Japanese GP: Bagnaia wins to cut Martin’s MotoGP lead

In what was an unbelievably close championship this season, reigning MotoGP World Champion, Francesco Bagnaia triumphed in both races, to cut down Jorge Martin’s lead to just 10 points. Martin and Marc Marquez rounded out the podium, coming from 11th and ninth on the grid, respectively. 

1. Eight GP victories of the season for Bagnaia
2. Martin, Marquez, on podium despite a relatively poor qualifying session  

Acosta crashes out of Japanese GP; Bagnaia wins

The 2024 Japanese GP marked the first time Acosta took pole, making him the third youngest rider to do so. Unfortunately for him and the GASGAS Tech3 team, Acosta was not able to convert that pole position into concrete results, crashing out in both the Sprint and main races. 

Bagnaia was fast and consistent throughout the weekend. While it looked like Martin and him would have a battle late into the race, ultimately Bagnaia eked out a considerable margin, to take the win. This makes him one of very few MotoGP riders to have taken eight wins or more, in a season.

Both Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez had a relatively poor qualifying session where the former qualified 11th and the latter, ninth. Despite this, both riders finished on the podium. 

Bastianini, Marquez fight for third spot 

For much of the race, Factory Ducati rider was mired in a battle midpack with factory KTM rider, Brad Binder. After finally overtaking the hard-charging Binder, Bastianini caught up with Marquez, where the two had a long and hard-fought battle. Ultimately, the Spaniard triumphed and took the final place on the podium. Despite this, Bastianini has a slim two-point lead over Marc in the standings. 

2024 MotoGP championship standings

With just three rounds to go, the gap between the two top racers stands at just 10 points, with Martin still at the top of the leaderboard. Bastianini is third in the standings, just ahead of Marc Marquez. Next up, is the Australian round, set to be held at the Phillip Island circuit, from October 18-20.   

2024 Japanese GP results