Ducati Lenovo
The Ducati Lenovo Team took victory in the Motegi Sprint with Marc Márquez, who claimed his twenty-second win in the Saturday race. Francesco Bagnaia was forced to retire with one lap remaining.
Márquez had an excellent start from second place on the grid and took the lead after the first two corners. Marc then managed the race perfectly to cross the finish line as the winner. Bagnaia, thirteenth in qualifying, stayed in touch with the top ten for most of the Sprint but experienced a significant grip issue in the second half of the encounter, which eventually forced him back to the pits at the end of the penultimate lap.
The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action tomorrow morning at 9:40 local time (GMT +9) for the warm-up, which will be followed by the Grand Prix of Japan, to be contested over a 24-lap distance from 7:00.
Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st
“Securing a front-row start, especially in the first two positions, was the key to having a good Sprint. We made a small modification ahead of this race and I felt a lot better on the bike and rode in a way that’s more akin to what I like. I was quite comfortable in the lead and I’m happy with this win. Now we focus on the long race. We need to analyse the condition of the rear soft tyre and make the best decision ahead of tomorrow. It won’t be easy, but I would put pen to paper to have the same feeling I had today.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – DNF
“It was a difficult Sprint. We didn’t know what to expect from the rear tyre given the new asphalt of the track. We made the choice that we reckoned was the best compromise, but with the lack of grip, the tendency is to overheat the tyre, and unfortunately that’s what happened as a consequence. From lap six, I started to experience some vibrations on corner entry and, to avoid this, I ended up using the rear brake more. This led to the rear tyre overheating quite a lot. We need to work to find a bit more grip, as this would surely allow us to do better.”
Aprilia Racing
Aprilia Racing closed out Saturday at Mobility Resort Motegi with a podium and four RS-GPs in the top eight.
Jorge Martín began the day by taking pole position with a time of 1:42.371, a new all-time lap record. In the sprint, the Spanish rider maintained a good pace throughout the opening stages of the race. However, with six laps remaining, Martín had to give way because his soft rear tyre degraded excessively, with pieces of the central tread coming away. Jorge ultimately finished third after being demoted one place for running onto the green on the final lap – Aprilia Racing’s first-ever podium at Motegi.
Marco Bezzecchi had a difficult sprint, finishing sixth after starting fourth on the grid.
Ai Ogura in fifth and Raúl Fernández in eighth completed the day’s results for the SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team, which meant Aprilia ended Saturday at Motegi with four RS-GP26s in the top ten.
JORGE MARTÍN
“Overall, it’s been a good day. We took pole position and then the podium, Aprilia’s first ever here at Motegi. Generally, I’m happy because we had good pace behind Márquez. Then, with six laps to go, I started having problems with the tyre. I tried to manage it, but over the last three laps the tyre was finished. It’s a shame, because I could have been much closer to Marc at the end. Then, on the final lap, I touched the green a little while defending from Enea and ended up third instead of second. That’s racing, but I’m still proud because yesterday we were a long way off, whereas today I was up at the front fighting. The pace is good and we are strong.”
MARCO BEZZECCHI
“To start with qualifying, I’m happy with fourth. It’s still a very good spot, even if it isn’t the front row, and I did a good job compared with yesterday, improving a lot. For the sprint, I chose the medium tyre because we decided to work with it this morning and the pace was good. I was fairly confident, but unfortunately I couldn’t go as fast in the race as I did this morning. We’ll try to understand why, and I hope to do better tomorrow.”
FABIANO STERLACCHINI
“It’s been a slightly bittersweet day. We were very confident in the morning. We had tried several options to improve the bike’s performance, and qualifying was indeed very positive with both Jorge and Marco. In the sprint, it was a shame about the marked blistering, which hit Jorge badly and Marco to a lesser extent, as he raced on a medium tyre that was not ideal. For safety reasons, the soft tyre has been withdrawn for tomorrow, and the warm-up has been extended from 10 to 20 minutes, although the medium has the same carcass that is under suspicion. That’s why I think we’ll try the hard tyre in the morning.”
KTM Factory Racing
The Red Bull KTM MotoGP contingent travelled to Japan and the first of five non-European Grands Prix still elated after their victory of the season in Austria two weeks ago. Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder were reenergized for the long-haul journey by personal best results this season at the Red Bull Ring and immediately got to work around the resurfaced and demanding course at Motegi. The combination of 14 tight turns and heavy braking and acceleration of the layout brought an acute test for the MotoGP field.
Acosta fought for P1 on Friday and rested just 0.076 of a second from the mark after a bright Friday Practice session. He was joined for direct Q2 access by Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Enea Bastianini with decent one-lap potential. On Saturday morning Brad Binder and the returning Maverick Viñales were 7th and 9th respectively in Q1 for 17th and 19th on the grid for the Sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix. Acosta and Bastianini surged through their Q2 time attacks as only half a second split the top ten: Pedro was 3rd fastest while Enea slotted onto the tip of the third row in 7th.
The Sprint rounded Motegi for 12 laps but Acosta barely completed two corners before he was punted out of 4th and into the run-off for Turn 3. Bastianini was able to capitalize on the drama and manage his tires across the hard-wearing asphalt. Enea attacked the rear wheel of Jorge Martin for the runner-up slot on the final circulation but both riders were adjudged to have exceeded track limits and were demoted one position each. Enea classified in 4th and missed the chance for his third Sprint medal on the KTM RC16 and the 11th of his career. Maverick crossed the line in 15th as he attempts his acclimatization to MotoGP speed while Brad fought outside of the top ten. His race was effectively over when he ran deep into the gravel on the outside of Turn 1 with four laps to go. Binder was also given a Long Lap penalty for track limits.
The 24-lap Grand Prix begins at the customary local hour of 14.00, which means a start of 07.00 for viewers on CEST.
Enea Bastianini, 7th in qualification, 4th in the Sprint: “I was a bit frustrated…but, for the rest, I’m quite happy because I was solid from the start until the end of the race and I was also good in qualifying. I’m used to seeing many riders in front of me on the grid! But today I was on the third row and it was very beautiful to be on top again fighting for something good. I hope this will be the first step for the rest of the championship. My tires were so-so at the end, not as bad as others, and tomorrow I think it would be risky to put the soft. We will have to talk to understand what will be the best choice.”
Maverick Viñales, 19th in qualification, 15th in the Sprint: “I did the whole Sprint race in quite a good way, and felt strength all the way through, which is good. I am still lacking some explosive movements on the bike but this will come by riding and work in the gym so I am not too worried. I am getting used to the bike and it demands a different riding style than what I would normally do so I need laps and, step-by-step, I am getting there. I was expecting to struggle more here but I had a clear objective in working on fast changes of direction and compared to last year it is a different story so I am quite satisfied. Now it is a matter of putting lots of things together and having a bit more trust in the bike.”
Brad Binder, 17th in qualification, 18th in the Sprint: “The morning started quite well and the first run in Q1 was quite good but I bailed on the second; which wasn’t ideal because it was a flyer. I feel like I got hit by a bus right now…but I really want to thank the whole team – my boys and Pedro’s – who helped get me a bike ready for the Sprint. In the race I didn’t get a bad start but I was having a lot of issues sliding and chattering with the front into Turn 1. Definitely a day to forget and hopefully better tomorrow. I’m pretty sure I can do a much better job than today. The bike has potential here.”
Pedro Acosta, 3rd in qualification, DNF in the Sprint: “Well, we had the opportunity to make a podium and to catch some points back but in three corners we lost everything. It ended too soon…but races are like this. I was feeling quite good this morning with the medium, some good laps. Let’s see for tomorrow.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Disappointing that Pedro’s race was already over on the first lap and it didn’t last too much longer for Brad in the fight for positions. A shame because we saw yesterday that we are quite competitive here in Motegi. In any case we have a new chance tomorrow and we have been strong many times in the full-distance GP. most positive thing today was Enea’s position, and unfortunately he lost the podium on the last lap but the performance was really great. Also, it’s a positive that we finally have Maverick back and he is recovering well on the track. We hope we can take advantage of the potential the bike has here. We have to be fully prepared.”
Honda HRC Castrol
Stable conditions throughout Saturday gave the entire MotoGP grid plenty of productive time on track as lap times tumbled throughout the day, teams and riders improving their understanding of Motegi’s new surface. Luca Marini spent his morning working to overcome the time lost on Friday as a result of his crash, the Italian 0.3s off one of the two transfer spots available in Q1. Clearly up for a fight, the #10 made a strong start to the 12-lap Sprint to immediately threaten the top ten.
Chasing down Quartararo, Raul Fernandez and Zarco, the Italian applied pressure to the group fighting for the points paying positions until late into the race. Crossing the line in 11th place, Marini has gained good information for what direction to head on Sunday.
Somkiat Chantra put in a stellar Q1 performance to secure 15th on the grid, his best qualifying result in the premier class. Focusing on enjoying every lap, Thailand’s first premier class Grand Prix rider has continued to go from strength to strength during the weekend. A safe start to the Sprint saw him lose early contact with the riders but with a clear plan in mind, the temporary #15 would earn 14th in the Sprint just a tenth behind the experienced Alex Rins.
Sunday will see Honda HRC Castrol’s special home GP livery make its on track debut, the modern tribute to the Honda RC181 is sure to grab attention when the lights go out for the 24-lap Japanese GP at 14:00 Local Time.
Luca Marini 10
Honda HRC Castrol
“Today we made some progress compared to yesterday, but we still missed that last tenth or so in Qualifying to miss the top ten. I made a pretty good start to the Sprint and was able to gain positions early, then I focused a lot on defending. As we can see, the choice of tyre will be crucial for Sunday’s race, so we need to understand what the options are. Sunday is a new day and we still have some cards to play, the motivation is really high to do well in front of the home fans.”
Somkiat Chantra 15
Honda HRC Castrol
“It was a really exciting day today, honestly, I enjoyed it a lot. I am super happy with what I managed in Qualifying, to come back and achieve my best grid position in MotoGP is great and I have to say a huge thank you to the team for making such a good job this weekend. On the grid for the Sprint, I felt really happy to be back in MotoGP. Once the race started, I was quite careful in the opening laps to avoid any problems, and I worked to gain some ground at the end of the race. Tomorrow I will try better with what we have learned from today. We keep enjoying every lap.”
Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team had a bittersweet Saturday at Motegi: luck was not on Fabio Di Giannantonio’s side, as he was involved in a crash on the opening lap of the Sprint and he was forced to retire from the race. Franco Morbidelli had a solid race, finishing in twelfth place.
After a consistent Qualifying ended in sixth place (1’42”628), Di Giannantonio had a good start from the second row, keeping his position. Unfortunately, Fabio couldn’t show his potential due to a crash he was involved in at Turn 3 on the opening lap, luckily without physical consequences. Di Giannantonio keeps the fifth place in the World Standing with 230 points.
Morbidelli ended his Qualifying just few tenths away from the Q2 in fourteenth place (1’43”136). Franco started from the fifth row and was able to show a good consistency confirming the steps forward and proving that he had a valuable rhythm. The Italian-Brazilian rider bounced back throughout the 12 laps, crossing the Sprint finish line in twelfth place. Morbidelli is sixteenth in the World Standing with 56 points.
The Japanese GP will conclude tomorrow with the main race, which will start at 2:00 p.m. (local time, +9 UTC).
Fabio Di Giannantonio – 49
“Luckily, I am ok, I just had a big hit in the ribs. We worked a lot to try not to consume the tyre too much, we thought we had an opportunity to do well. I made a good start, and I was able to take the first corner very well. From then, I had the chance to build a consistent race, which ended too early, unfortunately. But we don’t give up and we will bounce back tomorrow; I think we have a good potential, and we can do a good race.”
Franco Morbidelli – 21
“Overall, it was a good day, we could make some steps forward compared to yesterday, and we fixed some things we missed to improve our performance. The Sprint was a bit stressful at the beginning due to the crashes and the things that usually happen in the group. Then, I relaxed and I started to express my potential, which was good. I was able to bounce back and stay with the group ahead of me, overall, it was a smooth race.”
Pro Honda LCR
MotoGP rookie Diogo Moreira started the 12-lap Sprint from a solid ninth place following a positive Q2 performance and made a strong start to the race, avoiding a multi-rider collision on the opening lap and moving up to fourth place. Moreira maintained his position throughout much of the race but, in the closing stages, began to close in on both Martin and Bastianini ahead. Both riders were handed track-limits penalties on the final lap, meaning that while the Brazilian crossed the line in fourth, Moreira was promoted to second place.
Johann Zarco was determined to make up ground from the moment the lights went out following a crash in qualifying that prevented the Frenchman from setting a faster lap time. Like his teammate, Zarco avoided the early-race drama and worked his way up to seventh place after starting 10th. However, the Castrol Honda LCR rider did not have the extra pace needed to gain any further positions but was still able to hold onto seventh and collect valuable championship points.
Luca Marini entered the 16th Sprint race of the season on the back foot and looked to make up lost ground after a crash on Friday. The Italian put in a valiant effort but was just 0.3s shy of one of the two transfer spots available in Q1. Determined to recover, the #10 made a strong start to the Sprint and pushed hard to break into the top 10. Chasing down Fabio Quartararo, Raul Fernandez and Zarco, Marini applied pressure to the group battling for the points-paying positions until the closing stages of the race. Crossing the line in 11th place, the Italian gathered valuable information to help shape Sunday’s strategy.
Thailand’s first premier-class Grand Prix rider, Somkiat Chantra, delivered a stellar Q1 performance to secure 15th on the grid, his best qualifying result in the premier class. A clean start to the Sprint saw him lose contact with the riders ahead in the early laps, but he kept a calm head and finished 14th, just one tenth of a second behind the experienced Alex Rins.
The Japanese Grand Prix will see Honda HRC Castrol’s special home Grand Prix livery make its on-track debut. The modern tribute to the Honda RC181 is sure to attract attention when the lights go out for the 24-lap race at 14:00 local time.
Diogo Moreira 11
Pro Honda LCR
“I know it’s not ‘a real result’. Today I was lucky, but anyway, I’m super happy! A podium in MotoGP feels amazing. I felt really good on the bike today, and I gave it everything, following the flow of the track. On the last lap, I was there; with one more lap, I could have taken it. Then after crossing the line, I realised I was on the podium. For me, for the team and for Honda, this is very important. Thanks to everybody who made it possible!”
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
Racing in front of the Japanese fans at Yamaha’s home GP, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo gave it his all in today’s Sprint. He held off rivals all the way to the chequered flag to secure a solid ninth-place finish. Meanwhile, Álex Rins pushed hard to secure P13.
Quartararo started from P12 and was in P9 after a three-rider crash in front of him on the opening lap. Not quite able to attack the rider ahead, the Frenchman gave a masterclass in defensive riding, keeping the chasing Luca Marini and Fermín Aldeguer at bay. He held ninth place across the finish line, crossing it 10.586s from first.
Rins commenced from P21 and, after an eventful opening lap, settled in P18. He was part of the multi-rider battle for fifteenth place. He overtook Somkiat Chantra on lap 7 and Jack Miller on the next. When Brad Binder and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu both ran wide on lap 9, Rins was up to P14 with a significant gap to the rider ahead. He focused on defending his position. As Francesco Bagnaia lost steam on the last lap due to tyre degradation, Rins wrapped up the 12-lap dash in P13, 19.873s from the winner.
After today’s Sprint, Quartararo remains 15th in the championship standings with 62 points, while Rins stays 20th with 24 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are 10th in the team classification with 86 points, and Yamaha hold 5th place in the constructor standings with 85 points.
Tomorrow, the teammates will be back in action for Warm Up, held from 09:40-09:50 (GMT+9), and the 24-lap Race, which starts at 14:00.
Image gallery
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director
“We started today feeling quite positive because Fabio was immediately comfortable on the bike here on the Friday. The new asphalt offers good grip, and Motegi’s layout also suits some of Fabio’s strongest qualities, especially under braking. We made a few changes ahead of FP2. Starting from 12th on the grid in the busy midpack can make life difficult, but Fabio did an excellent job in the Sprint, managing the race and defending ninth place under constant pressure. Álex started from 21st and fought his way through the field, both by battling and by gaining several positions through others’ misfortunes. The result is not where we ultimately want to be, but compared to his feeling on the bike yesterday, today there were some encouraging signs. Tomorrow we will push extra hard in Yamaha’s home Grand Prix.”
FABIO QUARTARARO
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
“I expected to finish around P12-P13. The riders who crashed ahead of us today were faster, so we would have been around P12, realistically speaking – but we still take P9 and today’s point, of course. The most important thing was that I enjoyed the Sprint race, and my pace was quite okay. For me, the soft tyre could make the full race distance, but let’s see what the plan is, because for sure we will suffer more tyre degradation during the long race.”
ÁLEX RINS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
“It was less tough than yesterday. We were able to find our way with the set-up again. Yesterday we went in one direction, but it looked like it wasn’t the right one, so today we did the opposite, and it was much better. I improved my lap time compared to yesterday, and we were able to be a bit more competitive, but we are still far.”
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP faced another difficult race at the Twin Ring Motegi, with Jack Miller and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu forced to fight from the back of the grid after starting 20th and 22nd respectively. Both riders were able to produce a stronger pace in the race than they had shown during practice and qualifying, but the significant gap to the front at the start made any recovery extremely difficult.
The choice of the medium rear tyre, used by the majority of the grid, also proved challenging during the race, with a significant drop in performance affecting several riders. Despite this, Miller and Razgatlıoğlu were able to maintain lap times that, on pure race pace, would have placed them around the eighth to eleventh positions. Starting so far back, however, meant that they had to spend much of the race fighting through traffic and attempting to recover lost ground.
Razgatlıoğlu made good progress in the opening stages and climbed as high as 15th before making a mistake at Turn 1 on the ninth lap, which cost him several positions. The Turkish rider rejoined the race and continued to push in an attempt to recover, eventually crossing the finish line in 17th position. Miller, meanwhile, maintained a consistent pace throughout the race and finished just ahead of his teammate in 16th.
GINO BORSOI
Team Director, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
It’s clear that this was not one of our best Saturdays of the season. Unfortunately, we were not able to find the right balance on either bike, and as in Austria, we are struggling to find the right direction here as well. On top of that, like many riders from other manufacturers, we also suffered from the rear tyre today, which certainly did not help us.
I’m a little more satisfied with Toprak’s pace. He was able to make a step forward compared with a difficult Friday and also with Saturday morning, so I expect him to make another step tomorrow. The main question now is which tyre we will have to use for the race, because it looks like we may all be forced to use the hard rear, which nobody has tried yet.
So it could be a bit of a lottery tomorrow, unless they give us a slightly longer warm-up.
JACK MILLER
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider
After qualifying I was reasonably happy with the bike because I felt I had a fair bit more in the tank. Unfortunately, I made a couple of mistakes on my last lap and didn’t put everything together. I still managed a 1:43.6 despite a yellow flag, and the next lap was looking even better, but I made another mistake in the final sector and lost some time. So I felt there was definitely more potential there.
In the race, I was missing some confidence in the front end and I wasn’t able to brake as hard as I would have liked. I started to feel a little more comfortable towards the end as the bike became lighter, but just as things were starting to improve, I had a big moment and lost a few positions. I managed to save it, but there was a pretty big hole in my leathers afterwards. I had been running the medium rear because I preferred the stability, and the difference in grip compared with the soft wasn’t particularly big for us. The tyre was still working well on the right side, but it had a lot of blistering through the centre.
It looks like everyone will have to use the hard rear tomorrow, and nobody has done a single lap on it yet, not just us but anyone. So it’s going to be a bit of a lottery because we’ll have to understand the tyre very quickly and adapt the bike around it. Hopefully they give us a little more time in warm-up because we really need to understand how it works before the race.
TOPRAK RAZGATLIOGLU
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP rider
Today was a strange day because we improved the first part of the braking, but then we lost a little in the second part. I was still struggling to stop the bike properly, and when you cannot stop the bike, you lose time everywhere because you carry too much speed into the corner and then also lose on acceleration.
In the Sprint, I started to understand better how I need to ride the bike. Towards the end, I was able to improve my braking and stop the bike without locking the front, and when we checked the data, I was much closer to Fabio in this area. Unfortunately, I found this understanding a little too late, but it is a positive step. I know now that I cannot ask for more engine braking than the bike can give me, so I need to adapt my braking style.
Tomorrow could be difficult for everyone because the medium tyre is struggling and we may have to use the hard tyre, which nobody has tried yet. We will have to understand it quickly, but I hope I can make another step and put everything together for the race.
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