Enea Bastianini Crushes Marquez's Hopes in Explosive Japanese GP Sprint: 'I Won This Fight'

Alex Harrington | Oct 5, 2024

Apr 14, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Enea Bastianini (23) of Italy and Ducati Lenovo Team raises his trophy on the podium after he finishes in third place in the MotoGP Grand Prix of The Americas at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Enea Bastianini delivered a thrilling performance in the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix Sprint, leaving Marc Marquez's hopes in the dust in a thrilling battle. As the factory Ducati rider pushed up the pack, he moved from fourth on the grid to trail just behind the leader at Turn 1.

Despite an early setback when overtaken by Pedro Acosta of Tech3, Bastianini quickly regained momentum after Acosta's crash began a brilliant battle with Marquez for second place. Their intense duel, consisting of multiple position swaps, particularly at Turns 9, 10, and 11, captivated audiences and concluded with Bastianini claiming victory at the end of the race.

As the sprint race unfolded, it became evident that fans were in for a spectacle. Pedro Acosta initially seemed poised to dominate, but his unfortunate crash opened the door for a fierce competition between Bastianini and Marquez. The battle for the second spot became a highlight of the race. Marquez, riding for Gresini Ducati, pushed aggressively, but Bastianini ultimately won.

Reflecting on his victory, Bastianini shared the following:

“Has been a nice fight today.” He admitted to being uncertain about his prospects before the race began.

“I wasn’t confident to do a great race like I did today.

“Well, it’s improving my pace because on the time attack I was good but for the pace it was so and so.

“I commit a small mistake at Turn 9 and Marc entered,” he noted.

"I was in a better line and I pushed all the last lap like never and I won this fight. Second place is good." His second-place finish, just 0.181 seconds behind the leader Bagnaia, cemented his performance in the Japanese campaign.

In the context of championship standings, Bastianini maintains a slender five-point lead over Marquez.

“Every time it’s important to fight and usually I don’t check anything on the classification,” he explained. "I have only my objective inside my mind and it’s always to arrive on top.”

“Tomorrow we have to adjust a bit the set-up because at the end my rear tyre, especially on the right side, was destroyed,” he elaborated. "And tomorrow the race will probably be with the medium. So, we have to check the data to do it again.”

2024 Japanese MotoGP Sprint Results

1. Francesco Bagnaia
2. Enea Bastianini
3. Marc Márquez
4. Jorge Martín
5. Franco Morbidelli
6. Fabio Di Giannantonio
7. Álex Márquez
8. Jack Miller
9. Maverick Viñales
10. Marco Bezzecchi
11. Raúl Fernández
12. Fabio Quartararo
13. Luca Marini
14. Johann Zarco
15. Augusto Fernández
16. Álex Rins
17. Lorenzo Savadori
18. Remy Gardner
19. Joan Mir
20. Pedro Acosta
21. Aleix Espargaró
22. Takaaki Nakagami
23. Brad Binder