Australian GP: Marquez wins, Martin extends MotoGP title lead

Just like he has done at the San Marino and Aragon GPs this year, Marc Marquez dominated the Australian MotoGP race. Sprint winner Jorge Martin finished second after a long drawn-out battle with the Gresini rider in the main race. Francesco Bagnaia wasn’t able to match the pace of Marquez and Martin ahead of him, and had to settle for third place.

1. Gap between Bagnaia and Martin is now 20 points
2. Marquez’s third win this season, is the only GP23 race winner

Marquez vs Martin

Polesitter Martin was able to get the perfect launch. But Marquez, who began in second place, wasn’t able to do the same. Lining up at the starting grid, Marquez’s visor tear-off got lodged between his rear tyre and the tarmac, leading to a lot of wheelspin at the start. This plummeted the eight-time world champion down 13th place at just the first corner.  

However, Marquez quickly regrouped and within a few laps he was back within striking distance of the podium. Martin had established an early advantage with his fortuitous start, having a lead of almost one second over Bagnaia, who was then running second. 

Bagnaia kept that gap till Martin went wide at turn 1 on lap 12, which is when he saw the opportunity to overtake. But he couldn’t make that manoeuvre stick and Martin quickly snatched the lead back, while Marquez took second place from the reigning World Champion. 

Then the two Spaniards eked out a considerable 4-second advantage over Bagnaia who simply couldn’t match the near lap-record pace of the two Ducatis ahead of him. Martin and Marquez lunged at each other for much of the later stages of the race but ultimately, the GP23 of Marquez took the chequered flag first.  

2024 MotoGP championship standings

With just three rounds to go, the gap between the two top racers has now grown to 20 points, with Martin on the top spot. With his stellar performance in both the Sprint and the main race, Marc Marqeuz is now third in the standings, taking that spot from Enea Bastianini. Next up, is the Thailand GP, set to be held at the Chang international circuit, from October 25-27.   

2024 Australian GP results