Jorge Martin (Ducati) completed another perfect weekend in Japan with pole position, including a new lap record, and wins in both the Sprint on Saturday and the main GP on Sunday. Saturday’s Sprint saw Brad Binder (KTM) come home second and Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati) third.
While Saturday’s Sprint was dry, Sunday’s main event saw extremely wet conditions that ultimately led to a red flag stopping the race after 12 laps. The riders earned full points for their efforts, however.
Martin was again victorious with Bagnaia finishing second and Marc Marquez (Honda) finishing in third place during the torrential downpour. This may have been the last time Marquez visits Honda’s home track as a Repsol rider.
Martin has closed to within three points of Bagnaia’s championship lead with several races still remaining. The riders’ next race at the Mandalika Circuit in Indonesia two weeks from now.
For full results and points for Saturday’s Sprint race, visit the MotoGP site here.
For full results and points for today’s MotoGP race, visit the MotoGP site here.
well…it doesn’t appear, to me, that MM93 is interested quitting.
i hope he gets a capable bike/team soon so he doesn’t have to be content to ride around for a top 10 finish and can compete for a championship win without having to kill himself or others on the track.
how is Honda going to keep MM93?
i doubt very much he needs more money, or wants more money in place of a competitive bike, so what else can Honda give him since Honda obviously can’t give him a competitive bike.
i doubt very much he would not choose to go to a team that has a bike which can, and more safely at that, compete for a championship win.
interesting.
i’ve usually been rather disgusted with the older, worn out riders who can’t win anymore when they switch teams/bikes instead of just retiring.
not so at all in MM93’s case, i’m sure he can win and win a lot given he has a competitive bike.
“so what else can Honda give him since Honda obviously can’t give him a competitive bike.”
answer…his freedom.
where does MM93 go now…i’d think Pecco and Martin’s positions are the safest for now.
this is interesting for 2024…MM93 does half a season with a new bike and if it appears he can win a championship with it…he continues…if not…he retires and enjoys life.
as a young kid i often played ice hockey with older teenagers/adults. i never did really well against that company but i tried hard and had fun.
to my (and theirs) surprise…when i played against kids of my own age…i blew them out of the water…without even trying….no extra effort. i wasn’t at all trying to embarrass them but i sure did.
–2024 is going to be super interesting.–
MM93 has been pushing himself at (and beyond) insanely high limits for a long time now on a bike that couldn’t match his demands of it and skill level. he has been doing his best to push his envelope and ride at those new limits to compensate for the lackluster performance of the bike.
now put him on a bike that can match and/or handle his, even higher than before, new level of pushing himself and the bike…it’s going to be a wild season. i believe MM93 will prove, in short order, that ‘the bar’ has been raised again by MM93.
the other teams/manufacturers know this too…guaranteed they are all breaking out their cheque books…and MM93 has his choice of any team.
good luck to the other riders.
i think Pecco is now over-confident and high on himself (arrogant) and that is why Martin has done what he has. i think Martin is cut from that same cloth.
i called it…Mir wins a championship…no repeat. Fabio…same. Pecco, who skill-wise possibly could repeat, but might not. folks were naming Oliviera for a championship win a couple years ago..i called it…not a chance.
martin is riding quite well and his crew have his bike dialed in better than all the other ducatis. it may be that a year old duke has more data from which to glean the correct setting, as bezzechi is scoring big points as well. i’d like to ask dovi about the kind of pressure tardozzi is applying to bagnia right about now…
Interesting if short. I love the respect that the Japanese had for the riders signaling poor conditions. Those guys are not “the help”.
On a lark I looked at the WSB race highlights. I hadn’t looked in on one in decades. The electronics kind of ruin the racing a bit in my opinion. But if you’re in to rock ’em sock ’em racing with lead changes every lap. Well, check that race out. It certainly has that in spades.
Rain races suck. Especially half-distance, red-flagged rain races.
That is all.
Good for MM93
Honda copied Ducati and is that
MM93 showed at least his might. Nice to see him fighting with younger. Descucing was good