Motorcycle: Bagnaia fall plays cards to pursuers

Motorrad

A crash by World Cup leader Francesco Bagnaia at the GP premiere in India played into his pursuers’ hands on Sunday. While the defending champions from Italy came away empty-handed, their teammates struck ice cold. Compatriot Marco Bezzecchi celebrated a start-to-finish victory and won by over eight seconds over sprint winner Jorge Martin. The Spaniard is now 13 points behind Bagnaia.

24.09.2023 13.07

Online since today, 1:07 p.m

On Saturday, pole sitter Bezzecchi missed the podium in fifth place in the sprint race after a collision with his teammate Luca Marini. On Sunday, the 24-year-old Italian lost two places at the start, but went on to secure his third win of the season. The podium was completed by Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, who fought a tough battle with Martin for third place until the end and crossed the finish line in third place, 8.855 seconds behind.

Championship leader Bagnaia initially seemed to be confidently heading for second place behind Bezzecchi, but eight laps before the end he lost his balance in turn five and slid into the gravel. Martin moved up to second place and is now breathing down his teammate’s neck in the World Championship standings. Bezzecchi also reduced the gap and is now 44 points behind after the 13th of 20 races this season.

KTM rider Brad Binder improved from twelfth place on the grid to fourth place, while teammate Jack Miller disappointed with 14th place. The starting phase, however, went without any falls. The fight for second place was exciting at the end. On the last lap, Martin, who was completely exhausted at the finish, almost lost his second place to Quartararo. The race was shortened by three laps due to the hot and humid weather conditions in advance. The next Grand Prix will take place next week in Motegi, Japan.

Indian Grand Prix in Greater Noida

MotoGP (21 Runden = 105.21 km): 1. Marco Bezzecchi ITA Ducati 36:59.157 2. Jorge Martin ESP Ducati + 8.649 3. Fabio Quartararo FRA Yamaha 8.855 4. Brad Binder RSA KTM 12.643 5. Joan Mir ESP Honda 13.214 6 Johann Zarco FRA Ducati 14,673 7. Franco Morbidelli ITA Yamaha 16,946 8. Maverick Vinales ESP Aprilia 17,191 9. Marc Marquez ESP Honda 19,118 10. Raul Fernandez ESP Aprilia 26,504

Out ua: Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati), Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Aprilia)

Moto2 (18 Laps = 90.18 km): 1. Pedro Acosta ESP Kalex 22:29.844 2. Tony Arbolino ITA Kalex + 3.543 3. Joe Roberts USA Kalex 6.506 4. Sergio Garcia ESP Kalex 7.377 5. Manuel Gonzalez ESP Kalex 7.9 7. Darryn Binder RSA Husqvarna 11,644 8. Barry Baltus BEL Kalex 12,225 9. Marcos Ramirez ESP Kalex 12,578 10. Filip Salac CZE Kalex 12,790 Moto3 (16 Laps = 80.16 km) 1. Ja ume Messiah ESP Honda 31:58.245 2. Kaito Toba JPN Honda + 5.477 3. Ayumu Sasaki JPN Husqvarna 5.784 4. Daniel Holgado ESP KTM 8.117 5. David Alonso COL GasGas 8.240 6. David Munoz ESP KTM 9.426 7. Riccardo Rossi ITA Honda 9.4 30 8. Ivan Ortola ESP KTM 11,635 9. Stefano Nepa ITA KTM 12,409 10. Jose Antonio Wheel ESP KTM 16,1

Out ua: Matteo Bertelle (ITA), Scott Ogden (GBR)