Jorge Martín saw his lead in the 2024 MotoGP World Championship
standings reduced after finishing second behind Francesco Bagnaia at a
wet Thai GP as Pedro Acosta excelled once again to claim third spot. Here
is all you need to know:
– The weekend started superbly for championship leader Martín who
finished behind Enea Bastianini but ahead of Bagnaia in Saturday’s sprint
race. That result saw the Spaniard extend his 2024 MotoGP World
Championship lead to 22 points.
– In Sunday’s feature race, Martín started from third on the grid but was the
fastest away from the lights as he stormed ahead of both Bastianini and
Bagnaia. The Pramac Ducati rider led until the fourth lap when a mistake at
turn one saw him drop behind Bagnaia and Marc Márquez.
– Márquez attempted to close the gap to the leader as he chased a fourth
victory of the season, but the Spaniard crashed on lap 13 and rejoined the
race at the back of the field.
– That allowed Martín to move up to second place but he was unable to
close the gap to Bagnaia who cruised to the chequered flag. Despite the
victory, Martín still holds a significant advantage in the championship
standings and is 17 points clear of the reigning champions with two rounds
to go.
– Martín, 26, said: “It was a difficult day. These conditions were really tough.
I started well but then there was a big mistake when I went really wide. I
also came close to crashing when Marc [Márquez] crashed so I tried to just
make sure of second position.”
– There was also an impressive performance from MotoGP™ rookie Acosta
who started in seventh before fighting his way through the field to grab
third place.
– Australian Jack Miller had been fighting for a podium finish before
eventually finishing down in fifth, one place ahead of fellow Red Bull KTM
rider Brad Binder. Frenchman Johann Zarco was also in the points after
finishing in eighth place, while Álex Márquez rounded out the top 10.
– Despite his crash, Marc Márquez was able to recover and finish in 11th.
There was no such luck for fellow Spaniard Augusto Fernández who
struggled in the wet conditions and crashed out with just a few laps
remaining.
2024 Thai GP result
1. Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Lenovo 43:38.108
2. Jorge Martín SPA Pramac Ducati +2.905
3. Pedro Acosta SPA GasGas Tech3 +3.800
4. Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA VR46 Racing Team +4.636
5. Jack Miller AUS KTM Racing +5.532
2024 MotoGP World Championship standings
1. Jorge Martín SPA Pramac Ducati 453 points
2. Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Lenovo 436
3. Marc Márquez SPA Gresini Ducati 355
4. Enea Bastianini ITA Ducati Lenovo 345
5. Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM 203