In the thrilling Thailand Grand Prix at the Chang International Circuit, Francesco Bagnaia secured a fantastic second-place finish behind Jorge Martin from the Pramac Racing Team. This result has extended Bagnaia’s lead in the championship to 13 points as he heads to Malaysia with just three rounds remaining. Additionally, Bagnaia’s podium finish in this race marked the 250th podium for Ducati in MotoGP.

Bagnaia started from the sixth position on the grid, on the third row. He had a strong start and quickly joined a fierce battle that unfolded in the early laps. The leading group consisted of six riders, including Espargarò (Aprilia), Marini (VR46 Racing Team), Binder, Marquez (Gresini Racing), Bagnaia, and Marquez (Honda), all closely chasing Jorge Martin, who had taken the lead from the beginning of the race.

As the race approached its conclusion, the battle for the win narrowed down to Jorge Martin, Brad Binder, and Francesco Bagnaia. Bagnaia made a determined effort on the penultimate lap, attempting to pass both Martin and Binder on the outside going into the penultimate curve. However, he went slightly wide, and the order remained the same until the checkered flag. After the race, Bagnaia was promoted to the second position, as Binder was penalized for exceeding track limits on the last lap.

Enea Bastianini, who started from the 21st position on the grid, finished in thirteenth place. The race was a challenging one for him.

With this thrilling race and Bagnaia’s second-place finish, the championship battle intensifies as they head to Malaysia with just three rounds left in the season. Ducati celebrated their 250th MotoGP podium, marking a significant milestone in their racing history.

Francesco Bagnaia (#1 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 2nd

“At the start I was happy to get away well and I was in the front, then the battle commenced. It was very easy to get stuck behind and that was the last thing I wanted to do. We managed to do a really good job this weekend in terms of speed, and we demonstrated that we were very competitive today. On the last lap I needed to push very hard on the rear tyre, I didn’t have this advantage for the battle, but it was normal fighting against other riders like this. Malaysia is another great track for me, so I need to keep going just like we are doing, improving the qualifying to be in the front. We have recovered our feeling again this weekend, the pace was here, and we were very fast. We’ll see, the battle will be intense until the last.”

Enea Bastianini (#23 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 13th

“It wasn’t an easy weekend, but today I managed to give a lot of information to the team, and I think I understood the bike better and what it takes to go faster. I think one of the things that slowed me down today was overtaking because I wasn’t able to pass because I couldn’t push the bike. When I was on my own, I was fast, and I changed my riding style a little to meet the needs of the bike and it worked. We take the positive from this weekend with the aim to be more competitive in Malaysia.”

After a break of one week, the next round of the MotoGP World Championship – the Grand Prix of Malaysia, the first of the concluding triple-header – will be held in a fortnights’ time at the Sepang International Circuit from 10-12 November.