MotoGP - Malaysian Grand Prix - Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Malaysia - November 3, 2024 Ducati Lenovo Team's Francesco Bagnaia celebrates after winning the MotoGP REUTERS/Hasnoor Hussain/File Photo
BARCELONA (Reuters) - Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia extended the MotoGP title race into the final day of the season when the reigning champion won the sprint at the Solidarity Grand Prix on Saturday while championship leader Jorge Martin finished third.
Martin held a 24-point lead going into the final grand prix but his advantage was cut to 19 points ahead of Sunday's race, where polesitter Bagnaia can still clinch a third straight MotoGP riders championship.
Martin had given Bagnaia chase for several laps but Ducati's Enea Bastianini made a clean overtake on the final lap which forced the Pramac Racing rider to settle for third.
The championship will now be decided in the final race for a third consecutive season.
"Job done for today, but for tomorrow we need to repeat what we did. I think that (doing) more than this is impossible," Bagnaia said.
"Jorge again did a fantastic job, so it's fantastic that it's like this. But let's see tomorrow. For today, I'm very happy."
Bagnaia's teammate Bastianini had a scorching start off the line and the Ducati rider, who started eighth on the grid, took the lead going into turn one while Bagnaia and Martin slotted in behind him.
But Bagnaia and Martin went past Bastianini and the battle for the title heated up with 10 laps to go, with Martin knowing a sprint victory would give him the MotoGP crown.
Bagnaia needed help to retain his advantage and Bastianini duly obliged when he overtook Martin to move up to second to give the Spaniard a headache, slowing him down to allow the reigning champion to surge ahead.
BREATHING ROOM
Martin was in no mood to hang around, though, and soon found a way past the red factory Ducati. But the damage was done as Bagnaia had some breathing room with eight laps to go.
With the title race in his hands, Bagnaia was on a mission to take the chequered flag and the Ducati rider did not give Martin a chance to catch up.
The Pramac rider was also struggling with his medium front tyre, which eventually allowed Bastianini to steal second place from him.
"Today, the important thing was to race as normal, so I did the same. I raced, I attacked, I tried again, so I did my best," Martin said.
"Maybe the front tyre choice (was wrong), maybe the hard (tyre) was better, but tomorrow will be another story. Anyway, I'm on the podium, I'm super happy with the target. Tomorrow, I think the target is quite similar, so I will go for it."
Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro finished fourth in the final sprint of his career at his home grand prix before retirement and he celebrated by hopping onto his old 125cc bike for a lap around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Marc Marquez had started third on the grid but contact with Pedro Acosta, which led to severe damage on the Red Bull GasGas Tech3, on the opening lap saw the Gresini Racing rider lose several positions and he eventually finished seventh.
The final race is being held in Barcelona, which already hosted a grand prix in May, after catastrophic floods in Valencia forced organisers to move the season finale.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
