- 2024-03-11
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Donate to support families affected by the crisis in Ukraine ➔ MotoGP Qatar GP: Francesco Bagnaia Wins 2024 MotoGP Opening Race in Lusail
The 2024 MotoGP opening race, the Qatar Grand Prix was held at the Lusail International Circuit in Lusail on March 10, 2024.
But the race was delayed when Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia) encountered an unspecified mechanical issue at the original start.
Reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) led in the opening lap of the Qatar Grand Prix and held it until the end to win.
He bossed and dominated the curtain-raising race from start to finish.
This marks his first victory at the Qatar GP in six years since the 2018 Moto2.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) finished 2nd behind Francesco Bagnaia by 1.329s. Followed by, pole-sitter and the Sprint winner Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) was 3rd.
As Ducati debut, Marc Marquez (Gresini Ducati) had a close battle with Rookie sensation Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3) and took 4th, but Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3) finally finished 9th on his grand prix debut.
The front row start, Aleix Espargaro finished 8th.- Francesco Bagnaia said, “Absolutely. It was very important after yesterday to change the strategy a bit in the first laps. I just tried to be a bit more aggressive and I knew if I was leading in the first laps that my potential was good enough to manage a gap. The sprint yesterday was a good lesson to change a bit the approach to have performance with the new bike. I have to say thanks to my team because from yesterday evening to this morning we worked a lot to improve a bit the setting for the race. Overall, it was the perfect start to the season. I rode in a different way. I found the performance in a different way which worked with the vibration. Today I just had a bit in the last two laps; in just one corner so it worked well. Maybe in Portimao we will not have this problem because in Portimao the track has grip that is completely different. But I think we know perfectly where to go in case of vibration. The potential was to go faster. The bike was able to do 52.2/1 but it wasn;t useful because a lap like this could compromise everything. I just tried to be as constant as possible. Every time I saw Brad gain two or three tenths I did another lap where I dropped [my pace] by two or three tenths. I was trying to manage perfectly the rear tyre on the exit of the corners because this way it was easier to control the gap.”
Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar Race Results- Francesco Bagnaia / Ducati Lenovo / 39m 34.869s
- Brad Binder / Red Bull KTM / +1.329s
- Jorge Martin / Pramac Ducati / +1.933s
- Marc Marquez / Gresini Ducati / +3.429s
- Enea Bastianini / Ducati Lenovo / +5.153s
- Alex Marquez / Gresini Ducati / +6.791s
- Fabio Di Giannantonio / VR46 Ducati / +9.161s
- Aleix Espargaro / Aprilia Racing / +11.242s
- Pedro Acosta / Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 / +11.595s
- Maverick Viñales / Aprilia Racing / +13.197s
- Fabio Quartararo / Monster Yamaha / +17.701s
- Johann Zarco / LCR Honda / +18.075s
- Joan Mir / Repsol Honda / +18.437s
- Marco Bezzecchi / VR46 Ducati / +19.194s
- Miguel Oliveira / Trackhouse Aprilia / +20.717s
- Alex Rins / Monster Yamaha / +24.093s
- Augusto Fernandez / Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 / +24.106s
- Franco Morbidelli / Pramac Ducati / +24.641s
- Takaaki Nakagami / LCR Honda / +25.556s
- Luca Marini / Repsol Honda / +42.422s
- Jack Miller / Red Bull KTM / +42.761s
Photo by MotoGP- source : MotoGP
