This weekend saw the MotoGP series visit the Qatar circuit at Lusail. Jorge Martin (Ducati) won Saturday’s Sprint race ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati) in second and Luca Marini (Ducati) in third. After the Sprint, Martin was within seven points of the championship lead.
During Sunday’s main race, Martin had a terrible start and experienced rear tire issues throughout the race. He ultimately finished in 10th position.
Sunday’s race was won by Di Giannantonio, with Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati) finishing second and Marini third. Bagnaia extended his championship lead to 21 points over Martin.
The series concludes next weekend at Valencia.
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.
Old thread, I know but now that the season is over I find it interesting/remarkable that Luca Marini was the only ducati mounted rider to not score a win and now he’s the one moving a factory seat at Honda. Ducati’s success has changed the value of a “factory seat”. I hope the kid is being paid factory $$, like Zarco is.
too bad for JM.
i liked JM for 2023 Champ simply because when MM repeats in 24 and 25 (and then happily retires), MM would be the first to repeat since…???…MM!!! 😉
Nope. He’ll lose.
Neither of these comments have aged well.
Tire gate notwithstanding, what’s up with Fabio Di Giannantonio? Did he see an old Wheaties commercial and decide to test eat a couple of bowls last weekend? His girlfriend figure out a new inducement? Is he suddenly motivated to stick it to Gresini for giving his bike to what’s his name?
Whatever, strange things are afoot at the circle Q.
I wonder if the fear of wadding the bike as a newer MotoGP rider kept him from pushing to the absolute limit. Now that he has nothing to lose… It’s a very thin line between winning and 10th. But, what a great day! I love to see guys get their first win.
Do you mean that Fermín Aldeguer can replace DiG in VR46 next year? Who khows.
There is virtually no way that Jorge Martin was intentionally given a compromised tire. His accusation was ill advised. Gigi and Michelin aren’t going to risk being caught in criminal activity just to sway the championship from one Ducati to another. Sabotaging a race tire could very easily lead to endangerment, fraud, and racketeering related charges. If it contributed to someone getting hurt, then the situation would be even worse. You poo’ed your bed Jorge.
The JM tyre is being analyzed by Michelin. Saturday was the turn of PB to have a bad tyre, then Sunday was the turn of JM. I think the only guilty here is tyre provider Michelin. Bring back the Bridgestones !!!
Is MotoGP rigged? Did Martin’s rear tire come from Gigi’s closet where it sat next to large electric motor powering a sun lamp? Or did it come out of a special Michelin bin where it aged like brie cheese? It was obvious right from the start that Martin’s tire was junk. I feel cheated to a close race that never materialized. I can only imagine how cheated Martin feels right now.
I hadn’t considered that, but it does seem bizarre that right from the start where his rear tire lit up like a Bullitt Mustang that something was amiss. The “mapping 8” thing was also weird.
Possible important changed factors from the Sprint that could have caused tyre/setup issues.
Initial tire pressure could have been an error
Track temperature was different and they didn’t compensate
Track surface conditions can change (cleanliness and amount of rubber down)
Bike set up error, also launch control error that fried the tyre and he never recovered.
Issue with bike – there can be LOTS! (Remember Spies’ cracked swingarm? Odd. But there are how many parts in a bike in addition to the 2 tires? Math says slow down and think)
Tire warmer application/temperature
Tire mounting and balancing
Riders or Teams in denial of their mistake, will repeat the mistake. We can just wait and see.
Nothing to say. Experienced online commentators said that JM is not ready to be a champion. But those Pecco “pook pook” style is not exciting.