SPIELBERG BEI KNITTELFELD: Double world champion Francesco Bagnaia won a third successive Austrian MotoGP to complete a dream sprint-race weekend double and take the outright lead in the world championship on Sunday.
Jorge Martin, who went into the weekend atop the riders’ standings, had to settle for second with Enea Bastianini completing the podium at the RedBullRing circuit. This was the Turin-born Bagnaia’s seventh race success of the season to match his tally from last season with still nine races remaining.
That is a sobering thought for Martin who has a better sprint record than Bagnaia but when it comes to the main event it is Bagnaia who invariably comes out on top. Martin had no complaints unlike 24 hours later when a long lap penalty severely compromised his chances of denying Bagnaia the top of the podium with the gap between them less than five seconds.
There was no similar hard luck story in this 11th round of the season. Martin had secured pole but second-placed Bagnaia had quickly moved into the lead as his new teammate next season, Marc Marquez suffered a nightmare grid getaway.
Setting off on the front row in third the six-time former MotoGP champion had plummeted to 13th by the first corner after a tangle with Franco Morbidelli. Up front Martin kept closes tabs with Bagnaia on the factory Ducati in the early laps, at one point briefly regaining command.
But this circuit plays into the hands of a rider like Bagnaia who is renowned for his fearless late-breaking going into corners at speeds of 300kmh plus and he soon had the measure of the luckless Spaniard riding a Ducati-satellite Pramac bike.
The front three - Bagnaia, Martin and Bastianini - were pulling clear of the chasing pack led by Jack Miller. Miller’s chance of one of his highest finishes of the season disappeared on lap six when the Australian hit the deck.
By lap 15 Bagnaia was turning on the gas with the gap back to Martin nudging one second. Marquez had been quietly picking off the bikes in front of him and making his way up the field to be placed fourth after the midway point in the 26-lap race.
With rain clouds moving inexorably towards the circuit as per the forecasters’ prediction Bagnaia’s cushion over Martin had grown towards the double-second mark with nine laps remaining. And he never looked like relinquishing his advantage to duly secure his eighth podium on the trot.
That left Martin scratching his head as to just what he needs to do to foil Bagnaia getting his hands on a third straight world title come the final race of the season in Valencia in November. Next up though is the Aragon MotoGP in Spain in a fortnight’s time. — AFP