ROUND 17 / OCTOBER 18-20, 2024
PHILLIP ISLAND / VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
ROAD RACE I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P70
SUNDAY
MOTOGP RACE
Under perfect blue skies, drama
unfolded on the grid when Marc
Marquez collected one of Phillip
Island's notorious bugs on the
warm-up lap, his Shoei helmet
splatted with bug guts and leav-
ing him unable to see.
He
pulled a tear-off on the
grid, but the wind coming from
the Southern Ocean saw the
little piece of plastic go under
his rear wheel and when he
dumped the clutch for the green
light, the Desmosedici's rear tire
smoked up while everyone else
went forward.
Martin, on the other hand, got
the perfect launch, sprinting into
the lead from Bezzecchi and Ba
-
gnaia. By turn four, Marquez was
already
back up to sixth after
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM)
crashed out at Miller Corner,
ending his hopes for points.
Martin finished with a 1.5-sec
-
ond advantage over Marquez,
strengthening
his title chances.
Bagnaia's fourth-place finish left
him 16 points behind Martin in
the championship race. Franco
Morbidelli (Prima Pramac)
secured fifth place, with Raul
Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing)
taking a career-best sixth.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46
Racing) finished seventh after
a penalty, while Aleix Espargaro
(Aprilia) and Augusto Fernandez
(GasGas Tech3) rounded out the
top nine.
Several other riders, including
Jack Miller, Johann Zarco and
Alex Marquez, crashed out, with
all riders unhurt.
(Left) Fabio Di
Giannantonio
took fourth in
the GP in his
final race before
season-curtailing
shoulder surgery.
(Below) Franco
Morbidelli (21)
hung tough with
fifth in the Sprint
and sixth in
the Sunday GP.
Check out Enea
Bastianini almost
riding passenger
behind him.
