The weekend of MotoGP Austria 2024 It began with qualifying sessions in which all eyes were on the Austrian brand, from which great things were expected.
MotoGP Austria 2024: Friday
The start of the free practice sessions would surprise us with an FP1 where Franco Morbidelli set the second best time and Pol Espargaró the third. The Italian-Brazilian started very strongly, perhaps pushed by the confidence of his new contract for next year with the VR46 team. As for Pol, he made one thing very clear: keep an eye on next year’s KTM… It won’t be the prettiest, but it runs like a real demon. Those new improvements in the exhaust, the ‘aero’ added to the swingarm and the new engine specification that the 44 has been testing have given good results and… some eye soreness too.
Marc Márquez finished this session in eighteenth place due to two of his fastest laps being cancelled for going beyond track limits. Pedro Acosta fared somewhat better, with a sixth place, although he had two crashes during practice, as did Aleix. The Aprilia rider would finish last in the first session.
DOUBLE fall of Pedro Acosta 🥵
He fell to the ground in turn 2 and after getting up he fell again very hard in turn 4.
The second blow caused a red flag in the session #AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/25XeqcKfty
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) August 16, 2024
Acosta’s second crash was hair-raising. The GASGAS rider completely lost the front grip of his bike when he reached 300 km/h at the braking point for turn 4. As soon as he touched the brake, the bike and rider were dragged along the asphalt for a good number of metres. Luckily, the Murcia-born rider emerged unharmed from the scare.
What happened was a clear example of how dangerous it is to get on a bike that has just had an accident and not check it in the pits before putting it back on the road. Pedro had previously crashed at the chicane trying to follow Pol Espargaro, but decided to continue thinking that everything was fine. An assumption that could have cost him or others dearly.
In this first free practice session, Jorge Martín was the one who stopped the clock with the lowest time. The Madrid native began to gain ground from the start, while Pecco finished fourth and Bastianini twelfth.
In the afternoon, Marc Márquez overcame the challenge, going straight to Q2 after finishing fourth. Bagnaia finished first, setting a new track record, followed by Franco Morbidelli, second again, and Jorge Martín.
For Acosta, things went from bad to worse, with another crash at Turn 9, taking his total to 15 crashes for the season. The Murcia-born rider would end up missing out on Q2 thanks to Binder managing to qualify fifth on his last attempt at a fast lap.
Another of the weekend’s protagonists, Pol, had the bad luck of having his KTM prototype break down and was also unable to fight for direct passage to Q2.
MotoGP Austria 2024: Saturday
In FP2, the main news was that Jorge Martín had a cut on his left thumb due to a minor accident he had in the shower the day before. Something that could be noticed on track, as the number 89 posted the fourth fastest time, behind Pecco (1st), Pol (2nd) and Marc Márquez (3rd).
Q1 was a close battle between the KTM and GASGAS riders. All but Brad Binder, who was the only one to make it through, were fighting for the top two spots that give them passage to Q2.
In the end, those coveted places went to Pol Espargaró, who was flying on his experimental bike, and to Jack Miller. The Australian snatched the pass from Pedro Acosta with a real lap. This is the second time that one of the KTM veterans has acted as a firewall for the shark from Mazarrón in these qualifying sessions.
In the fight for pole in Q2 we could see how Jorge Martín and Pecco Bagnaia are a couple of steps ahead of everyone else. What great times!
Jorge Martín broke the track’s historic record with a time of 1:27.748, proving that there’s nothing like a good shot of adrenaline and explosiveness to make you forget which hand had the severed finger. The 89 was fantastic.
Pecco was very close, one tenth behind the Madrid native. Marc Márquez qualified another half second behind with his GP23, an achievement he achieved alone and without taking anyone’s wheel.
To conclude, we have to talk about Pol Espargaró’s bad luck again. The test rider crashed on his fastest lap when he was on track for the first row. A misfortune that did not cause him any physical damage, but that affected him greatly morally, as we saw him hit the ground with his helmet in pure rage before getting up.
MotoGP Austria 2024: Sprint Race
The MotoGP Austrian GP sprint race left a thrilling 250-point tie between Bagnaia and Martin in the overall standings. The race started with Martin leading, but a run-off at the Turn 2 chicane and a subsequent long lap penalty for not losing at least a second after the crash relegated him to third place. This allowed Bagnaia to take the lead and eventually win the race, having escaped by almost 5 seconds from the Prima Pramac rider. Pecco did not miss the opportunity he so desired to show his speed also in the short races.
MARC MÁRQUEZ ON THE GROUND! He fell when he was riding second! 😰
He was 1.5 seconds behind Pecco Bagnaia#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/5prS9Vommy
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) August 17, 2024
Marquez, who was running in second place, crashed five laps from the end, leaving second place to Martin and benefiting Aleix Espargaro, who secured third place on the podium. Aleix maintained his position from the start and took advantage of his rivals’ mistakes, crossing the finish line 7.5 seconds behind the winner. Bastianini, on the other hand, managed to recover to fourth position.
The sprint finish promised an even more exciting main race.
MotoGP Austria 2024: Sunday
In the final race of the weekend, Pecco made an excellent start, but not enough to overtake Martin, who maintained the lead in the first corners. Shortly afterwards, Bagnaia took advantage of his opportunity at the start of the second lap and overtook Martin in turn 1, taking the lead. Martin tried to regain the position, but ended up going wide, allowing Bagnaia to stay in front.
Towards the middle of the race, Martin began to lose speed, allowing Bagnaia to extend his lead to over a second. Bagnaia maintained his pace and crossed the line first, taking his seventh win of the season and regaining the championship lead by 5 points over the Prima Pramac rider.
Another perspective on Marc Márquez’s problems at the start
Failed to activate output device properly and lost more than 10 positions 🥵#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/RlOLzHqQle
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) August 18, 2024
Martín finished second, 2.2 seconds behind Pecco. Enea Bastianini, after a fast start, reached third position, although his pace dropped in the final laps. Marc Márquez, who had problems at the start when he was unable to hook the front holeshot, added another to the list of epic comebacks this season. The 93 reached fourth position coming from thirteenth, thanks to a constant pace and keeping a cool head. Without a doubt, a good way to get rid of the bad taste in his mouth after his fall on Saturday in the sprint.
PECCO BAGNAIA WINS!
The Italian leaves Austria as the leader of the World Championship… But only by five points! Jorge Martín and Enea Bastianini complete Ducati’s triple 🔴#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/f1XsYkcZre
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) August 18, 2024
Brad Binder, meanwhile, finished in fifth position after a remarkable comeback from 12th position, although he was unable to compete with the pace of the Ducatis.
A result that surely felt like too little to the KTM team after their weekend at home, from which they expected much more than what they got. There is no doubt that the Austrians will already be planning their strategy to make amends at the next GoPro Grand Prix in Aragon on August 30th.
