediately led the race. At the start of the lap, he pushed hard until Brad Binder of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing managed to get past Bagnaia, making the champion survive down to third.
Bagnaia did not wait long to attack, and Binder finally dropped to fourth after Bagnaia and Bastianini filled the podium position. Behind them, Marc Marquez of Gresini Racing MotoGPTM began to advance to fifth position after starting the race from seventh position.
Attention is again on Bagnaia who is getting closer to leaders of Martin's standings, with a distance of less than half a second. However, in Lap 8, Martin made the mistake by going wide at Turn 13, giving Bagnaia the opportunity to take the lead. Once leading, Bagnaia continued to increase distance and score the best lap time, strengthening her position at the top.
Meanwhile, Marc Marquez also made a mistake at Turn 13, which made Pedro Alcohol from Red Bull GAS Tech3 getting closer. Even so, Marquez managed to maintain his fourth position until the end of the race.
Behind, a fierce battle ensued for the final point position, with Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team), Marco Bezzecki (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), and Franco Morbidelli of Prima Pramac Racing competing fiercely. In the end, Quartararo managed to secure seventh place, while Bezzecchi was in eighth place, and Morbidelli finished ninth.
Bagnaia finally locked the win with a difference of just 0.285 seconds from Martin, with Bastianini completing the podium in third place. Marquez managed to stay in fourth place, while Askosta finished fifth after defeating Binder who had to settle for sixth.
GP's main race Emilia-Romagna will be held Sunday at 13:00 local time, where Bagnaia is determined to repeat its success and narrow the distance in the race for the world title.