Francesco Bagnaia won the FIM MotoGP World Championship Tissot Sprint Race Saturday at Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli, in San Marino. Riding his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici on Michelin control tires, the two-time and defending World Champion won the 13-lap race by just 0.285 second.

Jorge Martin, the current Championship point leader, was the runner-up on his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati.

Bagnaia’s teammate Enea Bastianini placed a close third, making it a Ducati sweep of the podium.

Six-time MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez was fourth.

Rookie sensation Pedro Acosta was fifth — and the highest non-Ducati finisher — on his Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 machine.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Four points in it: Bagnaia reels in Martin after tense Misano Sprint

The title fight twists again as the Italian defeats Martin and Bastianini to set up a Sunday showdown for the ages

Saturday, 21 September 2024

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) had a statement Saturday at the Gran Premio Pramac dell’Emilia-Romagna, stalking Championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), pouncing on a mistake and then withstanding his own pressure to the flag to cut the gap to just four points at the top of the table.

Martin did keep that pressure on, however, coming home second, as Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) chased the two home – and prepares to try and do more than that on Sunday.

Martin made a dream take off at the start of the Sprint, with the #89 launching his attack on the run to Turn 1. He then pulled the pin at the beginning, pushing hard on the opening laps and as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) leapfrogged the reigning World Champion too, pushing Bagnaia down to third.

Binder was then elbowed down to fourth at Turn 8 as Bagnaia and then Bastianini shot through, and next it was Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) making moves. On the comeback from his P7 starting position after a crash in qualifying, Marquez got past the South African early on, and soon so did Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3).

All eyes then returned to the front as Bagnaia reeled in the Championship leader, closing the gap to under half a second. They started to pull away from Bastianini too, creating a duel for glory and with plenty more on the line than 12 points. 

By Lap 8, Bagnaia was glued to the Pramac ahead, having reeled him in, lost a few metres, saved a front end moment and then gathered it back up. And Martin then suffered his own small drama, heading wide and that leaving the door far enough ajar to allow Bagnaia through. The hammer then went down from the #1.

Initially, the gap shot up and it looked more likely Bastianini would catch Martin, but in the final few laps the #89 was locked in to try and take it to the line. From sixth tenths up the road to Bagnaia on the penultimate lap, Martin edged closer and closer until the lap count ran out, forced to cede defeat by less than three tenths. Bagnaia strikes back after a tougher run, cutting his deficit in the title fight to just four points – so if it’s a duel on Sunday, the winner decides the Championship lead.

Bastianini remained close too and will be one to watch on Sunday when he has Grand Prix distance to go at, so far enjoying a 100% podium record at Misano in the premier class. The last time he started a GP race from the front row, he won it.

Behind that trio, Marc Marquez couldn’t make too much progress from fourth and was also hampered by a mistake at Turn 13 – the #93 soon had Acosta glued to his tailpipes. Less than one second separated the pair throughout as the #93 attempted to stretch a gap, and the rookie denied him. By the flag however, the veteran pulled away to ensure those valuable few extra points for P4. Acosta, nevertheless, came home top KTM/GASGAS in fifth, with Binder looking to hit back on Sunday as he was forced to settle for P6.

Further back, there was an intense battle for the final point-scoring positions in the Sprint, with Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team) putting in another sublime weekend at Misano so far, taking back to back Q2s and more Sprint points this time out. He held off Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Prima Pramac Racing’s Franco Morbidelli, who completed the Saturday scorers and will both be looking for some revenge on Sunday.

That’s true of plenty just behind them too, with Aprilia especially looking to move forward in the Grand Prix race. It will likely be a historic one too, with Ducati able to wrap up the Constructors’ crown if they have 222 points or more in hand… it’s Bagnaia’s 100th MotoGP™ start… and Ducati head in with 99 premier class wins.

25 points, a gap of just four, and some tempting milestones await on Sunday. Who’s coming out on top on take two? Find out at the slightly earlier time of 13:00 local time (UTC +2)!

Aron Canet earned pole position during FIM Moto2 World Championship qualifying Saturday at Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli, in San Marino. Riding his Fantic Racing Kalex on spec Pirelli tires, the Spaniard lapped the 2.6-mile track in 1:34.935, breaking his own All-Time Lap Record of 1:35.154 (set during practice on Saturday morning) and topping the field of 31 riders.

American Joe Roberts was second-best with a 1:34.939 on his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex.

Tony Arbolino claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:34.945 on his Elf Marc VDS Racing Kalex.

Taiyo Furusato was fastest in Moto3 World Championship qualifying Saturday at Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli, in San Marino. On board his Team Asia Honda on Pirelli control tires on the 2.6-mile track, the Japanese rider turned a 1:40.394 to top the field of 26.

David Alonso was the best of the rest with a 1:40.453 on his Gaviota Aspar Team CFMOTO.

Angel Piqueras claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a lap time of 1:40.460 on his Leopard Racing Honda.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Bagnaia beats Martin to pole, Bastianini clinches last-gasp P3 as Marquez starts P7

A crash for #MM93, a new lap record for the #1 and a bumper front three rows sets the scene for an Emilia-Romagna thriller

Saturday, 21 September 2024

For the second weekend running on familiar territory, home favourite Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) fired his way to a phenomenal pole position at the Gran Premio Pramac dell’Emilia-Romagna. 0.214s was the gap to World Championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) as the top two in the title race enjoy a scintillating Saturday morning Q2 jostle, with Bagnaia landing another new all-time Misano lap record. The Italian and Spaniard are joined on the front row by Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) after a late attack from ‘The Beast’, with Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) set to start from a tricky P7 after a crash.

Q1

The opening 15 minutes of qualifying saw Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) land a table-topping time on his second run to venture into the pole position shootout. The South African beat second place Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing MotoGP™) by 0.076s as the Portuguese rider also sailed into Q2, as walking wounded Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) missed out on promotion in P3. A crash for Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) cost the #73 a chance of challenging for a Q2 spot as the San Marino GP P6 finisher gets set to start from P20. 

Q2

The opening laps from the Q2 runners saw Martin immediately dip into the 1:30s with a 1:30.904, but it was a time that was beaten by Bagnaia by 0.025s. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) climbed to P1 on his second flyer but Martin moved the goalposts – a 1:30.245 was the new time to beat, with Pecco now 0.3s adrift. 

Then, early drama unfolded for Marc Marquez. The #93 was on the floor at Turn 3 but crucially hopped back on his GP23 to return to the box with eight minutes to go. At that stage, Marquez was P4 behind Martin, Bagnaia and Acosta, with Bastianini and Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) on the provisional second row. 

A fresh rubber was slotted in, Bagnaia’s first attack on his second run saw the #1 improve. 0.097s was now the gap between the top duo, as Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) clawed their way onto the second row in P5 and P6. 

A scorcher was then slammed in by the reigning Champion. A 1:30.031 record time saw Pecco leapfrog Martin into provisional pole, as Binder then jumped to P3 to shove Acosta off the front row. But there was more movements to come. Bastianini was improving on his final lap and critically, the #23 propelled himself to P3 to demote Binder to P4 – and Marquez off the second row. Unable to find time on his second run, the eight-time World Champion is forced to settle for P7 as his three title rivals claim front row starts. 

THE GRID

Behind the leading trio, Q1 pacesetter Binder and Acosta claim P4 and P5 to give themselves more than a sniff of a podium finish in the Tissot Sprint and race on Sunday, with Bezzecchi set to launch from P6 on home soil. 

A disappointed Marquez has Viñales and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) for company on a tasty-looking third row. Meanwhile, Morbidelli, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Oliveira complete the top 12. 

The top two in the title race will start from P1 and P2 on the grid, with Bastianini well in the hunt from P3. Marquez – once more – has an uphill task from the third row as the title chasers endure mixed fortunes on Saturday morning, as the stage is set for an intriguing weekend to play out in Emilia-Romagna. You won’t want to miss a beat, as points are now up for offer at Round 14. 

More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:

Álex Rins Withdraws from Emilia-Romagna GP Race Weekend

Misano Adriatico (Italy), 21st September 2024

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Álex Rins will sit out the remainder of the Gran Premio dell’Emilia-Romagna race weekend due to persisting flu.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team confirm that Álex Rins is unable to take part in the remaining sessions of the Gran Premio dell’Emilia-Romagna due to illness.

After suffering a high fever yesterday and missing the Practice session, the Spaniard gave the FP2 session a go this morning but soon suffered shortness of breath. Following a discussion on the best course of action with MotoGP Medical Director Dr Ángel Charte and the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team, it was mutually decided that Rins would forgo the Emilia-Romagna GP Saturday and Sunday with the aim to make a full recovery before the upcoming Indonesian GP, held next week.

The whole team wish Álex a speedy recovery.

 
MASSIMO MEREGALLI

Team Director

Unfortunately, Álex is suffering from quite a bad flu. Yesterday, we opted to postpone his work for the Practice session to today’s FP2. He tried riding again this morning, but following the advice of Dr Charte, we decided to withdraw Álex from the Emilia-Romagna GP in order for him to be fit for the next race weekend in Mandalika. It’s a pity, and we are all feeling sorry for Álex. He prepared well for this GP during the Misano Test but arrived here feeling under the weather, and there’s nothing we could do. Let’s stay positive, and next week we will start again from zero.  

ÁLEX RINS

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

This morning I felt much better, and I wanted to try to get on the bike and go onto the track. Unfortunately, I immediately realised that I was still not okay, because I was struggling to breathe. I wanted to complete the session, but immediately after, I had a visit from Dr Charte who advised me not to get back on the bike and instead to get treatment to be ready and 100% fit for Indonesia. Obviously, I am very sorry not to be able to race in Misano, but I will do everything I can to recover as soon as possible.