Bagnaia Capitalizes on Acosta’s Crash for Crucial Sprint Win at Japanese MotoGP

2024 Japanese MotoGP: Acosta's Crash Hands Bagnaia Crucial Sprint Victory

A devastating crash for pole position holder Acosta results in a significant sprint win for Bagnaia at Motegi.

A last-minute accident involving Pedro Acosta, who was in pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, handed Francesco Bagnaia a crucial win in the sprint race. This victory helped Bagnaia narrow the points gap behind Jorge Martin in the MotoGP championship standings.

Tech3 newcomer Acosta delivered a surprising performance in the second qualifying session, capturing his inaugural pole position in MotoGP. He seemed poised to secure his first sprint race victory after taking the lead on the third lap out of twelve.

He managed to keep Bagnaia behind him and started to increase his lead on the ninth lap when Acosta had a crash at Turn 7, allowing the factory Ducati rider to take the lead.

Although Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez nearly overtook him in the final lap, Bagnaia secured his third consecutive sprint win, narrowing Jorge Martin's lead in the championship to 15 points.

Starting from 11th position, Martin climbed his way up to fourth place but wasn't able to compete for a podium finish.

Starting from the second position, Bagnaia immediately surged ahead to take the lead, positioning himself in front of his teammate Bastianini and Acosta. Throughout the race, the looming possibility of rain remained over the Motegi track.

Acosta swiftly overtook Bastianini for second place as the Ducati rider veered off course at Turn 5. Meanwhile, the Tech3 GASGAS newcomer began to distance himself at the front alongside Bagnaia.

During the third lap, Acosta maneuvered his KTM motorcycle to the inside of Bagnaia at Turn 5. He swiftly expanded his lead to approximately 0.4 seconds.

As the ninth lap began, Acosta had a lead of 0.6 seconds, which continued to grow during the initial section of the lap.

However, as he approached Turn 7, he lost control of the front end of his motorcycle, causing him to slide and crash on his way into the

This advancement put Bagnaia at the front, while Bastianini faced pressure from Marc Marquez of Gresini for the second position.

During the eleventh lap, Marquez and Bastianini engaged in an intense duel through Turns 9, 10, and 11, ultimately resulting in Bastianini taking the advantage. This fierce competition allowed Bagnaia to establish a lead of 1.3 seconds as he began the last lap.

However, Bagnaia's lead disappeared during the last lap, and he crossed the finish line a mere 0.181 seconds ahead of Bastianini.

Marquez managed to secure a spot on the podium after starting from ninth position on the grid, whereas Pramac's Martin finished in fourth place, having begun the race from 11th.

The gap in his championship standing has been reduced to 15 points before the upcoming grand prix on Sunday.

Franco Morbidelli secured the fifth position riding the other Pramac Ducati, while Fabio Di Giannantonio took sixth place for the VR46 team. Following them were KTM's Jack Miller and Aprilia's Maverick Vinales, who unexpectedly dropped out of the race for a podium finish right from the first lap.

Aleix Espargaro, riding for the Aprilia team, suffered a crash in the final stages, while Honda's Joan Mir and LCR's Takaaki Nakagami also experienced falls during the sprint event.

Nakagami's race came to an early end when he was involved in an incident with his teammate Johann Zarco at the second corner during the fifth lap. As a result, the French rider received a long lap penalty. In the end, Nakagami placed 14th, trailing behind Luca Marini, who

Fabio Quartararo was the top performer for Yamaha, finishing in 12th place, while Brad Binder from KTM had to withdraw from the initial fight for the podium due to a technical problem.

Complete Results from the 2024 MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix Sprint

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