Jack Miller crashed out on lap 11 of the Austrian Motorcycle Grand Prix, low-siding at the Turn 2 chicane.
The race was otherwise dominated by Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia, who edged out to a five-point lead over Pramac’s second place finisher Jorge Martin.
“It was incredible, the pace,” said Bagnaia.
“I think me and Jorge, we did something unbelievable in terms of speed and consistency.
“I was trying to do just a little better compared to him to open the gap because I knew in the last laps anything could happen with the rear tyres.
“Very happy. Three times in a row that we are winning here. It’s fantastic.”
Buy tickets
Martin led the race from pole position but only stayed there for one lap. At the start of Lap 2, the factory Desmosedici rider took the lead.
Martin offered a brief fightback in the final sector but couldn’t offer much more in the 28-lap race.
A contact with @FrankyMorbido12 before T1 💥😱
Another look at @marcmarquez93‘s disastrous start 🔎#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/lDrJ9EmuD1
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 18, 2024
The race was punctuated by a Lap 1 skirmish involving third place starter Marc Marquez, who bottled his start and ran Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli off at Turn 1.
The stewards investigated the incident but ruled it a racing incident.
In the early going it was Bagnaia who led Martin and the other factory Ducati rider Enea Bastianini.
Miller was fourth until Lap 7 when his KTM teammate Brad Binder got by. On Lap 8, VR46 rider Marco Mezzecchi blew by the Australian not long before his crash.
Beyond Bagnaia, the star of the race was Marquez, who scythed his way through the field to finish fourth.
He had to work hard to get there. The final 10 laps were a slog for the Gresini Racing rider who only got by Bezzecchi on Lap 17 at the chicane and the Binder on Lap 18.
🏁 #MotoGP RACE 🏁@PeccoBagnaia does the double in Spielberg for the second season in a row! 🏆#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/LvvisML0pT
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 18, 2024
Despite the threat of rain throughout the race, it never eventuated.
Bagnaia cruised home to bag 25 points while Martin was second and Bastianini was third.
MotoGP continues at MotorLand Aragon on September 1.
Results: Austrian Motorcycle Grand Prix
| Pos | Num | Rider | Bike | Laps | Diff | |
| 1 | 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 28 | |
| 2 | 89 | Jorge Martin | Prima Pramac Racing | Ducati | 28 | 3.232 |
| 3 | 23 | Enea Bastianini | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 28 | 4.125 |
| 4 | 93 | Marc Marquez | Gresini Racing | Ducati | 28 | 6.479 |
| 5 | 33 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Team | KTM | 28 | 4.784 |
| 6 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi | Team VR46 | Ducati | 28 | 2.586 |
| 7 | 12 | Maverick Vinales | Aprilia Racing Team | Aprilia | 28 | 3.116 |
| 8 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Prima Pramac Racing | Ducati | 28 | 3.355 |
| 9 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia Racing Team | Aprilia | 28 | 1.152 |
| 10 | 73 | Alex Marquez | Gresini Racing | Ducati | 28 | 1.439 |
| 11 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | Red Bull KTM Factory Team | KTM | 28 | 0.258 |
| 12 | 88 | Miguel Olivera | Trackhouse Racing Team | Aprilia | 28 | 0.176 |
| 13 | 31 | Pedro Acosta | GasGas Tech3 | KTM | 28 | 3.034 |
| 14 | 30 | Taka Nakagami | Idemitsu LCR Honda | Honda | 28 | 2.574 |
| 15 | 37 | Augusto Fernandez | GasGas Tech3 | KTM | 28 | 0.212 |
| 16 | 42 | Alex Rins | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 28 | 1.049 |
| 17 | 36 | Joan Mir | Repsol Honda | Honda | 28 | 2.861 |
| 18 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 28 | 3.356 |
| 19 | 43 | Jack Miller | Red Bull KTM Factory Team | KTM | 28 | 0.346 |
| 20 | 32 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia Racing Team | Aprilia | 28 | 0.442 |
| 21 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Castol LCR Honda | Honda | 28 | 9.55 |
| 22 | 6 | Stefan Bradl | HRC Test Team | Honda | 28 | 0.797 |
| DNF | 25 | Raul Fernandez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Aprilia | 27 | |
| DNF | 10 | Luca Marini | Repsol Honda | Honda | 5 |
Discussion about this post