MotoGP: Miller dominant in Japanese GP win as Bagnaia crashes out
Jack Miller dominated after climbing up the order to win MotoGP Japanese GP from Brad Binder and Jorge Martin.
Even before the start of MotoGP race in Japanese GP at Twin Ring Motegi, Aleix Espargaro pitted after the formation lap due to alarm bells on his #1 bike as he switched to the spare bike to join the grid at the back in dry conditions after rain on Saturday.
It was a clean start from pole for Honda’s Marc Marquez but KTM’s Brad Binder took the lead and was followed by Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin as the third leader of MotoGP Japanese GP, with Ducati’s Jack Miller climbing up to third.
Marquez was fourth from KTM’s Miguel Oliveira, with Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales in sixth from Pramac’s Johann Zarco, VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and Honda’s Pol Espargaro in the Top 10, with Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia in 12th.
At the front, it didn’t take long for Miller to pass Binder and Martin to lead the MotoGP Japanese GP. There was a brush with Martin while passing him, but it was enough to lead, as Oliveira passed Marquez and Binder to slot himself into third.
Vinales steadied in sixth from Zarco but there was a battle between Marini and Quartararo for eighth. The Frenchman passed the Italian to be eighth, but he came back on him to retake the place, with Espargaro holding of Bagnaia and Gresini Ducati’s Enea Bastianini.
The latter were fighting off each other for track position, but Bastianini eventually got the better of Bagnaia to be 10th after Zarco dropped to 14th. It was a clean MotoGP race mostly with the first retirement being Honda wildcard Tetsuta Nagashima after his crash.
At the front, Miller started to stretch his lead with Martin a steady second. Binder re-passed Oliveira for third with Marquez in fifth as Vinales fended off the charge from Marini in the battle for sixth. Quartararo was eighth as Batianini was ninth after passing both Espargaro and Bagnaia, who had VR6’s Marco Bezzecchi on his tail.
After Nagashima’s retirement, the other wildcard entrant Takuya Tsuda retired as well after his Suzuki bike caught a massive fire. RNF Yamaha’s Darryn Binder was the third retirement after having a minor crash going into left-hand corner.
The fourth one followed after Alex Rins’ retirement due to mechanical problems with his Suzuki. While Miller led the way comfortably, Martin came under pressure from Binder in the fight for second. Likewise, Oliveira came under pressure from Marquez behind.
Marini passed Vinales for sixth, as Quartararo was eighth from Bastianini who came under pressure from Bagnaia. In fact, the Ducati rider made the move on his future MotoGP teammate to take ninth, as Bezzecchi was 11th from Zarco and Espargaro.
LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez was 14th from Yamaha’s Franco Mobidelli in the Top 15, with Espargaro climbing back up to 17th being close to points. While Miller took a dominant MotoGP win in Japanese GP, teammate Bagnaia crashed out on the final lap.
He was trying a move on Quartararo on the inside at the left-hand corner, but slipped to not only crash but lose valuable championship points. The podium places saw Binder take second from Martin on the penultimate lap, with Marquez ending a good fourth.
Oliveira was fifth after fending off a late charge from Marini with Vinales in seventh from Quartararo, Bastianini, Bezzecchi, Zarco, Espargaro, Morbidelli and RNF’s Cal Crutchlow in the Top 15 points finishes, with Espargaro ending up 16th.
Gresini’s Fabio di Giannantonio was 17th from Tech 3 KTM pair of Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner, with LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami managing to see the chequered flag in 20th.
DNF: Bagnaia, Rins, Binder, Tsuda, Nagashima
