Qualifying

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) took pole position during qualifying at the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, setting a time of 1:30.304 to demolish the existing lap record around the Misano track.

The Italian took pole with an advantage of 0.285s over the field, taking P1 ahead of Franco Morbidelli, the Prima Pramac Racing rider waiting until the final five minutes of the session to set a time before catapulting up to P2 on the grid.

Bagnaia’s pole means he would be start to start the Grand Prix from the front-row for the first time since 2021, with Marco Bezzecchi of Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team rounding out the front row, after topping FP2 in what was an impressive Saturday for the rider.

In the first of the two qualifying sessions, Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) topped the standings after an impressive lap late in the session secured his place in Q2. Joining Marquez in the second qualifying session was Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who took P2 after teammate Pol Espargaro crashed out for the second time that day.

Q2 quickly got underway with riders quick to take to the track to set their flying laps. Bagnaia almost instantly set the benchmark time of a 1:30.928 after an impressive first run, improving his time by a further three-tenths on his second time around the track.

The grid briefly returned to the pitlane for a moment’s break before heading back out onto the track for their final runs. Bagnaia continued to set the benchmark with an improved time on his second run – breaking the lap record in the process. Elsewhere on the track, a moment for Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) saw the Spaniard lose the front at Turn 15, crashing out of the session with less than five minutes remaining.

In the closing stages, Morbidelli and Bezzecchi both had a final strong run, meaning fans were treated to an all-Italian front row.

Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) ended Q2 0.341s adrift from his tidal rival, taking the top place on the second row, with Red Bull GASGAS Tech3’s Pedro Acosta starting from P5, alongside Q1 graduate Brad Binder who rounds out the row in P6.

Fellow Q1 graduate Alex Marquez heads the third row of the grid after finishing in seventh, ahead of Enea Bastianini and fellow Gresini teammate Marc Marquez – the older brother unable to return to the track after his crash at Turn 15.

Sprint Race

Jorge Martin excelled on Saturday to extend his Championship lead at the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, holding off a charge from reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia before pulling away to take the Tissot Sprint win. 

With the lights out for the Sprint race, Bagnaia got a good start from pole position, however Martin proceeded to attack straight into Turn 1. After successfully making the pass he began to set the pace, with Bagnaia forced to chase ahead of Morbidelli in third.

At the front, Martin had only managed a gap of a handful of tenths, with Morbidelli still in touch as well. The next move came from the second group with Bastianini making a move on Binder for fourth place, before aiming at closing the 1.7 second gap to the podium fight with nine laps to go.

Drama occurred as a result of Bezzecchi sliding out of contention after hitting the deck, with the rider reporting he was okay. His teammate, Fabio Di Giannantonio, also  slid out of the Tissot Sprint earlier on in the race.

The fight for fifth place was also heating up, with Acosta making a move stick on Binder. Up ahead, Batianini was making quick work of closing the gap to Morbidelli, with the latter dropping away from the duel for the win.

Marc Marquez made a pass on Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) with seven laps to go, before setting his sights on Binder and Acosta up ahead. A lunge on Binder saw the Spaniard make the pass stick.

With Martin giving himself a small advantage at the front of the grid, Bagnaia’s pace began to fade as he dropped back towards Morbidelli, with Bastianini now joining the pair in a 3-wide battle for the podium. Bastianini made a move on the Pramac racing rider early on the last lap, however went wide on the exit of the corner with Morbidelli able to cut back inside. 

Marc Marquez inched closer to the back Acosta before finally making a move on the inside of the #31 heading out of Curvone, holding onto it through Turn 12 and the remainder of the final lap.

Martin eventually took the chequered flag in first place for another Tissot Sprint victory, extending his lead in the Championship to 26 points, ahead of Bagnaia and Morbidelli who rounded out the podium. Enea Bastianini was forced to settle for fourth at the conclusion of the race.

Marquez took fifth place with the last lap move on Acosta, with Binder and Miller taking seventh and eighth place respectively. The final points paying position went to Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), the Frenchman managing to hold off Alex Marquez who finished in 10th place.

Sunday Race

Marc Marquez took his second victory in a row at the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, making it his first back-to-back wins since 2021.

The race was set to be dramatic from the start, with spots of rain splattering the circuit. With white flags waving around the track, allowing the riders to come in to swap bikes, the stage was set for a thrilling San Marino GP.

With lights out, Bagnaia managed to hold onto the lead of the race going into Turn 1, with Jorge Martin making quick work on his Prima Pramac Ducati to overtake his teammate, Franco Morbidelli, slotting into P2 with his sights now set on Bagnaia ahead.

The battle for the lead heated up with Martin making a divebomb move at Turn 2, before being forced to concede whilst narrowly avoiding contact with Bagnaia. 

Further back down the grid, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) attempted to make a move on Morbidelli, however the pair made contact. Acosta lost a wing from his bike but eventually made a move stick at Turn 8 before conceding it once again after he went wide at Turn 10. The rookie race took a turn for the worst as not long after the contact he crashed out of the race, with the rain starting to pick up, with Morbidelli joining him on the deck not long after in a separate incident.

With the pace of the grid dropping as a result of the steadily falling rain, decisions were beginning to be made amongst the riders. Martin was now sitting on the exhaust of Bagnania in the lead, with Marc Marquez and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) having closed the gap to the front-runners.

Heading towards the pit entry on the next lap, Martin was the sole rider who opted to pit from the group. As he headed in, Bagnaia led from Marquez at the front, before the Spaniard had overtaken for P1 on the track by the end of Lap 8. Martin rejoined the track in P15, with the decision to change bikes becoming increasingly clearer to be the incorrect move, as the rain didn’t get any worse. With Marquez and Bagnaia stretching away in the lead, Martin entered the pits once again to change bikes before re-emerging once again in P15 but now a lap down.

Other riders who followed Martin’s decision to pit to swap bikes all had to pit again including Raul Fernandez, Pedro Acosta, Alex Rin and Aprilia teammates Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales.

With the rain having all but stopped, the gap between the top-two and the rest of grid continued to increase. The #93 of Marquez continued to pull away in the lead with Bagnaia following behind but lacking the pace to make a move. 

Bastianini was making moves to come within podium contention, passing Miller for third place on the road, with Brad Binder also making a move past Miller to take fourth as the conditions continued to improve, with all riders then unable to bridge respective bridges before the chequered flag.

Marquez crossed the line to take the victory, receiving his first back–to-back wins since 2021, placing himself back into the Championship fight, with Bagnaia taking place, and closing the gap to the Championship lead by 19-points.

Bastianini rounded out the podium in third place ahead of Binder in fourth. A duel decided fifth place with Marco Bezzechi passing Alex Marquex on the inside at Turn 14 on the last lap, with the latter attempting a counter-attack but ultimately having to settle for sixth place at the conclusion of the race.

Fabio Quarteraro matched his and Yamaha’s best result of 2024 so far, finishing in seventh after making a move on Miller at Turn 8 in the latter stages of the race. Fabio di Giannantonio and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s wildcard entry Pol Espargaro rounded out the top 10.