MotoGP Japanese GP: Jorge Martin Wins Motegi Race, Marc Marquez Scores Podium
As a result of heavy rain at Motegi, the 2023 Japanese MotoGP is called at just over halfway distance, and the race is won by Jorge Martin. After a planned restart had to be scrapped owing to the weather, Martin found himself only three points behind defending champion Francesco Bagnaia.
By Divyam Dubey
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.
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Ducati | 24m 6.314s |
| 2 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo | +1.413s |
| 3 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda | +2.013s |
| 4 | Marco Bezzecchi | Mooney VR46 Ducati | +2.943s |
| 5 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia Racing | +3.181s |
| 6 | Jack Miller | Red Bull KTM | +6.837s |
| 7 | Augusto Fernandez | Tech3 GASGAS | +7.587s |
| 8 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Gresini Ducati | +8.602s |
| 9 | Raul Fernandez | RNF Aprilia | +11.229s |
| 10 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Yamaha | +12.244s |
| 11 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda | +14.714s |
| 12 | Joan Mir | Repsol Honda | +14.924s |
| 13 | Cal Crutchlow | Yamalube | +16.057s |
| 14 | Stefan Bradl | LCR Honda | +17.253s |
| 15 | Pol Espargaro | Tech3 GASGAS | +24.921s |
| 16 | Michele Pirro | Ducati Lenovo | +33.962s |
| 17 | Franco Morbidelli | Monster Yamaha | +74.934s |
| 18 | Miguel Oliveira | RNF Aprilia | +1 lap |
| 19 | Maverick Viñales | Aprilia Racing | +1 lap |
| DNF | Johann Zarco | Pramac Ducati | |
| DNF | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM |
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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.
