In a tense MotoGP race at Thailand’s Chang International Circuit, Pecco Bagnaia proved why he's a two time MotoGP champion and a championship contender this year, taking the top step for Ducati Lenovo with a masterful ride that saw him finish in 43 minutes, 38.108 seconds. His consistency and pace on the GP24 secured him a comfortable gap of 2.905 seconds over Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin, who fought brilliantly and kept a cool head to finish second.
@Red Bull
Pedro Acosta impressed with his debut wet podium for Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, riding the RC16 to a strong third-place finish just +3.800 seconds off Bagnaia. The rookie sensation displayed incredible composure, challenging the seasoned frontrunners with every lap, even though a late-race push proved just out of reach. Impressive stuff from the rookie, hopefully this is a turn around in his fortunes after a run of DNFs.
Fabio Di Giannantonio made it a great weekend for VR46 Ducati, slotting into fourth place with a time gap of +4.636 seconds. Meanwhile, Red Bull KTM’s Jack Miller and Brad Binder rounded out the top six, both showing off the potential of the RC16 machine in mixed conditions.
Maverick Viñales rode consistently for Aprilia Racing, crossing the line in seventh place with +8.498 seconds from Bagnaia, though he struggled to maintain early-race momentum. Johann Zarco kept LCR Honda in the points, finishing eighth after overcoming a long-lap penalty from an incident in the Sprint, and Aleix Espargaro put up a solid fight, finishing ninth for Aprilia.
A familiar drama unfolded with Alex Marquez and Marc Marquez for Gresini Ducati; the brothers took 10th and 11th, respectively, though Marc’s weekend was marred by the fact he crashed out of podium potential before remounting for 11th. Luca Marini held on for 12th for Repsol Honda, followed closely by Takaaki Nakagami for LCR Honda in 13th and Enea Bastianini for Ducati Lenovo in 14th.
@Repsol Honda
Joan Mir rounded out the points scoring places with a 15th, meaning all Honda riders were in the points for the first time this season.
In a race that saw its fair share of DNFs, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo managed 16th, trailing the leaders by +50.021 seconds. Augusto Fernandez, Alex Rins, Lorenzo Savadori, Franco Morbidelli, and Raul Fernandez all saw early exits due to crashes or technical issues, rounding off a challenging weekend.
Thailand was a high-stakes race with Ducati domination at the forefront, Bagnaia’s victory shrinking Jorge Martin’s championship lead to just seventeen points as MotoGP heads to Sepang. The series looks set for an explosive season finale, where every second and every decision from the stewards could determine the 2024 champion.
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