Jack Miller wins the Japanese Grand Prix. The Australian made the ideal race by winning ahead of Brad Binder and Jorge Martin. In the fight for the title, Fabio Quartararo regained an 18-point lead in the drivers’ classification after the fall of Pecco Bagnaia on the last lap.
A week after the Grand Prix of Aragon, MotoGP begins its Oceano-Asian tour with the Grand Prix of Japan. This Sunday, the players on the grid will battle it out for victory on the Twin Ring Motegi track.
Located north of Tokyo, the 4.801 km course with 14 turns offers an exciting challenge for this 16th round of the world championship. After taking pole position in qualifying, Marc Márquez will start at the head of this Grand Prix.
The three times winner in the Twin Ring Motegi, the Spaniard intends to return to victory in a very complicated season.
The fight for the title intensifies
After crashing in the previous round at Motorland Aragon, Fabio Quartararo saw his main championship rival Pecco Bagnaia fall to just 10 points. Ranked 9th at the end of qualifying, the French driver has the opportunity to get ahead of his runner-up, who was only ranked 12th.
The start of this Japanese Grand Prix will be given at 8 a.m. and the drivers will have to complete 24 laps, i.e. a race distance of 115.224 km on the Twin Ring MotoGP.
Last 10 Laps of MotoGP Japan
- Lap 11: Still at turn 11, Enea Bastianini gains a place by overtaking Pol Espargaro to take 9th position.
- Lap 12: Yellow flag in sector 2! Takuya Tsuda’s Suzuki is on fire. The Japanese quickly stopped to get out of his machine.
- Lap 13: Luca Marini obliterates Maverick Viñales and takes 6th place in this GP!
- Lap 14: Darryn Binder falls in sector 2! The pilot loses positions but gets back on his bike to get back on the track.
- Lap 15: Fabio Quartararo is on the attack, the Niçois has returned to Maverick Viñales.
- Lap 16: In the lead since lap 4, Jack Miller had the perfect race. The Australian dominates his competitors and has more than 4 seconds on Jorge Martin (2nd).
- Lap 17: Fabio Quartararo is still glued behind Maverick Viñales, the Aprilia rider is showing great resistance.
- Lap 18: Jorge Martin and Brad Binder receive a warning for exceeding the track limits. Be careful not to take any penalties!
- Lap 19: Alex Rins comes into the pits! This Japanese GP stops for the official Suzuki team! Double retirement for the Japanese manufacturer for its last race at home before leaving MotoGP at the end of the season.
- Lap 20: Very nice overtaking of Pecco Bagnaia on Enea Bastianini in the last corner! The Ducati rider finds rhythm and comes back strong on Fabio Quartararo.
- Lap 21: Marc Marquez regains performance, the Spaniard has just erased Luca Marini and Miguel Oliveira! The Honda rider climbs to 4th place.
- Lap 22: The fight for 2nd place is raging between Brad Binder and Jorge Martin. It is ultimately the South African who takes 2nd place!
- Lap 23: A little further, Pecco Bagnaia (9th) puts pressure on Fabio Quartararo (8th).
- Last lap: And the fall of Pecco Bagnaia! The Italian had come back to Fabio Quartararo before falling between turns 3 and 4!
- Checkered flag: Victory for Jack Miller! Victory for Ducati! The Australian wins ahead of Brad Binder and Jorge Martin.
- Checkered flag: Contrasting situation at Ducati, Despite the magnificent victory of Jack Miller, the reds can look gray after the fall of Pecco Bagnaia. This crash could have a big impact on the race for the title!
- Checkered flag: At the end of this GP, Fabio Quartararo regains an 18-point lead over Pecco Bagnaia with 4 races to go from the end of the season.
- Checkered flag: Starting in pole position, Marc Marquez finished 4th in this GP. The Spaniard was ahead of Miguel Oliveira (5th). Luca Marini (6th), Maverick Viñales (7th), Fabio Quartararo (8th), Enea Bastianini (9th) and Marco Bezzecchi (10th) complete the top 10!
As Australian tradition dictates, Jack Miller celebrated his victory a Shoey!
