MotoGP: Pecco Bagnaia hails battle with Jorge Martin after Austrian Grand Prix victory - 'We did something special'

Pecco Bagnaia praised rival Jorge Martin after beating him in the Austrian Grand Prix to go top of the riders' championship. The Italian was too quick for the competition but was kept on his toes until the finish by Martin, who remains in a two-horse race with Bagnaia to finish as world champion in 2024. Ducati’s Enea Bastianini took third place.

Bagnaia wins Austrian Grand Prix to wrestle back world championship lead

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Francesco 'Pecco' Bagnaia paid tribute to rival Jorge Martin after the Italian came out on top to win the Austrian Grand Prix.

Ducati’s Bagnaia powered home to a convincing victory and now leads the way in the championship standings.

And he made clear his delight at the result, while crediting Prima Pramac’s Martin for another memorable battle.

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“It was incredible, the pace - I think me and Jorge did something unbelievable in terms of speed and consistency,” Pecco said.

“I was just trying to do a little better to open the gap because I know in the last laps anything could happen.

“Very happy - three times in a row we have won here, so it's fantastic. I want to say thanks to my team, to the academy and the work we are doing every day. It's a special day for us.”

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Martin, who eventually finished 2.2 seconds behind Bagnaia, cut a frustrated figure, though he admitted there was little he could do to keep up with Pecco.

“There's no excuse - we improved a bit from the start but we're all a bit frustrated,” Martin said.

“It was a good finish with Pecco but as the laps went I saw the front temperature was super hot. He started to pull a gap and I tried to push again, but I was too on the limit, and I take second.

“It's not what I expected today but racing in Austria was fantastic and hopefully we do better in the next one.”

Ducati’s Enea Bastianini took the final pace on the podium, though he was 7.35 seconds behind Pecco by the end.

“This podium matched my expectation,” the Italian said. “This morning I suffered a bit in the front but I was aggressive and stayed close to Pecco and Jorge, but it was difficult. We improved lap by lap and I can be satisfied.”

In a fascinating race to be world champion in 2024, Pecco is now on 275 points, five ahead of Martin.

Bastianini is further back with 214 points as it becomes more apparent with each race that this is very much a two-horse race.

The season continues at the end of the month in Aragon.

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