Francesco Bagnaia after finishing second in Qatar before winning the world title

With his second place finish at the Qatar Grand Prix, Francesco Bagnaia has the best chance of winning the MotoGP World Championship title. On Sunday, the Italian Ducati rider had only to admit defeat to his compatriot and first winner Fabio Di Giannantonio, and reached the final stop of the season in Valencia within a week with a clear lead. Saturday’s Spanish sprint race winner Jorge Martin was unable to get past 10th and is already 21 points behind.

While defending World Cup champion Bagnaia made a good start from fourth on the starting grid, his teammate Martin missed out on the opportunity to gain a better position from the start. The Spaniard lost place after place, with Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio in a close battle for victory at the front. The 25-year-old Di Giannantonio, who currently has no place in the 2024 MotoGP championship, eventually fended off the favorite’s attacks. Third place also went to Italian Luca Marini (Ducati).

In the Moto 2 race, Spaniard Fermin Aldeguer (Boscoscoro) won for the third time in a row, and his 19-year-old compatriot Pedro Acosta (Calix) had won the title a week ago in Malaysia. He finished eighth on Sunday. The Moto3 team has fallen prey to Honda rider Jaume Masia. The Spaniard achieved his fourth victory this season and is 28 points ahead of Japanese Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) as world champion for the first time.