Sunday MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 recaps from Lusail season opener

MotoGP 2024
Round One – Lusail, Qatar
Sunday

Positioned last year at the end of the season due to renovation work on the circuit (penultimate race on the calendar), the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar returned to its regular position this year to open the MotoGP season.

The start of the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar was slightly delayed due to a technical problem for Raul Fernandez, and as a result the race was shortened from 22 to 21 laps.  Fernandez managed to get on his spare bike in time to join at the back of the grid.

Jorge Martin shot off the line to grab the holeshot, but he had close company as Binder stormed forward from fourth and Bagnaia the same from fifth. The reigning Champion was quick to attack also, first Binder and then Martin as he homed in, sliced through and then got the hammer down.

Marc Marquez was also quick off the line to move into fourth, with the rider losing out most off the line Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing). Acosta had more or less held his ground off the line, but by Lap 2 the headline-maker was on the way.

Despite passing Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) on Lap 2 to take over in seventh, Acosta set the fastest lap of the race and a new lap record as he got in the groove.

Next up it was Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) in the crosshairs and Acosta got past Bastia at the final corner, keeping it into Turn 1 next time around.

Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) was the target for sixth and Acosta made a dive at Turn 1, but he couldn’t get it stopped and the two went side-by-side towards Turn 2. Alex Marquez held his ground then, but Acosta attacked not long after and made it stick.

With 15 laps to run Bagnaia was in his rhythm. The chasers were close but closer to each other than the reigning Champion, with Martin, Binder, Marc Marquez and Acosta all line astern. Next time around, the first move came as Binder attacked Martin at Turn 1.

The South African was very slightly deep and Martin took the inside line, but on the switch back into Turn 1 Binder kept it pinned for that inside line. And he made it stick, moving into second, as Marc Marquez started to threaten Martin.

But not long after that the concertina changed again, and it was Martin taking Binder back and a little chaos added in for good measure. The Pramac rider got it done, the KTM headed slightly wide, the Gresini even wider and then Acosta even wider than that. They all gathered it up, but Bagnaia was now a second clear of the quartet.

Binder struck again with 11 to go, and again went a little wide as Martin then followed suit just behind. That allowed Marc Marquez to gain a few tenths on them again, and Acosta likewise just behind. But Binder had the hammer down and started to stretch away from the group as Acosta decided to get his elbows out once more.

The rookie attacked Marc Marquez into Turn 1 to take over in fourth, the RC16 more than holding its own in the main straight horsepower shootout. And he kept it for a few laps, homing in on Martin before the charge started to fade as grip went away. By Lap 8, Marc Marquez was back on the tail unit of the rookie, and with one small misjudgment Acosta was wide, letting Marquez back through.

At the front, Binder was keeping Bagnaia in check but he couldn’t reel him in, whereas Marc Marquez was now edging closer to Martin.

Bagnaia went on to take the first Sunday GP win of the season, while the South African underlined his championship challenge with a strong second.

Jorge Martin was able to edge away from Marc Marquez and towards Binder, but not enough to attack at the final corner. The Tissot Sprint winner was forced to settle for third.

Marc Marquez took fourth on his Ducati debut, just off the podium. He is also fourth in the championship, 13-points behind series leader Pecco Bagnaia.

A charge back up the order from Bastianini saw him take fifth after fending off Alex Marquez in their own private showdown.

Acosta had been in the thick of that before fading slightly to fall into the clutches of Diggia and Espargaro, with the rookie forced to settle for ninth behind the pair… but with a new race lap record to his name.

Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) rounded out the top ten ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).

Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) just managed to get the better of Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) in the battle for P12 and top Honda.

Marco Bezzecchi’s (Pertamina Enduro VR46) tough first weekend of the season ended in P14, with Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) taking the final point after also doing a Long Lap given for an incident at the 2023 Qatar GP, the most recent race weekend he’d taken part in.

Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crashed out early on but remounted to finish the race in last position, right on the tail of Luca Marini.

Raul Fernandez retired after having to start on the spare bike shod with used tyres after his electronic issues on the grid.

The next round of the FIM MotoGP World Championship will take place in Portugal, where the Grande Prémio Tissot de Portugal will run from 22 to 24 March. At the same time, Portimao will also host the first race of the Enel MotoE World Championship.

MotoGP Lusail Race Results

MotoGP Lusail Top Speeds Across Weekend

MotoGP Championship Standings

Moto2

Alonso Lopez (Sync SpeedUp) held off Barry Baltus (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP) in a stunning finish to the first Moto2 race of the year, winning the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar to lead the Championship for the first time. It was a podium of firsts just behind him too: for Baltus a maiden Grand Prix podium, in any class, and for Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) completing the podium, his first rostrum in Moto2 – up from P18 on the grid no less.

The lights went out and polesitter Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) had a tougher start, allowing Lopez to grab the lead from second on the grid, ahead of both QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 riders, Manuel Gonzalez and Albert Arenas. Fermin Aldeguer (Sync SpeedUp), winner of four in a row at the end of 2023, also lost some ground, dropping down to 13th.

Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), meanwhile, was the rider on the move in the opening stage of the race, battling with Baltus and Zonta van der Goorbergh (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP) for fifth. Canet then fought back through, having dropped to eight, and made his way back into the lead by Lap 3, setting the fastest lap in the process.

Lopez and Gonzalez eventually caught and passed the #44 machine, however, creating a lead group of three once again. Further down the order, Garcia was battling past Aldeguer on the fringes of the top ten.

Baltus then joined the fray at the front, tagging on to the back of Canet before making a move at the end of Lap 8. Next, the Belgian then battled into second position in a fierce move on Gonzalez to set his sights on the lead. Garcia was well into his charge by then, homing in on teammate Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) as the Japanese rider moved past Gonzalez into the top four.

Garcia then arrived at the front and dispatched Ogura too, making it a three-way fight for the win between the number 3, Baltus and Lopez. But Lopez kept it pinned and shut door after door, with Baltus also suffering rear slide as he looked for a way past.

The final door, at the final corner, was also shut, and it was a drag to the line as the number 21 tucked in. Lopez just stayed ahead in a spectacular finish, with Baltus taking that incredible maiden podium in second and Garcia close on the chase for P3.

Ogura ultimately had to settle for fourth ahead of Gonzalez, with OnlyFans American Racing’s Marcos Ramirez next up just ahead of teammate Joe Roberts. Arenas took P8 ahead of Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Canet down in tenth. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was top rookie in P15.

Moto2 rookie Senna Agius was unable to get beyond the top 18 in the starting phase, as he also struggled quickly with degrading tyres. However, the 18-year-old did not give up and fought through to the end. He managed his race in the best possible way and was even able to overtake team-mate Darryn Binder in the final metres of the 5.38km track. As a result, he finished his first race of the season in seventeenth place, just two positions behind the points and right behind Fermin Aldeguer and Deniz Oncu.

Senna Agius

“We missed some extra track time and that meant we didn’t make the best tyre choice for the race. I could have adapted better but I lost so much time at the beginning, it also meant I had to learn to ride with almost no grip earlier than anyone else and that worked out well at the end! I salvaged 17th. If I had stayed further forward then I could have had points. The dynamic of the bike and the championship has changed so much for this year. Not such a bad race but knowing it could have been much better is pretty frustrating. We leave here with a lot of knowledge and hopefully we’ll be better prepared for race day in Portugal. A big thanks to the team for all the work. We’ll get it figured out!”

Moto2 Lusail Race Results

Moto2 Lusail Top Speeds Across Weekend

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

There’s been a lot of talk about David Alonso (CFMoto Aspar Team) in pre-season – usually next to the words “title favourite” – and the Colombian showed why in the first race of the season, picking his way up from fifth to a final corner attack on Dani Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) to secure those first 25 points of the year.

Holgado is another favourite for glory in 2024 but was forced to settle for second first time out, able to just stay ahead of an incredible charge up from P18 from Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), with the Japanese rider taking his second Grand Prix podium.

After some drama before lights out as David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) had an issue and had to wheel off the grid to start from pitlane, Holgado took the holeshot from pole as Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) held second and Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) slotted into third, but the latter duo would prove protagonists of some key drama not long after.

The race had settled into a classic Moto3 leading group when, with 14 to go, Rueda lost it at Turn 1 – and with Ortola on the outside, nowhere to go. Both slid off and both were ok, and although Ortola was able to remount, they were out that fight at the front.

That freight train battle rolled on, but by five to go it was down to a group of 10: Holgado, Alonso, Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), Furusato, Riccardo Rossi (CIP – Green Power), Stefano Nepa (LEVELUP – MTA), Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP), Vicente Perez (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) and Tatsuki Suzuki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP).

Starting the final lap, Alonso was sixth as Holgado led Rossi and Furusato over the line. The Colombian then got past Fernandez, and in trying to take it back the Leopard rider then slid out, with Perez caught in the crossfire. Riders ok, but out the fight.

Alonso’s next target was Rossi and the number 80 sliced through and then tagged onto the back of Furusato and Holgado. He didn’t waste time making another move either, getting past the number 72 to home in on the leader as the final corner fast approached.

Then, he sent it – and kept it. Tucking in on the drag to the line, Alonso wins the first Grand Prix of the season to deny Holgado by hundredths, with two of the key pre-season favourites starting the year right in the spotlight. Furusato makes his own case for the season we could expect too with that stunning charge up from P18 on the grid.

David Alonso – P1

“I didn’t expect to win, I had everything under control, but before the last lap everything became complicated. I made a mistake in managing the slipstream and there were riders passing me everywhere. I thought ‘I’m going to see how far I can go’. I was very clear about it, I wanted to try it in the last corner. There was a moment of crisis, but I was able to solve it in the last lap. My dream is to be world champion, but for now we are going to manage the moment. Today, for example, if I couldn’t win, the goal was to finish and score points.”

Daniel Holgado – P2

“Amazing ride for the first race of the year, I am super happy with our performance. The last laps were a bit difficult because the rear tyres were destroyed, but we held it as much as we could. We led almost the entire race, we did not get the win which was our target, but we leave Qatar with the pole position and a second place, and that is a good start to the season. Thank you to my team for their work, and time to focus on the next round in Portugal.“

Rossi takes fourth ahead of Veijer and Nepa, with Suzuki a little further back in sixth – the last of the front group finishers.

Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) takes P8, with Ortola able to recover from that crash with Rueda to slice back up to P9.

Rookie Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) completed the top ten for an impressive debut.

The young Australian showed strength and maturity all throughout the week in Qatar. On Saturday, he made it directly to Q2, and got himself a P17 start on the grid. When the lights went out, he discovered the beautiful mess of Moto3 first laps, lost a couple of positions in the first turns, but he was still in P17 after the opening lap. He remained calm, observed, and did not get too much disturbed by the events. Progressively, he set himself up with a decent pace as the heart went down a bit lap after lap, allowing him to be more relaxed on his GASGAS. After four laps, he had made it back to P12 behind countryman Joel Kelso. When the opportunity came during the last laps, he made his way to P10 as he completed his first Moto3 race in tenth.

Jacob Roulstone – P10

“I am very happy to finish tenth in my first race in Moto3. We did not get the best start, struggled a bit in the first laps, but as the race went by, we managed to get closer to the second group. I could not ride at the same pace as the first group, but the pace was good as we were at the front of group 2. When there were a few laps to go, I relaxed, breathed a bit more, and we were able to make our way towards the front, and score points for our first race! It was a good debut in the class!”

Joel Kelso went two positions better, crossing the line in eighth place.

Moto3 Lusail Race Results

Moto3 Lusail Top Speeds Across Weekend

Moto3 Championship Standings

2024 FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar (Updated)

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