LUSAIL (Qatar): In the Qatar MotoGP, Francesco Bagnaia secured second place, surviving a late scare, while his title rival Jorge Martin finished 10th, citing a bad tire as the reason.
Fabio Di Giannantonio claimed his first victory, expressing it as “revenge” against doubters. Luca Marini secured the third spot on a VR46 Ducati.
Bagnaia, the defending champion, now leads Martin by 21 points, with one weekend left in Valencia.
Martin had reduced Bagnaia’s lead to seven points by winning the sprint race the day before but struggled in the main race, slipping to ninth after a poor start and eventually finishing 10th.
He complained of a bad rear tire, stating it was unacceptable for the championship to be decided in such a way.
Bagnaia faced no such issues, taking the lead from the start on his Ducati.
Di Giannantonio, not having a ride for the next season, held back behind Bagnaia to avoid affecting his title pursuit, ultimately making his move to secure the win.
Bagnaia acknowledged the risk he took and expressed his desire to win, nearly going off the track but maintaining a significant gap.
With one weekend left in Valencia, Bagnaia is in a strong position to secure a second title, especially with the Saturday sprint race.
Martin expressed the difficulty of the upcoming race but vowed to fight.
Di Giannantonio, who will be replaced by Marc Marquez next season, considered his victory as redemption against doubts.
In other categories, Fermin Aldeguer won the Moto2 race, and Jaume Masia won in Moto3, securing the title.
However, the victory was marred by controversy as Masia and his team-mate repeatedly bumped the bike of title rival Ayumu Sasaki, who finished sixth. – AFP
