Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1525556
VOLUME ISSUE AUGUST , P95 broke, meaning the rim had to be swapped. He started the sight- ing lap with his front Michelin at a dangerously low temperature. Repeated attempts to heat the rubber involved accelerating and braking sharply. Before he lined up on the grid, he "engaged the [start] device," said Marquez, "but I braked again and disengaged it. Then I didn't have enough speed [to engage it again]." As Martin and Bagnaia edged clear on the run to turn one, the eight-time champ was swamped from the inside of the front row. Contact with Franco Morbidelli (Pramac Ducati) forced him to sit up and run off track, with the unfortunate Italian follow - ing suit. Rejoining in 14th, his chances of an unlikely victory challenge lay in tatters. There were initial signs Martin was going to cause Bagnaia some real issues. Despite cutting his left thumb in a bizarre shower injury on Friday evening, which needed medical attention the following morning, the Span - iard started with gusto, running beyond the curbs at turn one to assume early control, with Enea Bastianini (Lenovo Ducati) behind Bagnaia in third. Red Bull KTM duo Jack Miller and Brad Binder— a sensational fifth from 12th on the grid through turns one and two—Aprilia Racing's Aleix Espar - garo and Maverick Vinales and Marco Bezzecchi followed. With temperatures in the high 30s Celsius and the brake-heavy nature of the Red Bull Ring layout leading to rocketing front-tire pressures, gaining clean air out front was imperative. Knowing This was vintage Bagnaia in every sense. Aggressive in the opening laps, the Italian ap - peared to have an extra gear to his main rival when out front. Much in the same way as Sat- urday's Sprint race, there was an air of inevitability once he hit the front on lap two. Martin, who made a mess of his victory charge on Saturday by outbrak - ing himself at the turn-two chicane, had to admit he was simply second best on Sunday. The problem for the watch - ing world was that it was low on spectacle. While exceptionally impressive in its execution, Bag- naia easing clear of Martin to the tune of two- or three-tenths a lap for his seventh Sunday success of the year was hardly block - buster viewing. It was all a bit humdrum in a manner similar to similar showings at Mugello and Assen. Little wonder the 67,271 crowd was 23,000 down on last year's Sunday attendance. It wasn't just Bagnaia's perfor- mance that was commanding; Ducati and its GP24 contingent once again crushed the opposi- tion, the race making depressing viewing for MotoGP's four other factories. By half-race distance, the top three of Bagnaia, Martin and Enea Bastianini (Lenovo Ducati) were a massive 10 sec- onds clear of the rest. As has often been the case in 2024, the day's sporadic excite- ment came from Marquez. Saturday had suggested the serial champ may play some role in the victory fight. Yet his prerace build-up was far from ideal. A valve on his front tire (Above) Bagnaia won both the Sprint race and Sunday's GP. He is back on top of the championship leaderboard. (Left) Jorge Martin (89) was second in both the Sprint and GP race and is now five points in back of Bagnaia.