MADRID, 21 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Italian rider Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia (Ducati) achieved this Sunday his third consecutive victory in the MotoGP race of the Austrian Grand Prix, the thirteenth round of the Motorcycle World Championship, ahead of the championship leader Fabio Quartararo, who returns to the podium after being absent in the last two fights.
Bagnaia is still sweet and this time he finished his first hat-trick by winning Assen, Silverstone and now Spielberg. A milestone for the Italian, who achieved his fifth victory, his best record in the same season in his fourth year in the premier class.
Once the lights were off, his compatriot Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing) tried to defend his position as ‘poleman’ in a bad start for Quartararo, unlike ‘Pecco’, who was at the head of the race in the first laps to not let go a first position that he defended one more day in a masterful way.
Behind, the Spaniard Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing) fought at a fast lap pace with Bastianini for third position, which ended with an iconic fight in favor of the Madrid native by taking advantage of the Italian’s problems, which he ended up abandoning.
Thus, the man from Madrid dreamed of a podium finish on his favorite circuit, where he managed to get on top of the box in his last four races. But his insistence led him to the ground on the last lap, trying to overtake Jack Miller (Ducati), and he finally finished tenth.
Quartararo’s initial problems disappeared and the Frenchman went from less to more in his return to the podium after two races out of it. Bastianini’s start placed him fourth and, without excessive stress, with an Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) in the doldrums, he ended up overtaking Martín and Miller to certify his second place ahead of the Australian. A favorable position for ‘El Diablo’, who extended his advantage over Espargaró after suffering and finishing in sixth place.
Ducati dominated the race on a day where the Spanish Joan Mir (Suzuki) was forced to leave at the first change, after crashing at turn 4 of the first lap. A bad start for the Catalan rider, who adds his sixth retirement of the season and links 14 consecutive races without a podium, his worst streak in MotoGP since his first 20 participations in the highest category between 2019 and 2020.
Among the rest of the Spaniards, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) finished thirteenth, ahead of Álex Márquez (Honda), who staged a great comeback by starting in last place and finishing in the points zone.