Written by Owen Bradley
Credit: MotoGP Videopass
MotoGP returned to Thailand once again, a circuit which has delivered many memorable moments over the years, since we first came to the circuit in 2018.
1st Jorge Martin, Pramac Ducati
2nd Francesco Bagnaia, Lenovo Factory Ducati
3rd Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM
4th Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Ducati
5th Fabio Quartararo, Monster Yamaha
6th Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda
7th Luca Marini, VR46 Ducati
8th Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing - PENALTY from 5th, drops to 8th
9th F. Di Giannantonio, Gresini Ducati
10th Johann Zarco, Pramac Ducati
11th Franco Morbidelli, Monster Yamaha
12th Joan Mir, Repsol Honda 13th Enea Bastianini, Factory Lenovo Ducati 14th Takaaki Nakagami, LCR Honda 15th Raul Fernandez, Aprilia
16th Jack Miller, Red Bull KTM
17th Augusto Fernandez, Tech3 GASGAS KTM
18th Pol Espargaro, Tech3 GASGAS KTM
19th Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing
20th Alex Marquez, Gresini Ducati
21st Miguel Oliveira, Aprilia
Grand Prix
Credit: MotoGP Social Media
An absolute barn-storming race this weekend, which sees Jorge Martin deliver a crucial blow to the World Championship against Francesco Bagnaia.
The race started in dominant fashion for Martin, who led over 20 laps of the race before anybody even managed to get close to him. However, Brad Binder on the Red Bull KTM machine, was absolutely flying throughout the race, managing to catch right up and eventually make a move on Martin, who eventually fought back against Binder.
The VR46 Ducati boys of Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi would have a race that summarised their season, close to the front leading pack, far away from those behind but stuck in a no man's land, hoping for the leaders to make a mistake. Bezzecchi still nursing an injury, he would manage to close in on the Top 3, by nearly two seconds within three laps!
However the battle was on between Martin, Binder and Bagnaia. Bagnaia would attempt to do a double overtake, around the outside at the final corner, the tight right hander. Unfortunately the move never quite paid off, and as Binder began hounding Martin in the final sector of the final lap, Martin managed to defend the inside line, and the short run to the Start/Finish line would see him just about hold on to victory.
Credit: Motorsport Images
It was an absolutely brilliant race, but Binder would be demoted to 3rd place after exceeding track limits on the final lap, dropping him behind Francesco Bagnaia.
12 points between Martin and Bagnaia, it's Pramac Ducati the Customer team, up against the Factory Ducati. It's Italy vs Spain with just a handful of races remaining. Martin has drastically outperformed Bagnaia in the Sprint races, where Bagnaia has managed to hold the gap in the main Grands Prix. One thing is clear though, the gloves are well and truly off in this championship battle.
But what did you think of the Thai GP? let us know in the comments below!
Another great race and the makings of a really exciting end to this year, I wonder if Bagnaia's experience and factory support will come to bear or whether Martin's desire for it and probable underdog status will see him grab the title. For sure it's probably going to be a case of who makes least errors as I think they both probably have the pace and machinery go win. Rather than sit on the fence I will reconfirm my pre-season punt, I reckon Martin gets the nod.