Pramac Racing's Jorge Martin Claims Victory at 2024 Mandalika MotoGP
- VIVA.co.id/Satria Zulfikar (Mataram)
West Nusa Tenggara, VIVA – Jorge Martin successfully dominated the 2024 Mandalika MotoGP and claimed the victory on Sunday (Sept 29).
The Pramac Racing rider defeated Pedro Acosta and Bagnaia at the Mandalika Circuit, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.
Jorge Martin immediately took the lead after starting from pole position, followed by Enea Bastianini. Meanwhile, Bagnaia started in sixth place, and Marc Marquez, who started from 12th, moved up to seventh in the early stages of the race.
Pembalap Pramac Racing, Jorge Martin
- Crash.net
Four riders crashed early in the race and cannot continue, such as Alex Marquez, Aleix Espargaro, Jack Miller, and Luca Marini.
Pedro Acosta moved into second after overtaking Bastianini. By lap six, Franco Morbidelli and Marco Bezzecchi had also passed Bastianini, dropping the Ducati rider to fifth.
Bastianini was being chased by his teammate, Francesco Bagnaia. Martin remained comfortably in the lead, with a time gap of 1.045 seconds over Acosta in second as they approached lap 10. Meanwhile, Bagnaia was still stuck in sixth place.
Marc Marquez was forced to out from the race after his bike caught fire. The Gresini Racing rider had been in contention to score points, running in the top 10.
This continues Marquez's unfortunate streak of failing to finish at Mandalika. In the previous two editions of the Mandalika MotoGP, Marquez was also unable to finish the main race.
In the 2022 Mandalika MotoGP, Marquez crashed during the warm-up session before the race. Last year, he also crashed and was unable to score points in either the sprint race or the main event.
This was despite the former Repsol Honda rider securing a third-place podium finish in the Mandalika MotoGP sprint race on Saturday (Sept 28). Meanwhile, Bastianini reclaimed third after overtaking Morbidelli and Bezzecchi.
Unfortunately for Bastianini, he crashed at the first corner and was unable to finish the race, allowing Morbidelli to reclaim third place. Bagnaia surprisingly surged into third place with just four laps remaining.
Martin eventually claimed victory at the 2024 Mandalika MotoGP, followed by Acosta in second, and Bagnaia completing the podium in third. Martin now solidifies his position at the top of the standings with 366 points, extending his lead over Bagnaia by 21 points.
