The rain shower at the start, with the subsequent interruption of the race during the first lap, was the element that gave an exciting first time in the MotoGP: that of Manuel Gonzalezwho, thanks to a clever choice of tyres, won the first success in the MotoGP in front of Ai Ogura and Filip Salac. All riders who, like the representative of the Gresini team and a few others, took the risk of taking to the track with the slick tires despite the uncertain conditions. A gamble that fully paid off.
Race report
Already during the warm up lap, the first drops of water fell on Motegi, which became decidedly more intense during the first lap. Conditions deemed dangerous for the Commissioners, who suffered interrupted the race to allow riders to mount wet tyres. However, once the red flag was displayed, the intensity of the rain decreased. At that point, in view of the restart, most of the riders still decided to opt for rain tyres, with the exception of a small circle that included world championship leader Ai Ogura, who preferred to stay on slicks. A decidedly risky choice, but one that fully repaid the home idol: at the restart, in fact, the Japanese climbed from the most remote positions to the leadership in just three laps, ‘easily’ overtaking the riders in front of him, placing himself in front to Gonzalez, Alcoba and Salac, all on slicks. The first battle for the podium took place on lap 6 with the Czech driver overtaking the Spaniard, defending himself in the final stages from the return of the #52 and taking the first podium of the season. At the end, however, Gonzalez became increasingly threatening in Ogura’s exhausts, overtaking him with four laps to go and taking his first victory in the MotoGP. For the Japanese, who celebrated by waving the Japanese flag as the late Daijiro Kato used to do, the first chance to win the title could already come at the next Australian GP, thanks to the advantage of 60 points who enjoys over Sergio Garcia, 14th at the finish line.
Moto2 – 2024 Japanese Grand Prix: order of arrival (top-15)
POS. | PILOT | MOTORCYCLE | TIME/GAP |
1 | Manuel Gonzalez | Kalex | 12 laps |
2 | Ai Ogura | Boscoscuro | +2,535 |
3 | Filip Salac | Kalex | +9.103 |
4 | Jeremy Alcoba | Kalex | +9.240 |
5 | Zonta van der Goorbergh | Kalex | +14,758 |
6 | Xavier Artigas | Forward | +35.812 |
7 | Celestino Vietti | Kalex | +53.847 |
8 | Diogo Moreira | Kalex | +54.359 |
9 | Alonso Lopez | Boscoscuro | +56.883 |
10 | Izan Guevara | Kalex | +58,933 |
11 | Tony Arbolino | Kalex | +59,290 |
12 | Fermin Aldeguer | Boscoscuro | +59.692 |
13 | Jake Dixon | Kalex | +59.952 |
14 | Sergio Garcia | Boscoscuro | +1:03.215 |
15 | Darryn Binder | Kalex | +1:03.495 |
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