Viñales humbles all rivals to win the MotoGP sprint again, Acosta just off the podium, Bagnaia disappointing with eighth place

Maverick Viñales continued his solid Saturday form as he dominated his second consecutive sprint, this time the one for the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. Circuit champion Marc Márquez finished second after another battle with 19-year-old star Pedro Acosta. Championship leader Jorge Martín was able to squeeze between the pair during the race. Reigning champion Pecco Bagnaia finished eighth after a false start.

After a three-week break forced by the cancellation of the VC of Argentina, the MotoGP contingent stopped for a single race on the American continent. The Texas Circuit of the Americas presents an extreme test of endurance and maximum concentration for the 22 fastest riders on two wheels.

Once again, the entire motorcycle community was excited to see how a prodigy named Pedro Acosta would fare on a Gas Gasga-clad KTM. After his debut podium from Portugal, the 19-year-old Spaniard continued to put in, some might say, unsurprising performances. Although Maverick Viñales triumphed in Saturday morning’s qualifying in a lap record time, he was the only rider to mature against Acosta. Marc Márquez, a seven-time winner at the American track, still managed to make the front row.

Unusually good start for Viñales, unusually bad for Bagnaia

Although Viñales started the sprint from the first position, he was not expected to hold it after exiting the first corner. The factory Aprilia driver led from Márquez, while Acosta was third behind his compatriot. The exact opposite was experienced by reigning world champion Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia, whose machine lifted after a puncture and his front wheel hit the tarmac hard. This unusual mistake caused the 27-year-old Italian to drop from fourth on the grid to outside the top 10.

The first lap saw Fabio Di Giannantonio, arguably the biggest loser of the sprint races so far, take the fall. His rivals behind him were shrouded in grey smoke midway through the circuit by an alarming technical problem on his VR46 motorcycle. Takaaki Nakagami and Augusto Fernandez also had to put on the “retired” tag after their crashes on the first lap.

At the front, Viñales continued to stay ahead of Márquez and Acosta, who ominously sucked on the 31-year-old eight-time champion’s rear wheel on lap two. The leading trio were able to build a very quick lead on the other riders led by Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martín. The championship leader tackled his rival for the factory Ducati seat alongside Bagnai on the next circuit and set off to chase down third-placed Acosta.

The combination of Viñales and Aprilia is clearly working to perfection at COTA. Indeed, the sprint leader was able to carve out a comfortable cushion of more than a second between himself and Márquez. Martín, meanwhile, spared no effort with the pace and hooked up briskly behind the gasgas of teenager Acosta. Suddenly, a group was formed fighting for second place.

A nice intergenerational battle, Bagnaia scores the points

A one-second margin for Viñales turned into two after a mistake by Márquez in the esses at the start of the circuit. Acosta sensed two extra points to the championship and sent his KTM under Márquez’s Ducati on lap six. However, the attempt was not met with a successful finish. For once, the seasoned crafter wasn’t going to be schooled by the newcomer, which Martín took advantage of with glee to snatch third place from Acosta.

Behind the trio, Espargaró circled alone, with the final laps of the sprint belonging to a multiple group vying for sixth position. Bastianini competed with Jack Miller at its top, while Franco Morbidelli and Raúl Fernández were within touching distance of good points. At the same moment, Johann Zarco added fuel to the Japanese fire of woe with a crash. Honda lost three of four machines in the 10-lap sprint after the retirement, while Luca Marini circled hopelessly last.

The final moments of the sprint brought a comfortable top-five finish. The biggest change in the standings came from Bagnaia, who took advantage of the solid pace in the final moments of the race to work his way up to at least eighth place scored by two points. V

Viñales won for the second consecutive time this Saturday ahead of Márquez and Martín, whose further podiums extended his lead at the top of the championship. Acosta finished fourth ahead of Espargaro. Also of note was a surprisingly poor performance by championship runner-up Brad Binder, who finished the sprint in 12th place after an equally poor qualifying session.

Sprint results for the US MotoGP Grand Prix (race 3/21, 10 laps = 55.130 km; top 10 only):

1. Maverick Viñales (Sp., Aprilia) 20:27.825
2. Marc Márquez (Span., Ducati) +2.294
3. Jorge Martín (Span., Ducati) +4.399
4. Pedro Acosta (Span., KTM) +6.480
5. Aleix Espargaró (Span., Aprilia) +6.657
6. Enea Bastianini (Ita., Ducati) +8.621
7. Jack Miller (Aus., KTM) +9.237
8. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) +9.349
9. Raúl Fernández (Span., Aprilia) +9.637
10. Franco Morbidelli (Ita., Ducati) +9.894

2024 MotoGP rider standings (top 10 only):

1. Jorge Martín (Spa., Ducati) 67 points
2. Enea Bastianini (Ita., Ducati) 43
3. Brad Binder (RJA, KTM) 42
4. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) 39
5. Marc Márquez (Span., Ducati) 36
6. Pedro Acosta (Span., KTM) 34
7. Maverick Viñales (Span., Aprilia) 31
8. Aleix Espargaró (Span., Aprilia) 30
9. Jack Miller (Aus., KTM) 19
10. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ita., Ducati) 15

Sources: MotoGP, Twitter