On Sunday, September 25, the Japanese Grand Prix, the 16th stage of the Formula 1 season, took place. Marc Marquez started from pole position and held the second race after his return.
If we talk about the three contenders for the title, then Alex Espargaro was better than the others – in 6th place. Quartararo and Bagnaia were in 9th and 12th places. The start of the race determined the further state of affairs. Marquez dropped back to 5th place after the first lap.
Jorge Martin, who was only 5th at the start, took the lead. He was followed by Brad Binder and Jack Miller, who was able to break through from the 7th position. Espargaro fared the worst, falling back to last place. Quartararo and Bagnaia retained their positions. Johann Zarco also failed – from the 2nd to the 7th position.
“Jack Miller felt great on the track, he was already the leader by the end of the third lap. Let’s note the breakthrough of KTM pilot Jack Oliveira – by the end of the 5th lap, he was closing the top three.”
Quartararo and Bagnaia recouped a little – they went 8th and 10th, but they did not get a strong breakthrough. Espargaro was completely stuck outside the scoring zone, although he played some positions. After the 8th lap, Miller began to break away, and by the 13th lap, he was winning more than 4 seconds from the nearest pursuer. By the 21st lap, Francesco Bagnaia came out in 9th place and began to attack the Quartararo, but on the last lap, the Italian pilot dropped out of the race. This gathering can be costly in the fight for the title.
As a result, Jack Miller won a very confident victory – it became the Australian’s debut of the season. And for Ducati, this is the sixth victory in a row – the Italians are clearly dominating now. Brad Binder came second to the finish line, and Jorge Martin closed the top three. Marc Marquez was able to get ahead of Oliveira and finish 4th. Fabio Quartararo crossed the finish line in 8th place and now has 219 points in the overall standings. And Francesco Bagnaia has 201 points left. Alex Espargaro finished the race in 16th place and did not score points for the first time in the season. The Spaniard has 194 points left. 4 races before the finish, Quarararo again began to feel more confident in the fight for the world title.
