Marco Bezzecchi took an absolutely dominant victory at the first-ever Indian MotoGP, finishing nearly 9 seconds ahead of nearest rival Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin. Monster Energy Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo rounded out the podium places.
- Bezzecchi briefly lost the lead at the start
- Championship leader Bagnaia crashed out
- Martin closes to within 13 points of the championship lead
Having claimed the first-ever Indian GP pole position, Bezzecchi was unable to defend his lead at the start, falling to 3rd place behind Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. However, he clearly had the best pace on track, and was easily able to claw his way back past his two fellow Ducati riders to reclaim the lead within two laps. From there on, he stamped his authority on the race, with nobody able to match his speed. It proved to be sweet redemption for yesterday's sprint race, where Bezzecchi was taken out at turn 1 on lap 1 by teammate Luca Marini, who suffered a broken collarbone in the crash.
Behind him, Prima Pramac rider Martin made an aggressive pass to get ahead of Bagnaia on lap 3. Having lost the position, the reigning world champion’s race soon got significantly worse as he crashed out and was unable to rejoin. Martin went on to finish 2nd, and with this, Bagnaia saw his championship lead slashed by a considerable chunk, down to just 13 points.
However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Martin on his way to 2nd place. In addition to struggling for grip in the later stages of the race, the Spaniard also had the zipper on his leather suit come undone mid-race. As a result of all this, Quartararo was able to catch up to him in the closing laps and even get past him at one point, but Martin eventually re-passed the Frenchman and held on to 2nd place.
The Repsol Honda squad showed strong pace all weekend, Joan Mir and Marc Marquez started the race 5th and 6th respectively. Both riders looked quick and comfortable in the opening stages of the race, but Marc Marquez overcooked the entry into turn 1 on lap 5 and crashed out. Mir found himself in a race-long battle with Red Bull KTM rider Brad Binder for 4th place, and eventually lost out and had to settle for 5th. The top Aprilia finisher was Maverick Vinales in 8th place.
India MotoGP results
Unnatee Gidithuri
Dinshaw Magol
