chicane. The field was quickly
reduced by four as Jack Miller
(Red Bull KTM) wiped out Aleix
Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) at turn
four, with Alex Marquez (Gresini
Ducati) and Luca Marini (Repsol
Honda) also crashing out.
It soon got better for the num
-
ber 89. As he extended his lead
to 1.2 seconds in the first three
laps, his rivals were faltering:
lap allayed those fears as he
led Bastianini, Acosta, Bagnaia,
Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Ducati),
Franco Morbidelli (Pramac Duca
-
ti) and Marquez through the first
Bastianini, a joint favorite along
with Martin thanks to searing
Friday pace, couldn't get going
early on and dropped behind
Acosta on lap three. And Bag-
naia had been relegated to sixth
at the close of lap one as Bez-
zecchi and Morbidelli, both on
Michelin's soft front, ganged up
on the number one at turn 14.
Soon it appeared the race for
ROUND 15 / SEPTEMBER 27-29, 2024
PERTAMINA MANDALIKA CIRCUIT / INDONESIA
ROAD RACE I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P90
Defending champ Francesco
Bagnaia made the most of Martin's
blunder by winning Saturday's Sprint
race. After Sunday's GP, Bagnaia is
just 21 points behind Martin in the
Championship.
