Bagnaia Takes Another Podium at 2023 German MotoGP
Ducati Lenovo Team factory rider, Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia takes another race podium, this time in the main race of the 2023 German MotoGP round at the Sachsenring to extend his lead in the championship and defend his crown.
The race results came down to a nail-biting duel between Pecco and Pramac Ducati rider, Jorge Martin in the final laps. Martin rode defensively in the last two laps to hold off Pecco’s intentions and the battle got so heated that Pecco’s front wheel ran into Martin’s rear wheel. The former was quick to recover and fought back until the last corner and crossed the line a mere 0.064s behind Martin.
The duelling pair had cleared off at the front of the field, leaving Martin’s teammate, Johann Zarco to secure third place on the podium. Zarco had escaped serious injury when he was torpedoed by Marc Marquez’s crashing Honda on Friday, and chased KTM’s factory rider, Brad Binder since the start of the race. But with 12 laps to go, Binder’s rear tyre lost traction as he headed in the dreaded Turn 8, and slid into the gravel. That left Zarco to ride home ahead of Marco Bezzecchi of the Mooney VR46 Racing Team who finished fourth, while the latter’s teammate, Luca Marini crossed the line in fifth.
Bagnaia had qualified on pole, ahead of Marini and Jack Miller of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. Zarco, Bezzecchi, and Martin completed the second row from fourth to sixth. The session saw many riders being unable to set their fastest times due to Marc Marquez’s third crash in the qualifying sessions. Marquez eventually qualified 7th but withdrew from the Sprint and Main Race due to a broken left thumb.
Martin showed his dominance early by winning the Sprint race. Miller took the holeshot with Martin in hot pursuit, the latter passing at the end of lap four and never looked back. Bagnaia also overtook Miller to finish the race in second.
Bagnaia now has 160 points from Martin with 144. Next round is the Dutch GP at the “Cathedral of Speed,” Assen from 23rd – 25th June.
