Bagnaia produces Spielberg showstopper to defeat Martin

The Italian took glory on Sunday and extended his Spielberg win streak, crossing the line ahead of Martin and Bastianini.

After a fantastic Saturday, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) has secured his 25^th premier class win. The #1 was unstoppable at the Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich and crossed the line to finish ahead of Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) in second, with the #89 showing a strong pace in the early stages of the Grand Prix, keeping Bagnaia honest throughout. It is a crucial weekend for the Championship, with Bagnaia leaving Austria with a five-point advantage after an impressive Sunday.

Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) took the final spot on the podium in third, continuing a great run of results after a great launch and good pace. The Beast remains third in the Championship standings after finishing ahead of Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), who took fourth after a dramatic Sunday, with an issue at the start.

The stage was set at the Red Bull Ring and as the lights went out it was Martin who led his title rival Bagnaia at Turn 1. However, there was drama for P3 starter, Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), who made contact with Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) at Turn 1, dramatically dropping the #93 back to 14^th.

Bagnaia launched his attack on Lap 2, overtaking at Turn 1, and pushing hard throughout the opening sector. Martin responded at Turn 9, briefly passing the Italian on the brakes before Bagnaia reclaimed P1. Meanwhile, Bastianini (sat in third, watching the top two in the Championship duel.

Marc Marquez began to recover position, entering the top 10 on Lap 4 after finding a gap in Pol Espargaro’s (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) armour. Meanwhile, Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaro began to battle, with the #93 catching the Noale Factory duo and leaping into seventh.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder and Jack Miller began to battle, with the South African entering fourth as Miller dropped behind Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team). Things soon got worse for Miller, losing the front at Turn 2a – crashing out of contention on Lap 11.

Meanwhile, the Aprilia pair continued to battle, with Viñales stealing seventh from the #41 on Lap 16. Ahead on track, Marc Marquez began to put Bezzecchi under pressure, setting sights on P5 before making the move stick on Lap 17. The eight-time World Champion soon caught Binder, claiming fourth in Lap 18.

Bagnaia controlled the pace at the front, creating a two-second margin – consistently lapping inside the 1:29 bracket. However, with five laps remaining, Martin made one last attempt to close the gap.

Entering the final lap the #1 stretched out the gap back to two seconds, with nobody able to match Bagnaia’s relentless pace at the Red Bull Ring. Crossing the line, the Italian took victory, extending his Spielberg streak and beating Martin, as the #89 crossed the line in second. Meanwhile, Bastianini took the flag in third, claiming the final spot on the podium after another strong weekend from the Beast.

Marc Marquez continued his charge late in the Grand Prix, crossing the line in fourth a further six seconds behind Bastianini. The #93 completed a brilliant recovery ride, crossing the line in front of Binder, who rounded out the top five at the line after starting from P12 on the grid. The #33 was the top KTM in Austria, crossing the line ahead of Bezzecchi in sixth and Viñales in seventh. The #12 took the honours as the top Aprilia and was ahead of Morbidelli, with the Italian showing incredible late race pace at the line. Morbidelli placed in front of Aleix Espargaro in ninth, with the final spot inside the top 10 going the way of Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™).

Further back, Pol Espargaro dropped to 11^th and put Morbidelli under pressure in the closing stages of the Grand Prix. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) also continued to battle in the closing laps, crossing the line in 13^th ahead of Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR), who scored further points in 14^th. However, it would be a disappointing end to Sunday for Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) and Repsol Honda Team’s Luca Marini after they retired to the pitlane.

After an epic weekend in Austria, the next stop in 2024 is at the Gran Premio GoPro de Aragon in two weeks. There are just five points in it with everything remaining up for grabs as the world’s most exciting sport continues to deliver, so make sure you join us then.

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