SPRINT POINTS IN BARCELONA SATURDAY
Team Gresini Racing MotoGP wraps up the penultimate day of the 2024 season with both riders able to secure points in the sprint race. Alex Marquez is fifth at the line after a good battle for the podium with Bastianini and Espargarò.
The #73 unfortunately ran wide with two laps left, which prevented him to stay in contention for a top three finish. Five points for him, which allow him to defend his top ten positioning in the championship standings and Aleix Espargaró and also get closer to Di Giannantonio and Morbidelli – both only five points away.
Marc Marquez had more of a challenging race right from the start, when he came close to a coming together at the start. The collision came moments afterwards with Pedro Acosta. With the rear wings out of service, he had to ride defensively for the whole encounter. His seventh-place finish results in a six point loss from Bastianini (who was second today): the third place in the final standings is now five points away.
5th – ALEX MARQUEZ #73
“I’m happy with the sprint race and upset for a qualifying in which I made too many mistakes. Then I was quite lucky at the start and had an easy life in the first turns, which allowed me to recover many positions. Then the desire for a podium cost me fourth place… In any case, the feeling was good and was the best positioned GP23 rider, so tomorrow we need to aim at recovering some positions in the standings.”
7th – MARC MARQUEZ #93
“It was a challenging sprint race; I didn’t have the right feeling, and we have some work to do tomorrow to do better. A top five finish would be a good result, and the goal is the top three in the championship, but we’re struggling a bit too much right now. I struggled at the start to avoid Jorge and Pecco, went wide and lost time, then had a coming together with Acosta. Nobody’s fault, but it did cost me time.”
