Italian rider Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati) won the Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix this Sunday when he was about to be left without a seat in the premier class, in a race in which Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia) did not participate due to injury.
Di Giannantonio, starting from second place on the grid, was ahead of Italy’s Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) in second place with a time of 2.734 seconds, and his Transalpine race compatriot Luca Marini (Ducati) in third place with a time of 4.408 seconds.
Portugal’s Miguel Oliveira missed the start after breaking his right shoulder blade in a fall during Saturday’s sprint race.
The Portuguese was given a long lap penalty in the next race he competes in after Spaniard Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) crashed in the sprint race.
Espargaro suffered a fractured left fibula but was cleared to take part in Sunday’s race. However, the pain got the better of him and he eventually gave it up.
With seven points separating championship leader Francesco Bagnai from his main title rival, Spaniard Jorge Martin (Ducati), tensions were high from the start.
And Jorge Martin really succumbed to the pressure, allowing his rear wheel to slip at the start and being swallowed up by the field.
“Pecco” Bagnaia now took the lead of the race, but behind him was Di Ginnantonio, as well as Luca Marini.
The Martinator, down to eighth place (from fifth), was struggling with rear wheel problems and could never keep up with those in front.
With four laps to go, Di Giannantonio overtook Banaya, who, while trying to react, was unable to brake and was forced to take an escape route.
He returned to the track more than two seconds behind his compatriot, who celebrated his first career victory in the premier class, at a time when he was about to be left without a place in the championship.
At the moment, the contract with the Gresini team expires at the end of the year and it is already known that the place will be taken by the Spaniard Marc Marquez (Honda), who was 11th this Sunday.
Di Giannantonio became the eighth winner of the season.
Jorge Martin finished the Qatar race in 10th place, now 21 points behind championship leader Francesco Bagnai.
The reigning world champion has 437 points compared to Martin’s 416, with only the Valencian Community Grand Prix remaining to compete in a week’s time.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.