RACHIT THUKRAL
MOTOGP
LOSAIL (QAT)
10 MARCH
ROUND 1/21
On a weekend that started with the spotlight firmly on Marc Marquez and rookie sensation Pedro Acosta, reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia showed why he is still the king of MotoGP with a dominant performance in Qatar.
Ducati supremo Bagnaia faced several new challenges heading into the 2024 campaign: Jorge Martin remains keen to seek revenge for his narrow title defeat in 2023; Enea Bastianini had been showing flashes of his ‘2022 best’ in pre-season testing; and Marquez, perhaps the greatest rider of the generation, is now also on a Ducati, albeit a year-old bike. By winning the first grand prix of the year at the Losail International Circuit, Bagnaia issued a clear statement to his rivals both within and outside Ducati that dethroning him is going to be a lot harder than they had anticipated.
The Italian didn’t start the business part of the Qatar weekend on the right foot, with chattering issues on his GP24 leaving him a distant fourth in the sprint, while Martin led from start to finish to take a convincing win on his Pramac Ducati. But much like his second title-winning campaign in 2023, Bagnaia was able to turn his fortunes around overnight to take the top spot when it mattered the most.
From the middle of the second row, Bagnaia made a brilliant launch in the GP to immediately put himself behind polesitter Martin. Going into Turn 4, he launched an attack on the inside of the Spaniard, picking him off with ease to snatch the lead.
Martin and KTM rider Brad Binder didn’t let Bagnaia escape during the opening salvo, but their intense duel eventually gave the factory Ducati rider the breathing space he needed to manage his tyres. Within 10 laps he was already a second clear of the chasing pack, and he eventually took the chequered flag with an even bigger margin to start his title defence in the best way possible.
A mistake from Martin at Turn 1 on lap 11 allowed Binder through into second, the South African keeping KTM in the mix with the Ducatis after a pre-season in which the Italian manufacturer was head and shoulders clear of the field.
Given how much attention Tech3 KTM rider Acosta and Gresini Ducati new ‘boy’ Marquez attracted in Qatar, it was only fitting that they were involved in a scrap for supremacy for much of the race. Acosta started eighth on his KTM, and steadily made his way through the field to put himself right on the rear of fourth-placed Marquez, who was
