MotoGP: Bagnaia the boss as more records tumble for Michelin in Austria

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) claimed both the sprint and grand prix wins at Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, Round 11 of the 2024 MotoGP^TM World Championship. The MICHELIN Power Slick range played a part in establishing new track-lap, race-lap and shortest race-duration records at the Red Bull Ring. Read on for more about what happened in Austria.

Bagnaia leapt from second on the grid to take the lead on Lap 1 of Sunday's showpiece. Racing on medium MICHELIN Power Slicks front and rear, he then defended top spot for the remaining 27 laps thanks to a consistently strong pace that earned him a new race-lap record (1m29.519s), three-tenths quicker than his own benchmark from last year. The Italian crossed the line more than three seconds clear of Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), shaving three seconds off the previous race duration reference and collecting his seventh victory of the campaign to equal his scores of 2022 and 2023.

Bagnaia took the top prize in Saturday's sprint, too, ahead of Martin and Aprilia Racing's Aleix Espargaro.

In addition to coming second in both races, Martin clocked a new lap record for the Austrian venue with a time of 1m27.748s – an improvement of eight-tenths – on his way to qualifying on pole.

Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) rounded out the top three, chased by Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP^TM) who produced an entertaining fightback following a poor start from third on the grid.

The entire MICHELIN Power Slick range was employed over the weekend and its hallmark consistency and grip contributed to three new MotoGP^TM records for the Red Bull Ring. The entire field opted for the medium compound front and rear for Sunday afternoon's grand prix.

Bagnaia (275 points) has taken the lead in the provisional Riders' standings, five and 56 points clear respectively of Martin and Bastianini.

The meeting also hosted Rounds 7 and 8 of the FIM MotoE^TM World Championship which saw Oscar Gutierrez (OpenBank Aspar Team) and Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) share the wins. The MICHELIN Power MotoE – which contains an average 50 percent renewable or recycled raw materials – played a part in new MotoE^TM track- (1m37.970s) and race-lap records. The last round of the series will take teams to Misano, Italy, in three weeks' time.

Next round: Gran Premio GoPro de Aragon, Motorland Aragon, Spain (August 30-September 1).