#PECCOvsMARTIN: 14 points in it as Martin sprints to victory and Bagnaia takes P5
Martin heads Binder and Marc Marquez on the Tissot Sprint podium as it all comes down to Sunday
The 2023 MotoGP™ World Championship will be decided on Sunday! Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) claimed Tissot Sprint victory to cut Francesco Bagnaia’s (Ducati Lenovo Team) advantage in the title fight down to just 14 points at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, ensuring the Grand Prix race will be the closest decider in the premier class sine 2015. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) earned podiums in the final Sprint of 2023, both getting their elbows out.
Martin produces the magic
Bagnaia got a dream launch from P2 to grab the holeshot into Turn 1 as Martin also got away well. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) immediately bit back at Turn 2 with a late lunge on Pecco though as Binder nearly slipped up the inside of Martin.
Lap 1, Turn 11 was where Martin made his move on Pecco. Binder, on the cutback, managed to squeeze up the inside of the pair of them and heading into Turn 12, so did the fast-starting Marc Marquez. Suddenly, Bagnaia went from P2 to P5 in the space of two corners.
Martin soon got back past Marquez as we watched Bagnaia drop into the clutches of the group behind that included Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) – the Frenchman making a phenomenal start.
With nine to go though, Quartararo’s Sprint was over as he attempted to overtake Pecco at Turn 6. The front of his Yamaha let go and that was all she wrote for El Diablo on Saturday.
Up front, the top four were locked together – Viñales, Binder, Martin and Marc Marquez. Binder and Viñales were getting very busy with eight laps left and lurking just behind was Martin. At this stage, Bagnaia was 1.6s off the fight – and the Italian had Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) climbing all over his tailpipes.
Seven to go. Now, Binder was leading. Marquez showed a wheel to Martin at Turn 6 as the two made slight contact. Unfazed, Martin then carved his way past Viñales for P2 at Turn 1 with six laps to go and as expected, Marquez wasted little time in following Binder and Martin through. With five and a half laps to go, a huge moment occurred – Martin was P1. Binder went wide at Turn 10 and left the door wide open, with Martin walking through with ease.
Five to go. As things stood, the gap in the Championship was 14 points between Sprint leader Martin and fifth place Pecco. Di Giannantonio had passed Bezzecchi and was looking menacing behind Bagnaia, with Martin still holding Binder at bay.
Three to go. Binder wasn’t close enough to make a move on Martin but he was still too close for comfort. Marquez was half a second further back, and Viñales was being caught by Bagnaia, Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi.
LAST LAP! Martin led Binder by 0.3s, with Bagnaia still holding Di Giannantonio behind him. Halfway around the lap, Binder still wasn’t close enough. Turn 10 passed by with Martin still leading and the KTM wasn’t close enough into the final corner either. Martin rode brilliantly to secure the most important 12 points of his career, as Binder and the impressive Marc Marquez bagged Valencia Sprint rostrums.
14 points, one to go
Viñales had to settle for P4 after setting the early pace, as Bagnaia came home P5 to collect five points. Not the result the Italian was searching for as the Championship chase goes down to the final day, but it could still yet prove to be a huge five points.
Di Giannantonio couldn’t find a way past Pecco and claimed P6, with Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) picking up the final points-paying positions in the Sprint.
And so, the MotoGP™ World Championship will be decided on Sunday in Valencia. 14 points in it, Pecco vs Martin – what an afternoon we have in store. Tune into the MotoGP™ race at 14:00 local time (GMT+1) to see who will be crowned 2023 MotoGP™ King in season 75.
Best Independent and Rookie of the Year trophies awarded in front of packed Valencia fanzone
On Saturday evening at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, the 2023 MotoGP™, Moto2™ and Moto3™ Rookie of the Year awards, plus the MotoGP™ Independent Team and Rider titles, were handed out in front of a passionate Spanish crowd in packed out fanzone.
The EG 0,0 stage hosted the prize giving, with Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team’s David Alonso the first to receive his Moto3™ Rookie of the Year prize, handed to him by Herve Poncharal. Home hero Sergio Garcia (Pons Wegow Los40) took home the Moto2™ ROTY trophy, with Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) picking up the prized MotoGP™ award that was given to him by Paolo Simoncelli.
Then it was time to celebrate the brilliant achievements of Jorge Martin and Prima Pramac Racing. The Spaniard was greeted with a rapturous reception before Team Manager Gino Borsoi collected the Independent Team’s trophy, as videos projected on the big screen celebrated their seasons.
Now all that’s left is to see if Martin and Pramac can add the premier class riders’ crown to their trophy collections… so tune in for the final Grand Prix race of the season at 15:00 (GMT+1) on Sunday to find out!
Canet aims to break Moto2™ victory duck from home turf pole
Aron Canet gave the Pons Wegow Los40 team a worthy present to celebrate their final weekend in Moto2™. The local rider waited until the final moments to top the timesheets at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, with his 1:33.314 beating the on-form Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Toold Speedup) by 0.174s as the Boscoscuro rider was forced to settle for second. Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing) then made it a Spanish rider lock-out in the top three as he fell just 0.020s shy of Aldeguer ahead of him.
The late lap from Canet denied Sam Lowes (Elf MarcVDS Racing Team) a front-row start in his final race in the category. The Brit has looked strong all weekend however and will be eager to end the year on a high as he prepares to start from the front of row two in P4. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) rounded out the top five to join his compatriot on the second row. Dixon finds himself with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) on the other side of him after the newly-crowned Champion took his triumph-powered Kalex KTM to 6th place on the grid before he moves up. He’ll be aiming a lot higher when the lights go out.
The third row of the grid went to Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) who fought his way through Q1 to finish in P7 ahead of Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2™) and Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) rounding out the top ten.
Make sure not to miss any of the Moto2™ action set to commence on Sunday at 13:15 local time (GMT +1) as Acosta races for the final time ahead of his move up on Tuesday!
Moto3 Veijer heads Sasaki and Öncü as just 0.052s splits the front row
Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) capped off the final qualifying of the year with pole position to head a Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP 1-2 on the grid, with the Dutchman 0.048s clear of teammate Ayumu Sasaki. The top three are covered by just 0.052s too, and it was Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) who bagged the final front-row spot as he and Sasaki eye up solid finishes to their Moto3™ careers before moving up.
Row two went the way of Joel Kelso (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP), and he was three tenths shy of the front row. The Aussie will be joined by David Alonso (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team), who despite a tough weekend so far with a number of crashes, pulled it together in Q2 to impress and to round out the top five. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) takes the final spot on row two in P6.
Rookie Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is set to head row three after finding Veijer at the end of a pole-threatening lap, so he could be one to watch on Sunday. The Spaniard will start ahead of newly crowned Champion Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) as the pair took 7th and 8th respectively. Their compatriot David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) takes ninth to round out that row.
The fourth row features Ryusei Yamanaka (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) at the head of it, and he has Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) and Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) for company in 11th and 12th.
So where’s Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3)? After dominating on Friday, the number 96 highsided in Q2 and didn’t set a lap, so he’ll be looking for a comeback from P18 if he’s declared fit in a review before the race.
The Moto3™ riders take on that final race of the season at 13:15 local time (GMT +1), so make sure to tune in!
MotoGP Official Press Release
