Francesco Bagnaia claimed his eighth win of the season with a strong performance throughout the race. The reigning champion nailed his launch and managed to set the pace. His victory came at the expense of Jorge Martin, who started from 11th and finished the race second. The championship leaders are now separated by just 10 points.

Marc Marquez delivered another magnificent ride to finish third, as he had to defend his position in the final laps. Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta had another nightmare race, as the rookie crashed out in the early stages. Bagnaia made a fast start and was immediately challenged by Acosta, but the reigning champion showed no mercy and took the lead back. Behind them, the battle for third saw Brad Binder holding his ground.

Both Martin and Marquez were on the charge, with Marquez pulling off a daring overtake on Jack Miller to break into the top five. However, drama struck when Alex Marquez collided with Joan Mir, forcing an early retirement and earning a long-lap penalty for the upcoming Australian Grand Prix.

As mentioned, Acosta’s race went from okay to absolute disaster, as his crash at Turn 3 handed Martin second place. The duel between Bagnaia and Martin became a game of trading fastest laps.

However, Marquez wasn’t done, as he made another brave overtake on Binder to move into third. Binder soon found himself under pressure from Enea Bastianini, who fought his way into fourth by Lap 10.

Further back, Maverick Viñales had a difficult start from the front row, later tangling with his teammate Aleix Espargaro for a spot in the top 10. Unfortunately, Viñales crashed out on Lap 12, but luckily, the rider remained unharmed.

As the race unfolded, Bastianini began closing in on Marquez after Marquez made a mistake at Turn 1. With less than a second between them, the battle for the final podium spot had fans on the edge of their seats.

At the front, Bagnaia kept his cool, maintaining an eight-tenths gap to Martin with just a few laps to go. The reigning champion stretched his lead to over a second, pushing Martin to his limits. Bagnaia sealed the deal on the final lap, taking a crucial win and tightening the championship fight with four rounds to go. Martin finished second, followed by a hard-fought podium for Marquez, who climbed from ninth to third.

Bastianini crossed the line in fourth, having a solid weekend, ahead of Franco Morbidelli in fifth. Morbidelli continued his strong Sunday form, finishing ahead of Brad Binder in sixth. Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio rounded out the top eight.

Espargaro and Miller completed the top 10, though the Australian struggled to maintain his early pace. Johann Zarco took 11th, narrowly beating Fabio Quartararo, who ran out of fuel near the end. Takaaki Nakagami had an emotional home race, finishing ahead of Luca Marini and Raul Fernandez.

2024 Japanese Grand Prix