Too much rain: Martin wins demolition race in Motegi

Spanish Ducati rider Jorge Martin won the MotoGP race at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday. With the success in Motegi, Martin came within three points of defending champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) from Italy in the overall standings, who was ranked second in the demolition race.

01 October 2023

From: apa/dpa/sn

Jorge Martin also won the MotoGP classic after the sprint at the Japanese Motorcycle Grand Prix in Motegi. The Spaniard was declared the winner after the race was stopped due to heavy rain on the 13th lap because a restart was not possible for safety reasons. The Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), who is leading in the World Championship, came in second, while the Spaniard Marc Marquez (Honda) came third.

“I wanted a good result, I felt good, I was able to overtake a few and win. It was simply too dangerous to continue. “Fortunately everyone stayed healthy,” said Martin after his third Moto GP win of the season, including the sprint, his third double. Martin reduced his gap to Bagnaia in the World Championship standings to just three points. “I'm glad it turned out this way, I'm happy. It was simply too risky to continue,” said Bagnaia, who was also happy about his first podium on rain tires.

The South African Brad Binder, second behind Martin in the sprint on a KTM the day before, retired early after a crash. The riders changed bikes immediately after the starting lap after it started to rain at the start of the race. Although efforts were made to restart the race, the red flag was immediately used.