MotoGP: Styria and Austria

A round-up of the double header in Spielberg

MotoGP

With another pole, rookie Jorge Martin of Pramac Racing was aiming for a better finish. The young Spaniard got off to a great start, taking the lead and retaining it as the grid jostled behind him. This race would also have Red Bull KTM Factory Racing test rider Dani Pedrosa racing as a wildcard and fans of the legendary Spaniard were excited to see what the once Honda rider still had. However, in the early stages, Pedrosa highsided and his bike sat plumb in the middle of the track. This caused Aprilia Racing Team Gresini rider Lorenzo Savadori to crash into the stricken KTM motorcycle, bringing out the red flag at the Styrian GP.

At the restart, Martin once again got off to an amazing start, taking the lead and holding it. He was followed by a stellar fight between championship leader Fabio Quartararo on the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP M1 and current reigning world champion Joan Mir on the Team Suzuki Ecstar motorcycle. Martin’s teammate and second in the championship standings, Johann Zarco of Pramac Racing, did look quite fast initially, but soon started to lose a few places to the likes of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Brad Binder and LCR Honda Idemitsu rider Takaaki Nakagami.

However, it was the podium battle that enthralled all with Mir finally getting the better of Quartararo at the line. Mir has been struggling for a while with starting pace as the holeshot devices on both Ducati and Yamaha have been outshining the Suzuki. This has caused the Suzuki riders to always play catch-up which has indeed hindered their performances. However, Mir has constantly shown good performance even though it has been too little too late. This time, though, the Spaniard would have the better of the Frenchman, taking second place at Styria. Quartararo came in third, riding a smart race considering his main championship rivals were behind him.

However, Styria would belong to Jorge Martin, with the rookie taking his and Pramac Racing’s first victory in MotoGP. A brilliant result for the newcomer in the pinnacle of motorcycle racing and a sure hint of what we may expect from the youngster in the future.