19.
12:34
Binder benefits from Wackler
What a rescue maneuver by Joan Mir! His Honda threatens to throw him off, but Mir catches it again. But he can’t hold onto his fourth place because Binder immediately takes advantage of this wobble and takes fourth place.
18.
12:32
Open leather suit from Jorge Martin
Curious scenes from Jorge Martin! His leather suit has opened at the zipper. But no problem for Martin. In a slow curve he takes his time and closes the zipper again. This action costs him around one second. But he remains easily ahead of Quartararo and can immediately increase his lead by 0.4 seconds within one lap.
16.
12:29
New podium
This also rearranges the podium. At the front, Bezzecchi doesn’t notice anything at all. Martin knows exactly that Bagnaia is gone because he was behind him. He will now do everything he can to bring home his second place. If everything stays like this, the Martinator will reduce the gap to just 13 points. And last but not least, Fabio Quartararo would be on the final podium spot.
14.
12:26
Bagnaia with zero number
Now Francesco Bagnaia is taking revenge for Martin’s maneuver. Martin has to go a little wide and Bagnaia is there immediately and stabs inside. But what does he do then? He probably wanted to do too much and put a gap between himself and Martin. He folds his front wheel away again and the championship leader lands in the gravel. He can’t continue and it becomes a zero number for Bagnaia. So the World Cup is completely open again!
13.
12:23
Bezzecchi perfectly on the way
Marco Bezzecchi can only beat himself at the front. There are still eight laps to complete, but he continues to expand his lead. He and the Martin/Bagnaia duo are now separated by 5.3 seconds.
12.
12:22
Technical problems with Aleix Espargaro
It’s also a dark weekend for Aleix Espargaro. After he was unable to finish the sprint, a technical problem prevented him from continuing. He slows down and tries to save his Aprilia towards the pit lane.
10.
12:19
Augusto Fernandez gives up
The news has just come in that Augusto Fernandez has to shut down his GasGas machine due to technical problems. This means his race ends early.
10.
12:18
Marquez is stuck
In the meantime, Marc Márquez is making no further progress. He is in 15th place and has at least one championship point.
9.
12:16
Field sorts itself
It seems as if the drivers are now settling in a little. Marco Bezzecchi proves how his sprint race could have gone if he hadn’t been hit on the rear wheel – he is the undisputed leader with a lead of 3.5 seconds. Behind him, Martin is still second, but still has Bagnaia breathing down his neck. The two don’t separate for a second. Quartararo, who benefited from Márquez’s slip, is in fourth place. Behind him, Mir delivers his best race of the season. Binder is in sixth place ahead of Aleix Espargaro and Franco Morbidelli.
6.
12:12
Márquez slips away
Marc Márquez shows great first rounds again, but then this happens! At the exit of turn one, his front wheel collapses and he slides off the track. However, he is able to get his Honda upright again on his own and is back in 16th place. Despite the crash, he still has five riders behind him.
5.
12:10
Martin over-motivated
What an overtaking maneuver by Jorge Martin. A little over-motivated, he opened the brakes again after the straight and squeezed past Bagnaia. However, the Ducati pilot has to right his machine to prevent a collision. As a result, both lose some time and it’s Márquez’s turn.
4.
12:08
Bezzecchi moves away
Marco Bezzecchi is getting serious now. He hits the asphalt on the second fastest lap of the race and is able to pull away from his pursuers by just over a second. Jorge Martin also sees this and will now do everything he can to get past Pecco Bagnaia. It looks like the Spaniard will be able to drive at a faster speed.
3.
12:06
Interesting tire choice
The tire wear in the temperatures will also be very interesting, because the three drivers at the front have all chosen a different tire combination. Bezzecchi relies on the medium tire at the front and the soft tire at the rear, Bagnaia chooses the combination of hard and soft and Jorge Martin does not experiment with the medium tire at the front and rear.
2.
12:04
Bezzecchi grabs the lead
At the end of the start and finish straight, Bezzecchi passes Bagnaia. So far no driver has been able to break away from the front. In fourth place is Marc Márquez, who once again got off to a good start. Fabio Quarataro can also take part at the moment and is in fifth place ahead of Joan Mir.
1.
12:03
Loser of the start
The loser of the starting phase is clearly Maverick Vinales, who finds himself at the back of the field. He had to go wide in the first corner with his Aprilia and lost a lot of places.
1.
12:02
Let’s go!
The traffic lights go out and the start on the Buddh International Circuit has taken place. Can all drivers get through the first few corners unscathed? This is what it looks like! Jorge Martin flies away and goes into the first corner first. But he can’t keep his lead for long because at the end of the back straight Martin is too late on the brakes. He has to let Bagnaia and Bezzecchi pass him.
12:00
Start is imminent
Dinner is served. The drivers go on their warm-up lap.
11:54
Who will win the premiere?
The race promises to be particularly exciting for the World Championship fight, as all three title contenders start from the front row. Marco Bezzecchi is the pole sitter and feels the pressure from Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia right next to him. Yesterday Marc Márquez was able to set a highlight and secured third place. It is questionable whether he will also play a role in the podium over the full race distance. In the first two races in the smaller classes there was a Spanish winner, Jaume Masia and Pedro Acosta. Do we also hear the Spanish anthem in MotoGP?
11:48
Shortened race distance
Due to the extreme heat and humidity, the drivers collectively asked to shorten the race distance by three laps. The tire manufacturer Michelin also supports this request, as there is no experience yet as to how the tires will change in this heat. The request was granted and so the race will be 21 laps long instead of the planned 24 laps. One lap is 5,015 kilometers and consists of 13 corners.
11:43
More failures
The field of drivers shrank further over the course of the weekend. Alex Márquez first got hit in qualifying. Without any outside influence, he falls and breaks three ribs on his left side. That was the end of the weekend for him. There was the next starting accident in yesterday’s sprint race. Marini brakes far too late into the first corner and hits Bezzecchi on the rear wheel. Valentino Rossi’s half-brother falls so badly that he breaks his collarbone. This means that only one Gresini and one VR46 machine will be at the start.
11:35
World Cup fight comes to a head
Francesco Bagnaia is still the man to beat. Slowly but surely he also has to look behind him, because Jorge Martin is coming from there with big steps. Everything is currently falling into place at the Martinator. At the last Grand Prix in Misano, in addition to pole position, he took the sprint and race victory. The new track in India also seems to suit him, because with the next sprint victory from yesterday he reduced his gap to the World Championship leader to 33 points. Marco Bezzecchi shouldn’t be written off as a third player either. The Italian is unlucky that he was cleared several times in the races through no fault of his own. But once he can accelerate, he’s at the forefront every time. He is currently 69 points behind Bagnaia.
11:25
Welcome
Hello and welcome to the Indian Grand Prix. For the first time ever, the MotoGP circus is making a guest appearance at the Buddh International Circuit. The premier class race is scheduled for 12 p.m. German time.