Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix won by reigning champion Bagnaia, debutant Acosta pleasantly surprised

Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia got off on the right foot in his next defence of his MotoGP World Championship title. The 27-year-old Ducati factory rider dominated the opening round of the season, the Qatar Grand Prix, ahead of KTM’s Brad Binder and Jorge Martín on the satellite Ducati. MotoGP rookie Pedro Acosta put in an admirable performance, finishing ninth after fierce battles with the best of the field.

MotoGP has been visiting the Lusail circuit near the capital Doha for 20 years, having raced under artificial lights since 2008. Outside of the first three years on the calendar and enforced breaks in 2020 and 2023, Qatar has been the opening round of the season since 2007.

Jorge Martín started the 2024 season in a similar style to how he ended the previous one. Last year’s world runner-up first dominated qualifying and easily won Saturday’s start-finish sprint as well. Throughout the 11-lap race, he never let anyone get ahead of him and was joined on the first sprint podium by Brad Binder and Aleix Espargaró.

Drama before the start of the race

Before the 22 fastest riders on two wheels took off for the season’s opening grand prix, a very rare event took place on the grid. The motorcycle of Raúl Fernández’s satellite Aprilia suffered technical problems seconds before the lights went out.

Although race officials attempted to get the Spaniard and his machine away from the grid, Fernández was unwilling. This set the other riders off, as their tyres began to cool dangerously and at the same time some of them had their bikes shut down. As a result, mechanics from all teams had to return to the grid to take care of the machines, delaying the start itself and reducing the overall distance of the Qatar VC by one lap. Fernández had to start the race from last position after his troubles.

A championship start for the reigning champion

After a repeat of the warm-up lap, Martín started the 21-lap long Qatar VC from pole position alongside Espargar and Bastianini. While Martín got off to a great start, an even better start was made by World Champion Bagnai, who worked his way into the lead in the opening corners. Bastianini and Espargaro, on the other hand, dropped places deeper into the top 10.

🚦 LIGHTS OUT IN LUSAIL 🚦@88jorgemartin gets the start once again but @PeccoBagnaia is right there! 🔥

And HE LEADS into T4! ⚔️#QatarGP 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/4u66Tc9G6o

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 10, 2024

Bagnaia quickly built up a small lead on second-placed Martín and third-placed Binder. However, the South African got past the Spaniard into second position by manoeuvring on the brakes into turn one thanks to the phenomenal speed of the KTM engine. A short while later, Binder’s teammate Jack Miller crashed out in the same spot. The Australian, however, mounted his KTM very nimbly but fell to the tail of the field.

The top speed of the KTM machines proved to be very competitive with the Ducati in Qatar. In fact, Binder almost passed even the leader Bagnaiu a lap later at the first corner. But the Italian’s amazing brakes did not allow a change in the Qatar VC lead.

Incredible debut for rookie Acosta

But who was setting the headlines at the moment was royal class debutant Pedro Acosta on a GasGas machine, a KTM in disguise. The 19-year-old, after starting from eighth place, was able to take on much more experienced riders and was circling in fifth place on lap five ahead of Álex Márquez and Bastianini.

Acosta wasn’t done there though, the future MotoGP phenom also put pressure on eight-time champion Marc Márquez after his opening overtaking manoeuvres of his premier class career. While Bagnaia managed to build up a cushion of around half a second, a group of four fighting for second place formed behind him. The gaps between Binder, Martín, Márquez and Acosta during the first half of the race were collectively around two to three tenths of a second.

Binder and Martín put up a handsome battle exactly halfway through the race, with Márquez and Acosta keeping a close eye on any opportunity to earn additional positions. Because of this, the latter duo nearly collided with each other and the leading duo in the chasing group, Bagnaia. For the 27-year-old two-time MotoGP king, it was this battle that suited him, his lead growing to over one second.

“Reality check for Acosta, a quieter second half

Although any MotoGP fan would consider fifth place a stunning start to a premier class career, Acosta wanted more. After a few laps of waiting, the Spanish teenager took out Marc Márquez and moved into a position just below the podium. However, Acosta’s momentum began to wane in the second and third third of the grand prix, and he was within a few tenths of third place Martín.

the 31-year-old Gresini Ducati rider got back ahead of Acosta on lap 14, who not only lost contact with the leaders with each lap, but also began to lose track position. Between lap 14 and lap 20, Acosta lost a total of five places as the younger Márquez, Bastianini, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Espargaró moved past him in turn. Meanwhile, the sinner of the pre-start procedure, Fernandez, retired by pitting.

The rest of the Qatar GP was relatively uneventful. The intervals between the drivers in the top 10 had widened so much that there was no further change in the standings apart from the battle for fifth place between Bastianini and Álex Márquez. After Binder had given up the pressure on Bagnaia at the end, he still had to worry about his position against a charging Martín in the run-up to the final lap.

In the end, however, there were no more dizzying developments and Bagnaia rode away comfortably to his first grand prix win of the season and the 19th overall in his MotoGP career. Binder finished second, with Martín rounding out the podium, followed by Ducati debutant Marc Márquez and Bagnaia’s teammate Bastianini.

🏁 BAGNAIA BITES BACK! 🏁@PeccoBagnaia WINS IN DOMINANT FASHION! 🥇🔥#QatarGP 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/KdEXd0umW6

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 10, 2024

Qatar Grand Prix MotoGP results (Race 1/21, 21 laps = 112.980 km; top 10 only):

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) 39:34.869
2. Brad Binder (RJA, KTM) +1.329
3. Jorge Martín (Span., Ducati) +1.933
4. Marc Márquez (Span., Ducati) +3.429
5. Enea Bastianini (Ita., Ducati) +5.153
6. Álex Márquez (Span., Ducati) +6.791
7. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ita., Ducati) +9.161
8. Aleix Espargaró (Span., Aprilia) +11.242
9. Pedro Acosta (Span., KTM) +11.595
10. Maverick Viñales (Span., Aprilia) +13.197

2024 MotoGP rider standings (after 1/21; top 10 only):

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) 31 points
2. Brad Binder (RJA, KTM) 29
3. Jorge Martín (Spa., Ducati) 28
4. Marc Márquez (Span., Ducati) 18
5. Enea Bastianini (Ita., Ducati) 15
6. Aleix Espargaró (Span., Aprilia) 15
7. Álex Márquez (Span., Ducati) 13
8. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ita., Ducati) 9
9. Pedro Acosta (Span., KTM) 9
10. Maverick Viñales (Span., Aprilia) 7

Source: MotoGP, X