ROUND 13 / SEPTEMBER 6-8, 2024
MISANO WORLD CIRCUIT MARCO SIMONCELLI / SAN MARINO
ROAD RACE I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P102
broke clear of the pack early on,
with polesitter Arbolino making
the early running. Yet the Italian,
one of several paddock names
to suffer from sickness during
Saturday night, began to tire
midrace, with Canet and Ogura
demoting him to third with a pair
of clean moves on lap 10.
Soon, Celestino Vietti (Ajo Kal
-
ex) was closing in, making this
a lead quartet by lap 18. Then
Ogura started making moves,
first attempting a pass on Canet
at turn 14, before making it stick
at turn 10 the following time
around. Canet had little in the
way of response, and once Vietti
crashed out at turn 15 with three
to go, Arbolino settled for third.
Martin's blunder means his
advantage (312 points) has
nearly been wiped out. Bagnaia
is now just seven behind (305),
with Marquez (259) in the mix,
too, 53 back.
Moto2
After fracturing three bones in a
crash during practice in Austria,
Ai Ogura's (MSI Boscoscuro)
prospects looked grave. Yet
three weeks on, and the Japa-
nese rider emphatically proved
his credentials are for real by
beating Aron Canet (Fantic
Kalex) and Tony Arbolino (Marc
VDS Kalex) in a straight fight.
The Japanese rider was the
third lead group member that
laps, I was starting to lose my
physical [edge]." Marquez's
eventual winning margin was
3.1 seconds.
Bastianini was left to rue his
decision to use Michelin's soft
rear tire as opposed to the lead
pair's medium. He was five
seconds back at the flag, while
Binder took a second-best result
of the year in fourth. Bezzecchi
recovered well, claiming fifth
from Alex Marquez (Gresini
Ducati) at turn 14 on the pen
-
ultimate lap, with Quartararo
and Miller not far behind after a
decent race-long scrap. Fabio Di
Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) was
ninth, wildcard Pol Espargaro
(Red Bull KTM) 10th.
Despite suffering
injuries just three weeks
ago, Ai Ogura bounced
back to win Moto2.
