Dual MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia has received the Japanese Grand Prix to finish a weekend double and minimize his hole to rival Jorge Martin on the prime of the world championship to 10 factors.
The Ducati rider, who certified in second after dominating observe and received Saturday’s dash, stored Martin at bay for 20 laps to clinch an eighth win of the season for the primary time in his profession.
Martin’s second place at Motegi on Sunday moved him to 392 factors whereas Bagnaia is second on 382, with 4 races left within the season. Marc Marquez took third.
“I feel super happy. We managed to gain 11 points during this weekend,” stated Bagnaia, whose win was the 900th by an Italian in MotoGP historical past.
The race started in overcast situations at Motegi’s Twin Ring circuit, with pole-sitter Pedro Acosta overtaken earlier than the primary flip of the primary lap as Bagnaia darted previous him into the lead.
Championship chief Martin (Pramac Racing) started within the fourth row after crashing throughout qualifying, however had a spectacular opening lap as he launched himself off the road and rapidly moved from eleventh to fourth.
The battle for the riders’ championship got here to the forefront within the fourth lap when Martin rose to second as he overtook Brad Binder and rookie Acosta, who crashed in Saturday’s dash, went down once more.
Bagnaia managed the race nicely and stored a wholesome distance between himself and Martin.
“Jorge today was much stronger, so I was just trying to manage the gap,” Bagnaia added.
“I think the pace was incredible. We have to move on to the next one with the same ambition, the same strategy, and try to continue like this.”
Alarm bells went off for Ducati within the twenty second lap because the Spaniard minimize down the result in 0.8 seconds with a blistering run.
It was too little too late nevertheless, as Bagnaia was warned of the hazard and upped his tempo to close down Martin’s problem.