Francesco Bagnaia wins the 2024 Austrian MotoGP
Sprint race and retakes the title lead after a long lap penalty blow for rival Jorge Martin.
Bagnaia and Martin finished the Sprint tied on 250 points but with Bagnaia moving
to the top courtesy of more wins. Marc Marquez crashed out of a safe second
place, handing Aleix Espargaro a podium. Starting from pole and with a slim 3-point
lead over Bagnaia but nursing a painful cut to his thumb sustained in his motorhome
last night, Martin ran straight on at the chicane after a huge stoppie while
trying to keep Bagnaia at bay on lap 2. Bagnaia passed Martin soon after
but the Pramac rider remained in his wheeltracks until the penalty notice
- for failing to lose at least one-second when he took the shortcut -
was issued with 9 laps to go. The long lap cost Martin second to Marc Marquez
and he rejoined just ahead of Espargaro. Bagnaia’s victory was never under threat again,
but Martin regained the runner-up spot when Marquez crashed out, at Turn 3, with 5 laps to go.
That mistake also put Espargaro into an unlikely podium, at one of his and
the RS-GP’s worst tracks. Silverstone winner Enea Bastianini ran wide
on lap one and fought back to fourth place. Only the KTM riders and Alex Rins opted for
the medium rear tyre. All others choose the soft rear, alongside the medium front.
Test riders Pol Espargaro (KTM), Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia) and Stefan Bradl (Honda)
are making wild-card appearances this weekend. High tyre stress at the Sachsenring
means Michelin brings a reinforced rear construction for the Red Bull Ring.
Revised tyre pressure rules for 2024 mean riders must stay above a lower front minimum of 1.8 bar
(instead of 1.88) for 60% (instead of 50%) of a Grand Prix distance, or 30% of a Sprint.
The penalty for failing to meet this minimum in a Grand Prix will be a
16-second post-race time penalty, or an 8-second penalty for a Sprint/short race.
Fabio di Giannantonio dislocated his left shoulder in a Friday accident and has been ruled
unfit for the remainder of the weekend.