MotoGP
MaRC MáRqueZ (RePsOl
honda team) returned to pole position
in the qualifying session after a very long
wait. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac
Racing) qualified in second place and
Brad Binder (Red Bull KtM factory
Racing) in third. Because of a mistake
by aprilia, aleix espargaro had to enter
the pits after the warm-up lap to swap
his motorcycle. that bike had a different
tyre configuration from his race choice
which was going to make it a tough task
to battle through the grid after starting
from the pit-lane.
Binder got a great start as he made a
move on the inside of Márquez to take
the lead going into turn One. next,
Martin passed Márquez going into turn
three. Jack Miller began to charge and
was running in fifth after passing
Maverick Viñales (aprilia Racing) at
turn five. after this, he made an
impressive move to pass both Miguel
Oliveira (Red Bull KtM factory
Racing) and Marc Márquez in one
swoop. soon thereafter, he overtook
Binder at the same place and then
snatched the lead from Martin, after
which he began to put the hammer
down and reel in some really quick laps
to extend his lead.
Binder was closing the gap to Martin
ahead of him and by the last few laps was
within striking distance. however, he
waited, chose the right moment, and was
able to make the move stick and pull out
a few tenths. Márquez versus Oliveira
versus luca Marini (Mooney VR46
Racing team) was similarly decided late,
with Márquez dispatching the
Portuguese rider late on and he was left
to battle against Marini which he did as he defended a last-lap
attack. in the end, Miller won the race 3.5 seconds ahead of
Binder to take home his fourth MotogP victory. Martin finished
the race in third place rounding up the podium spots.
this time around, the championship contenders, quartararo
and Bagnaia, were running in eighth and ninth place
respectively with Bastianini also in the mix. Bagnaia was in
ninth place after overtaking Bastianini and was ready to make a
move on quartararo. the three were very close together but
Pecco misjudged a move when we thought he was going to pass
quartararo, lost the front of his gP22, and slid out of
contention. quartararo then went on to finish the race in P8
and win those precious eight points. the third important man in
the championship standings, aleix espargaro, finished in P16
after his pit-lane start and, unfortunately, missed out on scoring
any points.
after an exciting race in Motegi, quartararo’s lead in the
championship standings has grown to 18 points over Bagnaia,
while aleix espargaro is another seven points behind, but there
are still four rounds to go.