MotoGP Japanese GP: Jorge Martin Wins Motegi Race, Marc Marquez Scores Podium

With his victory in the rain-shortened Japanese GP over Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin came closer to the MotoGP points lead. After winning the sprint on Saturday, Pramac Ducati rider Martin put on another magnificent performance to win the Motegi race. The bulk of riders rushed to the pits for a bike switch when the rain began to fall shortly after lights out, despite the fact that they had started the race on slick tyres. In the shower, Martin cut through the competition and opened up a lead, which was quickly closed by Francesco Bagnaia. Now that all points have been awarded, with six weekends left, Martin is only three points behind Bagnaia, who leads the championship. However, Honda's Marc Marquez finished third, his first Grand Prix podium in almost a year, while Ducati's VR46 rider Marco Bezzecchi finished fourth.

MotoGP Japanese GP: Moteg Race Result

A few drops of rain fell before the start, but everyone used slicks for the warm-up lap nevertheless. Then, not long into the race, it started to pour. After passing Bagnaia for second at Turn 9 on Lap 6, Martin then out-braked Espargaro for the lead at Turns 10 and 11.

@marcmarquez93 is into third! #JapaneseGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/ljnRchabDO

— MotoGP (@MotoGP) October 1, 2023

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Martin was 1.6 seconds ahead of the rest of the field when the race was stopped due to red flags, with Espargaro falling to fourth place behind Bagnaia, Marquez, and Bezzecchi. After a little over 20 minutes, race officials tried to restart the event, but the weather was still bad, so they waved the red flags again and called it a wash.

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While Crutchlow earned three points for finishing in thirteenth, Bradl earned two points for finishing in fourteenth after being called in to replace the injured Alex Rins midway through the weekend. 

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