FULL RACE JAPAN 2024 MOTOGP JAPANESE GP
motogp japan 2024 japanese gp full race
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00:00The countdown to Bagnaglia vs. MartÃn, Chapter 2, is well and truly underway as two of the fastest riders in the world,
00:10two of MotoGP's current superstars, get set to resume battle in the 2024 MotoGP World Championship.
00:18The race for glory 12 months ago between the Italian and the Spaniard,
00:23it went all the way down to a nail-biting final round thriller in Valencia in November.
00:29Are we set on the same course in 2024 as just 15 points separate series leader MartÃn,
00:37who has work to do from the fourth row of the grid here in this Japanese Grand Prix?
00:43Nine places further ahead of him on the grid is his closest championship rival,
00:47maybe his only championship rival now after an Airbagini and Marc Marquez
00:52crashed out at the V&F Technical Wise in the Manolika Grand Prix last time.
00:58This does look like it is.
01:01But a rematch, Pekka Bagnaglia said, more of a continuation of their tussle for supremacy in the Premier Class,
01:09which rolls on into the Motegi Mountains for Chapter 16 of 20 this season.
01:15There is your championship picture, 15 points splitting Jorge MartÃn, race winner here in Japan one year ago.
01:22Pekka Bagnaglia has never taken the chequered flag first in a MotoGP race here.
01:27All eyes fixed firmly on the skies as well.
01:31No light rain at the moment, as you can see on that graphic,
01:35but there'll be a few nervy faces down in pit lane with the heavy cloud cover still threatening some rain.
01:41You can never be too sure of what the elements are going to throw at you in this part of Japan.
01:46It can be pretty unpredictable, pretty temperamental, the weather.
01:49What's going through the mind of Taka Nakagami, the 32-year-old Japanese rider,
01:54in his 258th Grand Prix start, his last home Grand Prix as a full-time rider?
02:01Thank you, Taka, has been the message from the Japanese fans.
02:04There's been a special message board erected here in Motegi
02:08where fans have been able to leave their special farewell messages to Taka Nakagami.
02:12I think that was full on Friday.
02:1580,000 fans, then, is the weekend crowd here as Pedro Acosta.
02:21Can he right the wrongs of the sprint here in Motegi yesterday?
02:24The third youngest pole starter in Premier Class history.
02:28In about 40 minutes' time, will he be the second youngest Premier Class victor?
02:34He comes to the line, KTM's first pole position in four years.
02:39KTM winless in two years, winless in the dry in over three years.
02:44Can Acosta end that long, barren run?
02:48Everybody then gets set, gets themselves ready for this 24-lap battle here.
02:55A pivotal Grand Prix of Motegi coming up next in MotoGP.
03:00It's lights out, and we are racing in MotoGP here in Japan.
03:04It's a great start from that second place on the grid for Pekka Banyai.
03:07He's going to get the whole shot ahead of Pedro Acosta.
03:09Once again, Acosta wipes the nose of the world champion
03:12as they grab the front brakes into the first corner.
03:14Vinales gets a tap there, I think, from Frankie Mormodelli or Jorge MartÃn.
03:18Brad Bender's got away well from fifth place on the grid.
03:20He's third, but once again, it's Banyai who gets the lead early on here,
03:24just as he did in the sprint yesterday.
03:25And just as he did in the sprint yesterday, Marc Marquez has made big progress.
03:28That's Frankie Mormodelli being sent off the racetrack by the 93 at Turn 3.
03:32He's already up into the top six. MartÃn hasn't made the same progress.
03:35He's come to the first sector.
03:36In fact, he is now up into sixth place, thanks to his teammates.
03:38Going with Marquez, then, is the 89 of Jorge MartÃn.
03:42Pedro Acosta did not wait too long to strike and attack Banyai yesterday in that sprint.
03:48His move came early on at Turn 5.
03:51Through Turn 7, he goes for the first time.
03:53This is where he dumped it out of the lead late on in the sprint yesterday.
03:57Brad Bender has gone away well. He's in third right behind Acosta.
04:00It was pretty early in the sprint yesterday that Acosta made his move.
04:03Bender nearly ran into the back of him there, and that's going to allow Bastianini through.
04:06Almost let Marquez through as well.
04:08Bender gets squeezed off onto the green paintwork coming out of Turn 9.
04:12MartÃn launching a road on the inside of Marc Marquez into Turn 10.
04:16He's got the inside line of Bastianini as well there.
04:19MartÃn in a Marquez beast sandwich now as they power out of Turn 10.
04:23This has been an awesome first lap for the world championship leader, 11th to 4th.
04:27And Bender, and that's Miller actually now coming through on Marc Marquez.
04:30Jack Miller came from 14th on the grid, and he's now up into the top six.
04:34What a start for the Aussie.
04:36Yeah, Marquez and Bastianini, they're getting a right blood in those, aren't they?
04:39At the back end of this opening lap, we're on board now with Bastianini, who was inside the top three.
04:44Somebody's gone down in the final sector on this opening lap.
04:47It's the first lap that's led by the world champion at Banyai.
04:50Almost three times clear of Acosta.
04:52Alex Marquez and Mir have gone down.
04:54So another double DNF for Juan Mir as Bastianini has a moment there on the way through Turn 1.
04:58So Mir and Marquez down on lap 1.
05:00So yesterday we saw Acosta attack Banyai early at Turn 5.
05:05I don't think he's going to be close enough this time around,
05:08although just slightly wide there.
05:10Wasn't he going through three and four with Banyai?
05:12It is another frustrating Sunday experience for poor old Juan Mir,
05:17who's just having a terrible time, isn't he, right now at HRC.
05:21Down and out of the Grand Prix, just as he was in the sprint yesterday.
05:24As you said a moment ago, Pedro Acosta did not wait long yesterday.
05:27I don't think he's going to want to try and sit behind Banyai too long in this one either.
05:31Of course, what is going to be key through this race is front tyre temperature and front tyre pressure.
05:36It is a kind of circuit that your front tyre takes an absolute pounding with all the heavy braking zones.
05:41So I don't think Pedro Acosta will want to just sit on the rear tyre and peck on Banyai for too long, if he can help it.
05:45For Mir, Marquez's incident is currently under investigation.
05:49We haven't yet seen a replay of what happened there between the two Spaniards,
05:53two former Moto3 world champions.
05:55Of course, the bumping and barging that involved Fascini and Marquez on that first lap,
05:59they were second slower.
06:01Oh, it's Marquez into the back of Juan Mir there.
06:03Well, Juan Mir's wearing that Corsini Ducati on his Repsol Honda.
06:06He's not actually crashed there until the very end,
06:08but he had to stop because he had a Corsini Ducati wearing his rear tyre down.
06:11Never rains, it pours, doesn't it?
06:12Poor old Juan Mir, nothing that he could do about that.
06:16From the external camera as Jack Miller,
06:182022 Japanese Grand Prix winner has had a real strong start
06:23to the 2024 edition of the Japanese Grand Prix.
06:26He's got Marquez and Fascinini behind him.
06:29Banyai, 1.44.819 is just the fastest lap of the race so far.
06:35Not too far behind him was Acosta.
06:37Yeah, matching each other for lap times.
06:38Binder there a little bit wide, although you can take that line through turn 1
06:42to give you the best look at turn 2.
06:44But if Jorge Martinez has any hopes of winning this race,
06:46he can't sit behind that KTM for long.
06:48Is he going to have a little bit of a look here once again
06:50as Brad Binder prefers that wider line
06:52to give himself the best slingshot out of four.
06:54Already at this stage, Binder is just under a second off the race lead
06:58and expect that to grow with the pace that Banyai and Acosta are setting.
07:01Yeah, so Banyai has been at the front of this Grand Prix
07:04longer than when he was at the front of the sprint yesterday.
07:07So far, not even a sniff he's given Acosta in second place.
07:11Marquez working his way back through on the fast-starting Aussie Miller.
07:14That's lovely on that change of direction.
07:16Set it up going through the fourth gear, turn 6.
07:19Hug the inside line going through turn 7.
07:21Marquez then back into P5.
07:23We've lost Lorenzo Savadori already,
07:25the replacement for the track house team,
07:27in for the injured Miguel Oliveira.
07:28He pitted at the end of that second lap.
07:30Savadori would appear also out of the race.
07:32Sideways into the first gear, turn 10 goes Acosta.
07:36And now Bastianini with a bit of a desperate lunge on the inside of Miller.
07:40What a hardest rider to overtake on the hardest bike to overtake in MotoGP
07:44these days is Miller and that KTM.
07:46That's why Bastianini is so eager to get on with this.
07:49Jack Miller just braking as late as he dares.
07:51Bastianini wasn't exactly shy on the brakes there,
07:53but no way through on the KTM.
07:56And with Marquez now up the road and clearing off,
07:58having got past the Australian,
08:00Bastianini knows he's got to do the same quickly
08:02if his hopes of a podium finish aren't going to slip away early on.
08:04Who's that down in the last corner?
08:06Oh, Acosta! I thought I heard in my headset some scraping noise.
08:09And Pedro Acosta then, second time in 24 hours.
08:14The shark stumbles, the shark spills out of contention.
08:18Acosta then, here he goes, through the victory corner.
08:22And there'll be no victory, no maiden success for Pedro Acosta
08:26as he tucks the front on the inside of turn 14.
08:30Once again, it's head in hands for Acosta,
08:32head in hands for Red Bull Gas-Gas Tech 3.
08:35And that, of course, now has pushed Jorge MartÃn up into second place.
08:39He started this Grand Prix in the middle of that fourth row in 11th.
08:43It's taken him three and a half laps to get himself up into P2.
08:47Well, boy, has that taken the wind out of the sails
08:49from a KTM point of view.
08:51Acosta out of the race, and in that same moment,
08:53you saw Brad Binder going wide at the very same corner,
08:56and MartÃn took advantage, threw into second place.
08:59Bagnaia's lead is 1.4 seconds from Jorge MartÃn,
09:03Binder and Marc Marquez.
09:04And you can see how much he was delayed there.
09:06He's trying to get past Jack Miller.
09:08He's lost the thick end of a second, up to Marquez ahead of him.
09:11Poor Acosta. He's had the speed for a double victory.
09:15He's had the speed, the pace, the potential for the treble.
09:18He completed a third of it with a sensational pole yesterday morning,
09:22but he has crashed out of the lead in the sprint
09:24and now crashed out of second place in the main Grand Prix.
09:28Heartache for the Spaniard.
09:31So it's a bit of a bittersweet moment, I guess, for Franco Bagnaia.
09:34His lead is now a much more comfortable one,
09:36but his chief championship rival
09:38is now the rider immediately behind him in the race,
09:40and this might well have been the best-case scenario
09:42that Jorge MartÃn could have envisaged coming into this Grand Prix,
09:45particularly at such an early stage of it,
09:47to be only five points, potentially, behind Bagnaia
09:50at the end of this race, or losing five points,
09:52that would keep him ten ahead.
09:54Bagnaia's lead is now 1.5 seconds,
09:56a 1.44.519.
09:59He's now 1.5 ahead of MartÃn,
10:01who did a personal best himself last time around.
10:03And that was Acosta just sweeping through the picture
10:05at Turn 3.
10:06He has rejoined this Grand Prix.
10:08You never know what happened.
10:09We could get some rain here in Motegi.
10:11You don't see too many front-end washouts
10:14going through that final corner.
10:16Did he just click the kerb on the inside, maybe?
10:18It's coming from a long way back.
10:20It's Marc Marquez with the classic block pass there
10:22of Brad Binder down into Turn 5.
10:25Bagnaia, without any immediate pressure behind him now,
10:28with Acosta down and out, has found a 1.44.519.
10:32That's the fastest lap of this Grand Prix so far,
10:34and that has seen him establish a lead now
10:36that has stretched out to over a second and a half.
10:39Yeah, only Bagnaia, MartÃn, and Marc Marquez
10:41are laughing in the 1.44.
10:42Binder did a 45.3 last time around,
10:46losing thick end of nine-tenths of a second
10:48to the race leader up ahead of him.
10:50And you can see already the distance,
10:52that blue and red Ducati of Marc Marquez
10:55is pulling further and further away from us
10:57and Binder looks a little bit wide there
10:59through Turn Number 10.
11:00Here's a little look then at what happened at the start.
11:02Once again, Marc Marquez just making
11:04these first couple of corners look like
11:06he's riding the video game on easy mode.
11:08Yeah, and Jorge MartÃn following through as well.
11:11This is Maverick Viñales,
11:12who started on the front row of the grid
11:14and just went backwards once again.
11:16The aero slicing it there into the back of Marc Marquez.
11:20This is looking back to Viñales,
11:22who himself had to pick up as Frankie Muller
11:24then he got on the inside of the factory of Pirelli right.
11:26It was almost a domino effect, wasn't it there?
11:28MartÃn then now is the fastest rider on circuit.
11:311.44.461.
11:33Four-tenths quicker on that lap five
11:36that he was compared to Bagnaia.
11:39MartÃn, 1.1 seconds behind your race leader.
11:42In turn, 1.2 clear of Marquez,
11:45who looks like he's got Binder now under control.
11:48Number 93.
11:49Personal best for Bastianini too.
11:51Now that he's clear of Jack Miller,
11:53Bastianini straight down into the 1.44s.
11:55He was actually quicker than Bagnaia last time around,
11:58but Bastianini's got to claw himself up onto the tail of Brand Binder
12:01and then pass the leading KTM
12:03and hopefully from his point of view,
12:04pass him a lot quicker than he passed the previous one.
12:06Well, Jorge MartÃn has had 18 Grand Prix victories,
12:0918 by the GP.
12:10If he was to win this Japanese Grand Prix from the fourth row,
12:13make no mistake,
12:14this would be the biggest and best win of his Grand Prix career.
12:17He starts the chase.
12:18He starts then to hunt down Bagnaia.
12:21It has stabilised.
12:22Having taken four tenths out of the Italian on the previous lap.
12:25It's just holding around that 1.1 second buffer.
12:29Although Marc Marquez is struggling to go with MartÃn.
12:31Already halfway around this lap seven,
12:34MartÃn has found half a second on Marc Marquez in third place.
12:40I do wonder whether Marquez made some sort of mistake
12:42in that second sector
12:43because he's reversed back towards Brand Binder.
12:45You can see them now at the top of the screen.
12:47Binder took three tenths himself out of Marc Marquez.
12:50I think it was more an issue for Marquez than MartÃn upping his pace
12:53because, as you say, the gap is really changing too much
12:56between himself and Bagnaia.
12:58We've seen Bagnaia in this position so many times
13:00over the course of 2024.
13:02Seven Sunday wins already.
13:04Generally, if a rider threatens to close the gap on him,
13:07he tends to step on the pace again.
13:09The gap is now under one second
13:11and that will be brought to the attention of the reigning world champion.
13:13It's Bagnaia just slacking off ever so slightly.
13:17Just holding a steady but fast pace,
13:20wary of the tyre drop that will come later on in this Grand Prix.
13:24Just out of the shot then goes the world championship leader.
13:28Just ahead of him on the road there is Pedro Acosta, isn't it?
13:30On the 31 bike who is sadly, for us, neutrals,
13:34out of contention in this battle.
13:36Further down then we've got Miller at six.
13:38He's having a good fight at the moment with Morbidelli.
13:40Top tenths of that second, Alessio Spargo.
13:42Fabio de Janantonio has just picked off Vinales
13:45for that tenth place.
13:46Another disastrous start and first lap for Vinales
13:50who plummets from the front row out of the top tenth once again.
13:53Quattroaro, 12th, leading the Japanese charge.
13:56Yellow flags out in the second sector.
13:58Can't see anybody's now.
13:59It's Augusto Fernandes who's taken a tumble.
14:01So, tech three, Gas-Gas's day gets even worse.
14:06They've still got Acosta running in this Grand Prix
14:08but he's already crashed out of second at the final corner.
14:10And now Augusto Fernandes joins him in the gravel.
14:13So, Brad Binder, the leading KTM in this race
14:16as he again favours that line into turn ten.
14:19It's all about squaring the corner off
14:21and just firing it out on the exit
14:23and trying to leave that Ducati in your dust.
14:25Bastianini not close enough at this stage
14:28and Brad Binder currently three seconds off the race lead
14:31doing 145s.
14:33The top two are doing 44s
14:35and Bastianini can see a potential podium disappearing away from him.
14:38Yeah, he got in hot there as well, Bastianini.
14:40Looking back from Binder,
14:41you can see he was snaking that factory Ducati.
14:44Left to right as he grabbed a handful of brake
14:46down into the 90-degree corner.
14:48Decelerating well over 200 kilometres an hour
14:50from sixth down to second gear.
14:52Just lost a bit of momentum on the exit.
14:55Compromised exit speed.
14:56There is a Binder there now.
14:58Haal on the power out of turn two.
15:00One of the several vicious acceleration points here in Motegi.
15:04The advantage between Bagnolo,
15:06the gap between Bagnolo and Martine to start lap eight of 24.
15:09Third race distance about to be completed
15:11was just under nine tenths.
15:13The top two have now lapped Pedro Acosta, who wisely there.
15:15Having a good look behind just to stay well out of the way
15:17of this battle at the front.
15:19He doesn't want to get involved when he's essentially out of contention.
15:21He just slots in behind Bastianini
15:23and I guess he might now be having a look
15:25at what he could have won this afternoon.
15:26He's staring at the leading group, which he was in
15:28before he crashed earlier on.
15:29I was going to say a double DNF, but he is circulating.
15:31But I think yesterday nobody could have seen
15:36Pedro Acosta crashing out of the lead in the sprint
15:39and then dumping out of second place in the Grand Prix.
15:42Tough lessons to be learned for the rookie.
15:45Life sometimes can be tough at the top.
15:47And he has found out Acosta to his cost so far this weekend.
15:51Yesterday, Lewis, he said crashing out of the lead in the sprint
15:54really hurt, it really stung him.
15:56Well, today won't be much better as well.
15:58No, I mean, we'll only know, I guess, later on when we hear from him
16:00just how hard he was pushing to try and match the early pace
16:03of Petko Van Jaar.
16:04Was he ultimately just pushing a little bit too hard
16:06to stay with the world champion?
16:08Only Pedro Acosta can truly answer that.
16:11It's immaterial now because he's out essentially
16:13of contention in this race.
16:14He's running around in 19th.
16:15He might still score points if some drop out ahead of him,
16:17but that will be no consolation.
16:18Bastianini really does get that Factory Ducati
16:21fishtailing around on the brakes into that turn level.
16:25It's the most ferocious braking zone
16:27around this Bottega circuit.
16:29It's coming the move on Binder, isn't it,
16:31to try and get himself up into fourth place.
16:34The problem is, once again, it's Bastianini
16:37paying and suffering, not for an average start,
16:41but just not on the money like the competition around him.
16:44He's let Magnolia and Martin get away by nearly five seconds now.
16:48Yeah, I think the horse has bolted in terms of
16:50certainly winning this Grand Prix for an air Bastianini,
16:52but the podium slipping away, as I mentioned earlier on,
16:54because Marc Marquez now in clear air
16:56is able to do 45 zeros.
16:58Bastianini up behind Binder is doing 45 sixes.
17:01He's trying to distract the South African now,
17:03trying to force some sort of escape,
17:05because at the moment he's getting no change out of the KTM.
17:08Yeah, I mean, Binder and that KTM,
17:10we know how good the RC16 stops here
17:13around the hard braking zones in Motegi.
17:16Binder and Miller are a couple of the real late breakers
17:19in MotoGP, so this is a real problem here.
17:22This is costing Bastianini the podium.
17:24Trying to find a way through now on the inside
17:27at Turn 9. He's going to run in hot, though.
17:29This is desperate, isn't it, from the Beast.
17:31Look at the movement he has on the rear tyre
17:33as well as he just tried to squeeze the power on.
17:35Tried to get the drive to make sure
17:37that he didn't lose that place to Binder,
17:39but there was nothing he could do.
17:41He's going to be getting a bit frustrated here now,
17:43isn't he, the Italian?
17:44The Beast might boil over very, very soon if this continues.
17:46This is the battle for the lead,
17:47and Henri Martin is just chipping away at this.
17:50It was nine tenths of a second when the lap began.
17:52It's now down to seven and a half tenths of a second.
17:55Bagnani won't be panicking just yet at this stage.
17:57You get the feeling that Bagnani is just keeping that lead
18:00at a sort of margin that he's happy with
18:02and making sure that he has some rear tyre left in this race.
18:05Every rider in the field is on the medium rear tyre.
18:07Our information, with the exception of Takanaka Gami,
18:10race directionists waving the white flag.
18:12Riders are now allowed to stop bikes.
18:14Has someone told them it's raining out there?
18:16Wow. Well, this could be a game-changer.
18:19Looking at that Computex window to see if any of the fans
18:21are going for the ponchos or the rain jackets.
18:24It is getting a little bit grey overhead.
18:26Simon, down to you in pit lane.
18:28No, just letting you know, there's no raindrops in pit lane.
18:32Thanks very much, Simon.
18:33We're going to keep a very close eye skywards.
18:35Bastiglini then finally has found a way through.
18:38Oh, Brad Binder is taking him, what, nine laps
18:41to find his way through on the number 33.
18:43In pit lane now it is, we can hear.
18:45There are bikes, spare bikes are being warmed up.
18:48White flag then is waving.
18:50At the moment, though, you can just see there
18:52as Bagnei goes through Turn 7.
18:54It just looks like it's getting a little bit darker
18:57over at the back end of the circuit.
18:59Six tenths of a second was the gap, sorry,
19:01between Bagnei and Martin as we started this lap 10.
19:04Yeah, they wouldn't have waved that white flag
19:06unless they had information from a marshal out there
19:08that it is raining.
19:09That's only the point where that rule comes into play.
19:12You don't have the white flag.
19:13You're not allowed to change bikes in a full dry race
19:15only when rain starts to fall.
19:17At the moment, it's not slacking off the lap times at all
19:20as Bagnei and Martin continue to match each other for pace.
19:22And surely, if you're Jorge Martin,
19:24you just do whatever Pekka Bagnei does
19:26if this rain gets heavier.
19:27That's exactly what he's going to do.
19:28He made that massive mistake in Misano.
19:30Didn't he, where he scrapped into pit lane?
19:33As Marc Marquez said, in Misano, when it's raining,
19:36you follow the locals.
19:37And this time around, trust us.
19:39Mark our words.
19:41If Pekka Bagnei comes into pit lane,
19:43Jorge Martin will follow him straight in.
19:46There is no way on planet Earth
19:48that Martin will do anything different
19:50to what Bagnei will do in this Grand Prix.
19:53Let's hope that it does remain dry.
19:55Out of Turn 2, Bagnei powers the factory Dekatima.
19:59Coming up to the halfway stage here in Japan.
20:02The lead just over 7 tenths of a second.
20:0544.8 from Bagnei.
20:0744.9 on the previous lap.
20:10Martin has no concerns,
20:12no worries about the 93
20:14threatening that second place at the moment.
20:16Marquez a long, long way back.
20:182.6 seconds behind the Martin.
20:20At the moment, Marquez struggling to get himself
20:22back in those 44s.
20:24Bastianini through on Binder then for 4th place
20:26and straight down into a low 1.45.
20:28Binder did a 46.1 last time around
20:30as he now slips back into what you imagine,
20:32subject to any flag-to-flag shenanigans later on.
20:35Might be quite a lonely pit place for the South African.
20:38But that's an important point, isn't it?
20:39That the lap times are still holding very steady
20:41in the 144s, certainly for Bagnei and Martin.
20:44So if there are any spots hitting their visor at the moment,
20:46it's not slowing them down.
20:48Up towards the top end of the circuit,
20:50the hairpin curve.
20:51Turn 10, all the way down to bottom gear.
20:53First gear, 70 kilometers an hour.
20:55And then you start winding up through those
20:57seamless shift gearboxes.
20:58Up five gears, top gear, full throttle.
21:01315 kilometers down the appropriately named
21:04downhill straight, because it really does drop
21:06off the edge of a cliff.
21:07Into turn 11 we go.
21:09Advantage Bagnei.
21:11Just keeping Martin at arm's length, isn't he?
21:14That gap just hovering around 7 tenths
21:16to 8 tenths of a second.
21:18Through the victory corner we go,
21:20where Pedro Acosta saw his hopes disappear
21:23when he crashed out early on at a second place.
21:25None of the KTMs, or neither of the two KTMs
21:27left in this race, have much pace at the moment.
21:29Bindo having lost that place to Bastianini
21:31back in the 46s.
21:32Let's see what his lap time is just around.
21:33Yeah, 46 flat for Brad Bindo.
21:35He's a second a lap off the pace.
21:37Jack Miller was also doing 46s last time around.
21:39That's why he's now behind Morvidelli and Fetzecki.
21:42So, neither of the two batch of KTMs in this race
21:44at the moment have any pace at all.
21:46What about a battle of the Frenchmen
21:47and a battle for top honours in terms of
21:50the Japanese manufacturers here
21:52in the Grand Prix of Japan.
21:53At the moment, Fabio Quattroraro in 12th place.
21:57Already 16 seconds behind the race leader.
22:01We're only on lap 12, so the Yamaha and the Hondas
22:04over a second a lap off the pace here.
22:07Takanaka Gomi at the moment,
22:08well, his farewell to a four-time Grand Prix career
22:11in Japan will finish with a point score in place.
22:14At the moment, he sits in 15th.
22:16He's closing in, though, on Raul Fernandez
22:18on the track as racing a brilliant.
22:20Now, the yellow flag's right.
22:21It's six to two.
22:22Maverick Vinales has gone down.
22:24I had a quick look at the left-hand corner of our screens
22:26to see if Bagnot and MartÃnez are still upright
22:28and on two wheels.
22:29But Maverick Vinales has had a turn five.
22:32On the brakes, Vinales goes.
22:36And just spinning out in front of him
22:38goes the factory.
22:39Brilliant.
22:40That's not what Vinales came for.
22:42Front row on Saturday morning.
22:44Scant reward with one point for ninth
22:46in the sprint yesterday.
22:47And it's now a DNF in the main Grand Prix
22:50on Sunday for Top Gun.
22:51Yeah, we can promise so much.
22:52It's ultimately not amounted to very much at all
22:54beyond that one World Championship point
22:56he secured yesterday.
22:58Bagnot just edging away a bit now,
23:00once again, from Jorge MartÃnez.
23:02We now take over half race distance
23:04in this Grand Prix.
23:05Bagnot is still in the 149s.
23:07A 45.0 for Jorge MartÃnez,
23:09which is hardly slow.
23:10But Bagnot is just keeping his World Championship rival
23:13at arm's length here.
23:15And it would, the gap, come down to ten points.
23:18This will feel like it's been a big week.
23:20Very much going the way of Bagnot,
23:23who is on course here to have taken 14 points
23:26out of MartÃnez in the space of seven days.
23:29You have to say, though, MartÃnez is doing
23:31a phenomenal job here at damage limitation.
23:34Fourth from 11th in the sprint,
23:36and potentially second from 11th in the sprint.
23:39It could get better, of course, for the MartÃnez,
23:41but I think if you'd have said to him
23:43when he was chewing a face full of gravel
23:45at Turn 9 in Q2 yesterday,
23:47fourth row, you'll have a fourth
23:49and potentially a second,
23:51he would have said, thank you very much.
23:53Brad Bender has upped his pace a little bit
23:55after that poor couple of laps where he was in the 46s,
23:57back down to a 45.8,
23:59so he's matching now the pace of Morbidelli
24:01and Bezzecchi, who are behind him on the racetrack.
24:03He's got a three-second buffer over the Italian pair,
24:06so he can keep his pace where it is at the moment.
24:08He should be safe enough in fifth place.
24:09His teammate, though, Jack Miller,
24:10is continuing to fall back down the order.
24:12He lost eighth place to Fabio Di Gianantonio
24:15on the last lap, and he's now under pressure
24:17from Alessio Sbargara.
24:18Yes, a whole clutch of riders doing 146s,
24:21which just shows the brilliant pace
24:23of your race leader, Bagnani,
24:25who's keeping himself in the 44s
24:27and keeping himself comfortably clear
24:29at the front of this Japanese Grand Prix.
24:31It's all a little bit spread out.
24:33At the moment, it hasn't been the classic
24:35we were hoping for.
24:36Of course, not helped after Pedro Acosta's early bath,
24:39but Bastianini,
24:41we've got one second between Bagnani and Martine.
24:432.8 there, back to Marquez.
24:46Big gap, but also back to the beast.
24:48Bagnani, phenomenal.
24:50Still in the 144s.
24:52Another couple of tenths quicker than Martine
24:54on that previous lap.
24:56The battle which might start to boil up
24:58is the battle for third place
24:59between Marc Marquez and Elea Bastianini.
25:01You saw the progression on the bottom of your screens
25:03a moment ago.
25:04That gap is continuing to come down.
25:06Bastianini took another quarter of a second
25:08out of Marc Marquez for the first time
25:10since he cleared Brad Binder.
25:11Bastianini is now within two seconds of the 93.
25:14And as you can see on the left-hand side of your screens,
25:16it looks like it's come down even more.
25:18It's down to 1.2 seconds now
25:19through the first sector.
25:20Something's happened to Marc Marquez in the first sector
25:22because he's lost seven tenths to the beast.
25:25Yeah, he's made a mistake on the brakes
25:27then into the first corner.
25:29We're going to see a replay of it now.
25:31Drops at the right leg,
25:32trying to get that Ducati stable.
25:34But unfortunately he goes off to the car park here
25:38close to the nearby Motegi Hotel.
25:40He wants the apex at the first corner.
25:42And that will certainly keep Bastianini interested.
25:45Back at the front,
25:46still the gap between Bagnani and Martine.
25:49Well, it's just crept up to 1.4 seconds.
25:52Everything that Martine tries to do
25:54is immediately matched or bettered, isn't it,
25:56by Bagnani.
25:57Not much between the two of them at the moment.
26:00Very much in the ascendancy once again is Bagnani.
26:03I think we're going to start to rub our hands together
26:05in the commentary box here
26:06because we might be set for a rematch.
26:07And what we saw yesterday,
26:08probably the most entertaining battle we saw
26:10in the Tissot Spring yesterday,
26:11was between Marquez and Bastianini.
26:13That one was for second place yesterday
26:15behind Pecco Bagnani.
26:16And it's a measure of the job
26:17Jorge Martinez has done today
26:18that he's four seconds up the road from this pair.
26:21Marquez yesterday was the attacker
26:23rather than a defender
26:25against a Bastianini.
26:26Role reversal potentially coming up today.
26:28He's got it all on Hasnik
26:29to hold off the beast
26:30who has ten laps
26:32to try and get himself onto the podium
26:34to try and make amends
26:36for the big blunder
26:37when he was charging towards Acosta and Martine
26:39seven days ago in Mandelika.
26:43Maybe this time around
26:44he'll just try and attack in that third place
26:47with a little bit more margin
26:49after a crash in Mandelika
26:51which you feel put the final nail in
26:54his championship aspirations.
26:56Personal best last time around too
26:57for Frank Kimo, Vidalian in sixth place.
26:59He's not given up on chasing down Brad Binder yet.
27:01Pedro Acosta has given up on any hope
27:03of salvaging anything from today.
27:05Of course, with the race now
27:06starting to edge towards two-thirds distance
27:08and the red flag now
27:09would not save Pedro Acosta
27:11in a rather forlorn Moto2 World Champion.
27:14No points to show from his weekend
27:15having shown so much.
27:16That is a bitter, bitter pill to swallow, isn't it?
27:19For Pedro Acosta.
27:21Pole position, KTM's first in four years.
27:23Third youngest pole setter in Premier Class history.
27:27I don't think anybody envisaged
27:29after that would come a double DNF
27:31for the rookie start.
27:33Crashing out the lead in the sprint
27:35and crashing out of second place early on
27:38as he was hot in pursuit
27:39of the World Champion, Bang Yai.
27:42Just look at that.
27:43Scrubbing off over 200 kilometres an hour
27:46hard on the front tyre.
27:49That's why everybody has to run that
27:50Michelin half compound front tyre
27:52just to get the braking stability,
27:54just to deal with the temperature
27:57of the forces that are generated
27:59through that front tyre
28:00down into the 90 degree corner.
28:03Out of the victory corner
28:04goes Peko Bang Yai.
28:06He's finally back in the 1.45s
28:08but still, once again,
28:09just takes a tenth or two
28:11out of Martine.
28:12The gap now just under 1.6 seconds.
28:16These two are miles clear
28:18of anybody else.
28:19Marc Marquez, six seconds further back.
28:22Marquez and Bastien in the exchange,
28:241.45.3.
28:26So Marquez has regrouped
28:28after his big mistake
28:29at Turn 1 on the previous lap.
28:31So he's just holding the beast back
28:32by eight tenths.
28:34We often show you race pace graphics
28:36with the lap charts
28:37of all the different lap times
28:38the riders set through the Grand Prix.
28:39I quite look forward to seeing one of those
28:40for Peko Bang Yai in this race.
28:42I don't think he's ever been outside
28:43of a sort of 3.4 tenths of a second range
28:46from a 4.48 to a 4.51.
28:48Right on cue, here it comes.
28:49The 4.45, his personal best on lap four.
28:51And then look at that,
28:52from lap five onwards,
28:53his fastest lap of 4.48
28:55and his slowest,
28:56which was on the previous lap,
28:57the 4.51.
28:58That's what world champion race pace
29:00looks like.
29:01I thought he had the consistency
29:02to match the speed though,
29:03that Peko Bang Yai.
29:04That is astonishing, isn't it?
29:064.48, 4.48, 4.49, 4.49,
29:104.45 flat.
29:11That is metronomic pace, isn't it?
29:15From Peko Bang Yai.
29:16As the sun starts poking through
29:19the clouds here in Motegi,
29:21let's hope that all we have is sunshine here
29:24and not any more rain spots
29:26to hinder these last eight and a bit laps here
29:29in Motegi,
29:30as Martin, fighting a good five at the moment,
29:33just cannot get on par, can he,
29:35with Bang Yai.
29:36Bang Yai doing what he has to do,
29:38just make sure he keeps taking the points,
29:41keeping the pressure on Martin at the top
29:43of the world championship.
29:44We'll head to Flip Island in Australia
29:46as it stays as is,
29:47with the gap down to just 10.
29:49Yeah, I think if you asked Jorge Martin
29:51yesterday morning,
29:52tell him you can get out of Japan this weekend
29:55with your championship lead still at 10 points,
29:57I think he might have taken that,
29:59having started from 11th on the grid.
30:00It's been some recovery
30:01from the world championship leader.
30:03This is Jack Miller,
30:04whose race has kind of gone in the other direction
30:06after what was an incredible start,
30:07arguably a better first lap than Martin had
30:09for Miller to come from 14th up into fifth
30:11at one stage,
30:12but he's started to regress back down the order now,
30:15and Alessio Spargo is looking to take away
30:17that ninth place.
30:18Last time around, Miller was doing a 46.6,
30:21which is a second and a half off race leading pace.
30:23Quickest rider on circuit now
30:24is Marc Marquez in third.
30:26He's got the hurry-up,
30:27he's got the message and the signal
30:29that Bassi Didi was closing in on him,
30:32and he's thinking,
30:33no, I'm not losing a double podium here
30:35in Batavia.
30:361.45.203 was just a little bit quicker
30:40than Bagnani,
30:41so Marquez is finding some great late race pace
30:44as he keeps the beast at bay for the time being.
30:47Could be some problems still yet
30:48for the other factory KTM.
30:49Of course, we're looking at the battle
30:51involving Jack Miller,
30:52or we were,
30:53Marco Vecchia and Fabrizio Antonio
30:54are now on our screens
30:55who are battling for seventh
30:56in all of the R46 battle,
30:57but Bingo's not got fifth place safe just yet.
31:00He's doing 45.8.
31:01Vodka Morbidelli is catching at around
31:03about 2.3 tenths a lap,
31:05and with seven and a half still to go,
31:07it could be close towards the end of the race
31:09for the 21
31:10to potentially secure an all-Ducati top five
31:12in this one.
31:14Alessio Spargo just in a little bit wide there
31:17on the factory Aprilia
31:18as he powers out of turn 10.
31:20You can just see Bagnani's lead.
31:21It's creeping up once again.
31:23It was 1.6 at the start of this lap.
31:25It's now up to 1.8 seconds,
31:281.45.4,
31:30as opposed to a 1.45.6 from MartÃn.
31:34The two faster riders behind now lead to
31:37Marquez and Bastianini,
31:39who are setting us all up
31:40for another grandstand finish here
31:41in the battle of a third place.
31:42Marquez at 1.45.3,
31:45bettered by Bastianini,
31:46but down to 1.45.1.
31:49The gap now between those two
31:50just six tenths of a second.
31:52Bastianini will just be hoping
31:53under his crash helmet
31:54that that rear tyre of Marquez
31:55does start to drop.
31:57It's generally an area where
31:58Bastianini's usually in quite good shape.
32:00Later on, here is the battle for third place,
32:03and Bastianini, as you say,
32:04is now the fastest rider on circuit
32:05doing 1.45.1.
32:07Mark Marquez is going to need
32:08every ounce of grip from that medium Michelin tyre
32:11in the final six and a half laps
32:13if he's to hold on to this podium.
32:15Yeah, and that will feel like
32:16an awful long six and a half laps
32:18for Mark Marquez,
32:20because, well, he's known
32:21as the up-and-down pit lane,
32:22as the tyre whisperer.
32:24And Bastianini is so smooth,
32:26so gentle with that right hand
32:29at managing the grip.
32:30This is the phase of Grands Prix
32:32traditionally where an air
32:34comes into his own.
32:35Further down, let's have a quick check
32:37on Taka Nakagami, 13th place.
32:39He's up to now, of course,
32:41help with the Vignales and Acosta retirements,
32:44but hopefully points on offer
32:46for Taka in front of his home crowd.
32:48Binder's got problems, by the way,
32:49behind this in that battle for fifth.
32:51He's lost over half a second on this lap
32:52to Frankie Morbidelli for the first time.
32:54That lead that Binder has for fifth
32:56is under a second.
32:57In fact, it's been cut in half already
32:59on this lap.
33:001.5 at the start of the lap.
33:01Morbidelli now within eight tenths
33:03of Brad Binder.
33:04A battle for fifth is also about to
33:05commence shortly.
33:07Vignales already starting his
33:0919th lap of 24.
33:11Martin has nicked a bit of time back
33:14on the number one.
33:15A 1.45.4 from the Spanish rider
33:18has reduced the gap back down
33:20to 1.5 seconds.
33:22Once again, guess who's the quickest
33:24of the lead quartet?
33:25It's Bastianini on the number 23
33:27Factory Ducati.
33:29The top four riders in the World Championship.
33:31Once again, the top four star performers
33:34in this Japanese Grand Prix.
33:36A little bit more strung out than we were hoping for
33:38between our top quartet,
33:40which is still being led by Bagnolet.
33:43The World Championship will still very much
33:45roll on for another couple of weeks
33:47to Australia with just ten points
33:49between the top two,
33:51if it finishes as it is at the moment.
33:53We are still in that kind of phase of the season,
33:54though, where one mistake could still make
33:56such a difference.
33:58So far this afternoon, Pekka Bagnolet
34:00has made none at all.
34:02And Jorge Martin,
34:04he must feel surely under his crutch at the moment.
34:06He must know at this stage that he's not got the pace
34:08to chase down Pekka Bagnolet.
34:10It's all about making sure he doesn't make mistakes now
34:12and take all the 20 very useful points.
34:14Oh, you've gone and done it again, haven't you?
34:16You've done the commentator's curse.
34:17You spoke in glowing terms yesterday
34:19about Pedro Acosta not putting a foot wrong.
34:21And about two quarters later,
34:22Acosta cracks out of the lead
34:24at Turn 7 in the sprint.
34:26Yeah, apologies to Pedro Acosta.
34:28Let's hope the commentator's curse...
34:29Apparently I wasn't the only one as well.
34:30Yeah, yeah.
34:31Let's hope that the commentator's curse
34:32doesn't strike Pekka Bagnolet.
34:34He's just getting the message,
34:35just the team informing him.
34:37Can you believe it?
34:38Blue sky now starts to emerge.
34:40We're having to just shut the blinds in our commentary box.
34:42First time that's happened all weekend
34:44as we're starting to get him blinded
34:46by the sun in the land of the rising sun.
34:49Bagnolet over the line.
34:50Yeah, that is two laps in now
34:53that Martin has found half a second
34:55compared to Bagnolet.
34:56The gap shrinks further to 1.3 seconds.
35:00A 45.6 from Bagnolet.
35:03Better with a 45.3 from Martin.
35:07It's just a bit of stage managing from Bagnolet.
35:10Just making sure that he's got a bit of grip.
35:13Of course, with fuel consumption a factor as well.
35:16The change matters by now.
35:17How much has the power been knocked off
35:19of those factory Ducatis as well?
35:21We thought yesterday, didn't we,
35:22on the final lap that Bagnolet was
35:24perhaps overdoing it a little bit.
35:26We did wonder, was he potentially going to
35:28throw away a sprint win on the very final lap?
35:30He asserted us that he was just managing it,
35:33that he knew he had a second
35:34that potentially he could lose on the final lap
35:36and used every little bit of that second
35:38to win by a tenth in the end from
35:40Enea Bastianini.
35:41I guess what we'll find out is
35:43if Martin gets to within a second of Bagnolet,
35:45does Bagnolet then take the moment
35:46to decide to speed up again a little bit?
35:49Holding steady at the moment on this lap,
35:50the lead remains around 1.3 seconds
35:53as Brad Bindley's grip on fifth place
35:55might finally be loosened here
35:57by Frankie Morbidelli,
35:58who has now caught the KTM.
36:00Well, we're in the home of sumo wrestling
36:02and at the moment, Matt Marquez's fight
36:03for third place is absolutely brilliant.
36:06A 1.45.1 was Marquez's lap time
36:09as Morbidelli charges in too hot
36:11on the brakes into turn 10.
36:13Marquez, a 1.45.1 on that lap 19
36:17was half a second quicker than Bagnolet
36:20and it just looks like he's
36:22trying to break the beast here later on.
36:241.1 seconds, the gap now over line.
36:27So, four laps to go.
36:30Now, I'm sure Fekir Bagnolet,
36:31if he keeps control of this Grand Prix,
36:33will tell us just afterwards,
36:34well, it was all under control.
36:36As long as I could just see
36:37the gap was over a second,
36:39I knew that Martin was not going to come
36:40and give me any late worries,
36:42any late headaches,
36:43but it's just certainly keeping our attention
36:45here in the commentary box.
36:46I'm sure you're watching at home as well.
36:48And keeping David Etard, obviously,
36:49very much on the edge of his seat.
36:51Here he is now.
36:52He certainly doesn't look like a team manager
36:53who's comfortable and confident
36:55that victory is secured just yet.
36:57Bagnolet can afford to lose
36:58a couple of tenths per lap from here.
37:00With just four to go,
37:01he would still have enough to hold
37:02Jorge Martin at bay,
37:04but I guess you don't want to give
37:05the World Championship leader
37:06too much encouragement
37:07if you can help it.
37:09Further back, Bastianini pulled
37:10a couple of tenths back on Martin Marquez
37:12last time around,
37:13but Marquez, in many respects,
37:14is doing what Bagnolet is doing,
37:15just keeping Bastianini at arm's length
37:18and not giving him a snip of that position.
37:20It's first for Bagnolet,
37:21third at the moment that Bastianini's chasing.
37:23Just over a second remains the gap
37:26between Bagnolet and Martin
37:28through Turn 9.
37:29The crash there in qualifying yesterday
37:31were the reason why Martin found himself
37:33mired back on the fourth row of the grid.
37:36Into the sunshine we go.
37:38Shadows being cast here
37:41in Motegi at Turn 10.
37:43It is now under a second.
37:45Three and a little bit more laps remaining
37:47and Jorge Martin's eyes
37:49are lighting up, aren't they,
37:50under that dark visor
37:51as he charges down the hill
37:52into the 90-degree corner.
37:55The victory corner coming up shortly.
37:57Is there an unlikely victory
37:58beckoning here for the Martinator?
38:00Well, the team surely now
38:01will be giving Bagnolet,
38:02if he's not aware already,
38:03of the gap to Jorge Martin.
38:05You'll see it on his pit board
38:06as he comes across the line now
38:07with three to go.
38:08Bagnolet still doing 45.3s.
38:10It's Martin who's speeding up.
38:11He's just at a 45.0
38:13with three laps still to go in this race.
38:16So the gap is now nine-tenths of a second
38:18and if Bagnolet does have any extra pace up his sleeve,
38:20now's the time to find it.
38:2245 flat
38:24on a 21-lap set of tires.
38:26That is some astonishing pace, isn't it,
38:28by Martin.
38:30Has he got the late race speed?
38:32Can he find a way?
38:34He's got to find a way,
38:35one, to get on par with Bagnolet
38:37and then find a way to try and attack
38:39and get through on the Italian.
38:41He's going all in, though, isn't he?
38:42Look how hard Martin was pushing
38:44that front end of that Prima Panetta Gatti
38:46into Turn 5.
38:48He said yesterday, didn't he,
38:49when the rain was starting to fall,
38:50he just really took a knock to his confidence,
38:52Jorge Martin.
38:53Well, with the sun now shining above our heads
38:55at the Mobility Resort Metegi,
38:57nothing wrong with the confidence
38:58of the World Championship leader now.
38:59And if, if, if,
39:01he can catch up past Bagnolet
39:02in the final three laps,
39:03what a body blow this would deal
39:05in the battle for the World Championship.
39:07Well, he's doing all he can
39:08and that is just to keep Bagnolet's mind occupied,
39:11let him see his pit board over the line.
39:13That plus 0.889.
39:16Yeah, on the dashboard goes the message.
39:18Less than two and a half laps remaining here in Metegi.
39:22Is this boiling up to a thrilling finale here
39:25or is this just Bagnolet
39:27in complete control of the situation?
39:30Only he knows inside that special autumn helmet here
39:34in the autumn sunshine in Metegi
39:36through the final corner,
39:38Bagnolet will go now.
39:40Just over two laps remaining,
39:43just under 10 kilometers remaining
39:46as there is a 10-point gap at the moment
39:48splitting the top two in the championship.
39:50Bagnolet does respond as we thought he might.
39:52As that gap came under a second,
39:53Bagnolet said,
39:54okay, that's close enough for me.
39:56I'm going to speed up a bit again.
39:57And the lead now goes back out to over one second.
40:00That's the first lap for around five or six, isn't it?
40:02That MartÃn has been slower than Bagnolet.
40:04As far as the other Primate Ducati is concerned,
40:06we told you of Morbidelli chasing Brad Binder.
40:09He has now passed him for fifth place.
40:12That's cool, isn't it?
40:13That's clinical from Bagnolet.
40:16Just happy to let MartÃn come within striking distance
40:21and then just respond and respond with kind
40:24because he's now got that advantage back to over a second.
40:28Let's just check as they come through the second sector
40:31halfway around this second to last lap.
40:34Has Bagnolet broken MartÃn?
40:36I think he has.
40:37Bagnolet has upped his pace.
40:391.4 seconds now is the gap.
40:42And surely now is the time for MartÃn to lock and load
40:45and lock down for 20 important points for the championship.
40:48And for Marc Marquez in third place.
40:50This is really a battle for third place,
40:52not just in the race, but probably in the World Championship too.
40:54They're five points apart in the advantage of Bastianini.
40:58If Marc Marquez can hold on to this,
40:59he would gain three points back on the beast.
41:01And what Marc Marquez is doing so well here
41:03is he's just much like Bagnolet at the front.
41:05He's just keeping that gap big enough
41:07that Bastianini is in no position to really launch
41:09a last lap raid on the 93.
41:12This is the closest battle we're going to have,
41:13I think, on this final lap of the race.
41:15And certainly now that Maupadeli has cleared Brad Binder
41:18and Marc Marquez, who's had some last lap battles
41:20over the years with Factory Ducati's here
41:22at the Motegi circuit.
41:24He does not want another one.
41:25Yeah, Honda's home crowd here
41:27showing Honda exactly what they're missing.
41:29He's had a whole bunch of podiums for HRZ here
41:32on course for his first in Japan
41:33on board the Ducati.
41:35And Bagnolet, a 1.45.5 on lap 23.
41:40And I think Jorge MartÃn has had a look over his shoulder,
41:43seen the massive gap back to Marquez,
41:45and he's decided, and that's it.
41:47He's a 1.46.1, which is by far
41:50MartÃn's slowest lap of this Grand Prix.
41:52He's in safety mode now.
41:54He's just bringing that bike home to second place,
41:57limiting the damage.
41:58He pushed Bagnolet hard,
42:00but Bagnolet did not crack.
42:02And the championship,
42:03which has been littered with mistakes,
42:05as Bagnolet himself said,
42:07he hasn't blinked, he has not made a mistake
42:09yet in this Japanese Grand Prix.
42:11Don't think we're going to see one coming.
42:13He forced one out of Pedro Acosta
42:14in the very early stages.
42:16Of course, this was the day that Pedro Acosta
42:17hoped was going to lead to a first MotoGP win.
42:20That will have to wait for at least
42:21another fortnight,
42:23and it's a measure of the level that
42:24Peco Bagnolet is at,
42:25and also the level that MartÃn is at
42:27to keep himself in the lead of the championship.
42:29Of course, Bagnolet is now taking
42:30more sprint wins this season than MartÃn,
42:31and he's now three or four corners away
42:33from a record for him,
42:35eighth win of the 2024 season.
42:38He's never taken more than seven.
42:40He took seven wins in each of his
42:41two previous title seasons.
42:43He's one sector away from win number eight.
42:45Best winning season in MotoGP
42:47in five long years.
42:49Last time we saw a rider win
42:50eight wins in a season,
42:51well, that was Marc Marquez
42:53in that glorious charge to the championship
42:55in 2019.
42:57It's game on in this year's
42:59MotoGP World Championship.
43:00The gap shrinks to just 10 points
43:03as through the victory corner
43:05here in Japan,
43:06it has been a Motegi masterclass
43:09from reigning world champion
43:10Peco Bagnolet.
43:12He led the Japanese Grand Prix
43:14from start to finish.
43:15He resisted the early pressure
43:17from Pedro Acosta.
43:18He withstood the late pressure
43:20from Jorge MartÃn,
43:21and he takes the chequered flag
43:23by 1.1 seconds ahead
43:25of the Spaniard.
43:27Bagnolet then wins for the eighth time
43:29in 2024.
43:30A season-best winning tally for him.
43:32Marc Marquez does fend off
43:35Enea Bastianini for third place.
43:37Mormodelli and Binder inside the top six.
43:39Taka Nakagami with the big wheelie
43:41over the finish line
43:43as he says farewell and goodbye.
43:46Sayonara to the Japanese fans.
43:48Nakagami takes the chequered flag
43:49in 13th place.
43:51There were top tens for Bersseke,
43:52the Gianantonio,
43:53Alessio Spargo,
43:54and Jack Miller.
43:56Joan Zarco on the very last lap
43:58won the Battle of the French Riders.
44:00He got Fabio Quattroaro on the last lap
44:03to take 11th place.
44:04Quattroaro 12th.
44:06Points as well behind Nakagami for Marini
44:08and Raul Fernandez.
44:10But Peco Bagnolet
44:12takes the victory here
44:14in Motegi.
44:15It's his first Motegi MotoGP success,
44:18and he certainly needed it.
44:20Ten points then now
44:22is the gap between MartÃn and Bagnolet.
44:25Four races remaining.
44:27The first of our two season-defining...