Austin Sprint Analysis
Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) said it and he did it: the Spaniard knew he had a winning bike in his hands and tried to escape from the very first stages. Nobody managed to approach or worry Vinales, who finished the Sprint with a safe margin of over two seconds over his pursuers.
Nice race by Marc Marquez (Ducati Gresini), who defended his second position tooth and nail and can be satisfied for having been the best Ducati rider at the finish line and clearly the best among the GP23s (Bezzecchi 13th, Alex Marquez 14th, Di Giannantonio ko).
Good recovery – as world championship leader and therefore without excessive risks – for Jorge Martin (Ducati Pramac), third at the end after a nice overtaking on Pedro Acosta (KTM GasGas), who finished his first Austin Sprint with an excellent fourth place in MotoGP.
Also scoring points were Aleix Espargarò (Aprilia) fifth, Enea Bastianini (Ducati) sixth, Jack Miller (KTM) seventh, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) eighth and Raul Fernandez (Aprilia Trackhouse).
Bagnaia's race was disappointing, as he surged at the start and found himself only eleventh after a couple of corners. Brad Binder (KTM) was invisible and finished 12th. The Hondas were disastrous: only Luca Marini reached the finish line, 17th and last, 22.9 seconds behind the winner in just 10 laps; all the others have fallen.
Tomorrow at 4.40pm the Warm Up and at 9.00pm the race.
Checkered flag for the Austin Sprint – Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) wins, Marc Marquez (Ducati Gresini) second, Jorge Martin (Ducati Pramac) third.
Last lap – Vinales starts the final lap with a safety margin of 2″1 over Marquez. The positions of the top 5 seem crystallized. Bagnaia is currently eighth.
9/10 – Vinales further shores up his advantage over Marquez, which has now risen to 2″0. Martin follows at 3″0. Acosta also broke away at 4.4 seconds.
Bagnaia could gain a few more positions, having rejoined the group in sixth place.
8/10 – Vinales still firmly in the lead, with 1.8 seconds on Marquez. The Gresini team rider opened up a second of advantage between himself and Martin. Bagnaia overtook Morbidelli and grabbed ninth position.
7/10 – The top 10:
1. Viñales
2. Marc Marquez +1.7
3. Martin +2.7
4. Acosta +3.2
5. Espargarò +5.1
6. Miller +6.0
7. Bastianini +6.4
8. Raul Fernandez +7.1
9. Morbidelli +7.4
10. Bagnaia +7.8.
Another Honda crash – the third -, that of Zarco (LCR team).
6/10 – Marquez is evidently struggling to keep Acosta and Martin behind him. Battle between Bastianini and Espargarò for fifth place, and the Spaniard has the upper hand. He was still tenth, currently out of the points.
Acosta passes Marquez, who returns the maneuver to him. Martin takes advantage of this at the following corner, beating Acosta and gaining third position.
At the back Miller passed Bastianini for sixth place.
5/10 – Vinales broke away from his pursuers and put 1.9 seconds between himself and Marquez. The Gresini team rider is chased by Acosta and Martin, who has closed the gap.
4/10 – The top10:
1. Viñales
2. Marc Marquez +0.8
3. Acosta +1.0
4. Martin +1.7
5. Bastianini +2.5
6. Espargarò +2.8
7. Miller +3.4
8. Morbidelli +3.9
9. Raul Fernandez +5.0
10. Bagnaia +5.9.
Mir (Honda) crash.
3/10 – The top three, Vinales, Marc Marquez and Acosta, are compact and are separating themselves from the rest of the group. Bagnaia wheelied at the start and was bottled up at the first corner and is called upon to make a comeback from tenth place.
Martin got rid of Bastianini and is fourth, 1.2 seconds behind Acosta in third.
2/10 – Vinales is therefore leading the race with two tenths of a second over Marc Marquez and three over Acosta. Bastianini is already one second behind the leader and precedes Martin. Bagnaia crossed the finish line in tenth place.
Departure – Excellent shot from Vinales, then Marquez, Acosta, Martin and Bagnaia at the first corner. He is then sucked into the Bagnaia group, which is now 11th.
Fall for Nakagami (Honda LCR) in the second sector. Engine in smoke for Di Giannantonio (Ducati VR46). Fall for Augusto Fernandez (KTM GasGas).
10.00pm – Off to the reconnaissance lap of the Austin Sprint. There will be 10 laps to complete for the MotoGP riders.
9.56pm – A new mudguard is fitted on Bagnaia's (Ducati) bike: the start of the Sprint of the GP of the Americas in four minutes.
9.52pm – No surprises for the choice of tyres: all 22 drivers chose the Medium on the front and the Soft on the rear.
9.45pm – Sky veiled by some clouds in Austin and 26°. The drivers just left the pits and headed towards the starting grid. The Sprint starts in fifteen minutes.
The starting grid
1st Row: Vinales (Aprilia), Acosta (KTM GasGas), Marc Marquez (Ducati Gresini)
2nd Row: Bagnaia (Ducati), Bastianini (Ducati), Martin (Ducati Pramac)
3rd Row: Espargarò (Aprilia), Di Giannantonio (Ducati VR46), Morbidelli (Ducati Pramac)
4th Row: Bezzecchi (Ducati VR46), Miller (KTM) Alex Marquez (Ducati Gresini)
5th Row: Raul Fernandez (Aprilia Trackhouse), Oliveira (Aprilia Trackhouse), Rins (Yamaha)
6th Row: Quartararo (Yamaha), Binder (KTM), Augusto Fernandez (KTM GasGas)
7th Row: Zarco (Honda LCR), Mir (Honda), Nakagami (Honda LCR)
8th Row: Marini (Honda).
The top 10 in the world rankings
1. Martin 60
2. Binder 42
3. Bastianini 39
4. Bagnaia 37
5. Acosta 28
6. Marc Marquez 27
7. Espargarò 25
8. Viñales 19
9. Miller 16
10. By Giannantonio 15.
Good evening dear readers of FormulaPassion.it and welcome to the textual chronicle of Austin American Grand Prix Sprint of the MotoGP class. It is the third weekend of the 2024 world championship.
The Sprint rules remain unchanged: the starting grid is established by Qualifying, the scoring system remains identical and therefore 12 points for first, 9 for second, 7 for third, 6 for fourth, 5 for fifth, 4 for the sixth, 3 for the seventh, 2 for the eighth, 1 for the ninth,
The Sprint will depart at 10pm and will consist of 10 laps.
Some useful links:
– The weekend hours: https://www.formulapassion.it/motogp/motogp-orari/gp-americhe-2024-cota-texas-orari-sky-tv8-programma-televisione-dove-vederla-marquez-pedro-acosta
– la guide to MotoGP 2024: https://www.formulapassion.it/motorsport/guide/guida-motogp-2024-calendario-orari-tv-sky-tv8-piloti-team.
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