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MotoGP 2024 Austrian Grand Prix: Pecco Bagnaia puts in dominant performance to double up in Austria and take title lead
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Published 18/08/2024 at 13:27 GMT+1
Pecco Bagnaia continued his dominance in Austria as he doubled up on Sunday with a fantastic win to take over the championship lead by holding off Jorge Martin. The pair of title rivals were locked on 250 points before this race but Bagnaia kept his calm to take the lead of the standings as he bids to defend his title for the third time in a row.
Highlights from Austrian GP as Bagnaia wins to regain lead in MotoGP standings
Video credit: TNT Sports
Francesco 'Pecco' Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) completed an impressive double in Austria with a masterclass in the Grand Prix race.
Bagnaia and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) broke away from the field from the get-go and the race looked set to be decided between them.
Bagnaia dropped the hammer halfway through proceedings and gradually put distance between himself and his title rival to bag his seventh GP win of the season and a five-point championship lead.
"The pace was incredible," he said in parc ferme. "I think Jorge and I did something unbelievable in terms of speed and consistency.
"I was just trying to do a little better than him every lap to open a gap because I knew that in the last laps anything could happen here with the rear tyre.
"But I'm very happy - three times in a row we have won here, so it's fantastic. I want to say thanks to all my team and to the Academy for the work they are doing every day. It's a special day for us!"
Pole sitter Martin beat Bagnaia to the holeshot and led the field through the opening lap. However, Bagnaia pulled out of the slipstream down the start/finish straight and slotted past into the lead going onto lap two.
Martin didn't waste time to attack to regain the position but Bagnaia responded immediately and slammed the door shut on the cut-back.
The duo gained distance over the field, only Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) able to go with them. However, Bastianini soon wasn't able to match the pace anymore and gradually lost touch.
Bagnaia dropped the hammer halfway through proceedings and a gap of more than a second opened on lap 14. From there, the defending champion increased his advantage and managed a cushion of just under two seconds over the distance.
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'Like Jorge Lorenzo at his very best' - Laverty and Lowes hail 'incredible' Bagnaia
Video credit: TNT Sports
Eventually, Martin was forced to settle for runner-up spot and an eighth GP podium finish of the season. "There's no excuse," he admitted post-race.
"We improved the start a bit for sure, but we are all a bit frustrated. Today I felt I could at least stay with Pecco until the end and try to fight with him. But with every lap I saw that the front temperature was getting super hot.
"There was a point in the race where I was super close, but then he pulled a gap of six or seven tenths and from there I started to feel worse.
"Then I tried to push again in the end, I thought his tyre was maybe a bit more used than mine. But I saw that I was maybe too on the limit, so I did the second position.
"It's not what I expected today, I thought I'd have something more. But it was still nice to race here in Austria, it was fantastic, and hopefully we can improve for the next one."
While Bastianini was unable to match Bagnaia and Martin, he had ground out a huge advantage over the rest of the field in the early stages of the race and brought it home for his sixth GP rostrum finish of the year.
"I think this podium is my expectation," he said. "This morning I struggled a bit with the front and again in the race.
"But I was aggressive, I was trying to stay close to Pecco and Jorge through the race, but it has been a bit difficult. But we are improving lap by lap, we always get better and I can be satisfied."
A poor start saw Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) fall into P13 at lights out, but an incredible comeback ride took him to a P4 finish while Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was the top KTM at the Austrian manufacturer's home GP in fifth.
Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was sixth from Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) and Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) while Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) rounded out the top 10.
Wildcard Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) took the chequered flag in 11th ahead of Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), with Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) in 14th and Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) bagging the final point on offer.
RIDER OF THE DAY: MARC MARQUEZ
It's a story of what could have been for Marquez whose race was effectively over at lights out with the ride-height device on his Gresini Ducati not properly engaged.
A consequently poor getaway paired with a coming-together with Morbidelli saw him go way wide and fall all the way down into P13 on lap one.
However, Marquez stuck in there and picked his way up the order for an impressive comeback to fourth. His pace in the end would have been good enough for a podium finish and raises hope for what's to come at the next Grand Prix at his beloved Aragon.
WHERE THE RACE WAS WON AND LOST
1/28: MARTIN HOLDS LEAD AT LIGHTS OUT - Great start from Martin who beats Bagnaia to the holeshot. Meanwhile, it's disaster for Marquez who goes way wide and falls into P13.
2/28: BAGNAIA TAKES THE LEAD - Bagnaia pulls out of the slipstream down start/finish and slots past Martin into the lead.
14/28: BAGNAIA ON THE BREAK - Bagnaia has dropped the hammer and now holds an advantage of a second over Martin.
18/28: MARQUEZ INTO FOURTH - Marquez reels in Binder, looking for a chance to pounce and makes it stick at the first time of asking.
28/28: BAGNAIA DOUBLES UP IN AUSTRIA - Bagnaia takes the chequered flag to do the double in Austria with a masterclass display. Martin and Bastianini complete the podium.
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