Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia won a chaotic Americas Grand Prix ahead of Gresini Racing’s Álex Márquez on Sunday after Marc Márquez crashed halfway through the race while leading, losing for the first time this season.
Marc Márquez had clinched pole position in qualifying as well as a third straight sprint victory on Saturday, but after a first crash on the red Ducati, the six-times MotoGP champion opted to retire due to extensive damage on his bike.
Although Bagnaia took the chequered flag, it is Álex Márquez who will leave Austin as the big winner as finishing second moved him to the top of the riders’ championship on 87 points, one point ahead of his elder brother Marc. Fabio Di Giannantonio of VR46 Racing tried to catch up to Álex but ran out of laps as he finished third to give Ducati another clean sweep of the podium.
“I’m super happy, I’m already without (my) voice, I screamed out loud,” Bagnaia said after he had a celebratory hotdog in the paddock. “What a fantastic feeling, to be back on the top step of the podium after such a difficult period.”
Even before the race began, there was chaos when the sun briefly came out and riders who had opted for wet tyres sprinted back to the pits to swap their bikes, opting for slicks on a drying track, leading to a red flag. When the 19-lap race got under way, Marc Márquez had a perfect launch off the line and established a lead of over a second by the end of the opening lap. Bagnaia had been finishing behind the Márquez brothers in previous races and sprints, and the Italian was determined to finish higher, using Álex’s slipstream to overtake the Gresini rider and take second place on lap four.
Marc looked to be in cruise control as he set a race lap record but the Spaniard suddenly slid off the track on lap nine. Bagnaia grabbed the opportunity to close the gap to his teammate in the championship, extending his lead over Alex as the race wore on. Marc attempted to ride on without a foot peg and a screen but less than five laps later, he gave up and nursed his bike back into the pits to retire.
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Bagnaia eventually won with a two-second lead over Álex, who finished second for a third straight race.
