of Marini as Marquez and Binder both
mugged Marini on the same lap.
Martin, however, was watching his title
hopes fade away just like his tire. He was
consistently one to 1.5 seconds a lap
slower than the top five and Maverick Vina
-
les (Aprilia Racing), Marc Marquez, Zarco,
Fabio
Quartararo (Monster Energy Yama-
ha) and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM) were all
waiting in the wings
to make him pay.
Martin hung on with everything he
had but Vinales finally pushed past at
turn five on lap 11, then the floodgates
opened. A few corners later, Marquez
was passed, then Quartararo a lap later
at turn 10. A lap and a half later, Miller
was through, then with five laps to go,
Bastianini was through, dropping Martin
to a catastrophic 10th, where he would
eventually finish.
Up front, however, Bagnaia had his hands
full with Di Giannantonio, the rider who
knew this would be the best and possibly
last chance to grab a MotoGP race win.
MOTOGP SUNDAY
GRAND PRIX
Martin may have had dreams of snatch-
ing the title lead in this race but they were
dashed the
second he dropped the clutch.
From sixth on the grid he got a fist full
of wheelspin, his Ducati snaking left and
right and going backward, as Bagnaia,
sitting right next to him in fifth on the grid,
went in the opposite direction, straight
into first place ahead of Marini and Diggia.
Martin dropped way down to eighth
as his worst finish of the season loomed
right at the point he could least afford it.
Bagnaia made haste while the lights
shone but couldn't break the chasing
pack of Marini, Diggia, Alex Marquez
and Binder with Martin struggling with a
faulty rear tire in sixth.
Diggia, however, was the man looking
most likely to challenge Bagnaia with
the fastest lap on the fourth circuit, up
to second at turn 10 on lap five ahead
ROUND 19 / NOVEMBER 17-19, 2023
LUSAIL INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT / DOHA, QATAR
MOTOGP I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P50
(Above) Martin's title
hopes were smeared
all over the track like
his blistered Michelin
in Sunday's GP.
