Bagnaia dominated the 24-lap race at Mobility Resort Motegi, taking the hole shot into Turn 1 before leading every lap of the race.
Martin rose from 11th to fourth on the first lap and would dispatch KTM rider Brad Binder to put himself into third early on in the race.
That soon became second when Pedro Acosta crashed his KTM RC16 at the final turn on Lap 3.
It was the second crash in two days for the Tech3 rookie, who began the sprint and grand prix from pole position.
Acosta crashes out of 2nd 💔
📺 Watch the #JapaneseGP via @kayosports https://t.co/AwHlb9dt5r
📲 RACE CENTRE https://t.co/HdbMLTnvzs#MotoGP pic.twitter.com/b2UPTmCuXJ— Fox Motorsport (@Fox_Motorsport) October 6, 2024
For Bagnaia, it was a career-best eighth win this season.
“I feel super happy,” said Bagnaia.
“We managed to gain 11 points during this weekend. It was the maximum so very happy. Jorge today was much stronger compared to the other day, so I was just trying to manage the gap.
“It wasn’t easy today to remain constant with the tyres. I think the pace was incredible. The first 10 laps were incredible. Super happy.
“We have to move onto the next one with the same ambition, same strategy, and try to continue like this.”
The race was an otherwise uneventful affair. Australia’s Jack Miller stormed from 14th to fifth on the first lap but faded to finish 10th.
Fellow Australian Remy Gardner was the last rider to finish on the lead lap in 17th on the Yamaha wildcard.
It was another horror grand prix of Honda rider Joan Mir, who got rear-ended by Gresini’s Alex Marquez at the end of Lap 1.
Early collision for Joan Mir & Alex Marquez ❌
Incident currently under investigation
📺 Watch the #JapaneseGP via @kayosports https://t.co/AwHlb9dt5r
📲 RACE CENTRE https://t.co/HdbMLTnvzs#MotoGP pic.twitter.com/dkk7Qs2FDY— Fox Motorsport (@Fox_Motorsport) October 6, 2024
Aprilia rider Maverick Vinales suffered a low side at Turn 4 and Acosta’s teammate Augusto Fernandez retired too.
Trackhouse Racing replacement rider Lorenzo Savadori retired early.
MotoGP takes a one-weekend break before returning for the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island on October 18-20.
Results: Japanese Motorcycle Grand Prix, Mobility Resort Motegi
Pos | Num | Rider | Laps/Diff |
1 | 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | 24 laps |
2 | 89 | Jorge Martin | 1.189 |
3 | 93 | Marc Marquez | 3.822 |
4 | 23 | Enea Bastianini | 4.358 |
5 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | 17.94 |
6 | 33 | Brad Binder | 18.502 |
7 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi | 19.371 |
8 | 49 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | 20.199 |
9 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | 30.442 |
10 | 43 | Jack Miller | 31.184 |
11 | 5 | Johann Zarco | 31.567 |
12 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | 32.299 |
13 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | 33.003 |
14 | 10 | Luca Marini | 35.974 |
15 | 25 | Raul Fernandez | 39.321 |
16 | 42 | Alex Rins | 40.839 |
17 | 89 | Remy Gardner | 59.547 |
DNF | 31 | Pedro Acosta | 12 laps |
DNF | 12 | Maverick Viñales | 13 laps |
DNF | 37 | Augusto Fernandez | 18 laps |
DNF | 32 | Lorenzo Savadori | 23 laps |
DNF | 36 | Joan Mir | 24 laps |
DNF | 73 | Alex Marquez | 24 laps |