Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) made a statement and a half as he destroyed the field at the IndianOil Grand Prix of India. The Italian put in an inch-perfect performance to take victory by a convincing 8.649s. Jorge Martin (Primac Pramac Racing) left absolutely everything he had out on the circuit as the Spaniard came under threat from Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) to take 2nd place. The Pramac rider capitalised on Bagnaia hitting the deck as he clawed the Championship lead down to just 13 points. Martin also had his hands full with Fabio Quartararo after he fended off the 2021 World Champion in an epic last-lap scrap which saw the Frenchman return to the podium onboard his Yamaha M1.  

Blink and you miss it! 

The title trio led the way on lap one as Martin and Bagnaia got lightning starts to jump the polesitter Bezzecchi. Bagnaia came out the blocks guns blazing as he went full attack mode in to ensure Martin didn't pull away. 

Bagnaia went for a move on the brakes, Martin tried to resist but not many can out brake the world champ and get away with it. The Spaniard ran wide and dropped down to fourth place, gifting the champ the lead. Bezzecchi then saw his opportunity to make a move on the #1 with Martin dropping down to P3. 

Bezzecchi then put the hammer down as fastest laps came the way of the Italian, and he began to ask big questions of the Ducati top dog with the VR46 machine beginning to pull away. 

Bezzecchi was now one second up the road and Bagnaia had his hands full with Jorge Martin who was eager to push his way past the champ. Martin made a lunge with 17 laps to go sitting up the Italian with his sights locked on Bezzecchi who was now two seconds up the road. 

Marquez was trying all he could to put himself in the mix as he watched on from fourth place. The pace was a little too hot for the Repsol Honda man however as his front end folded at Turn 1. The Spaniard quickly rejoined and managed to place himself just outside the points, losing just 10 seconds on the lap he went down.  

Bagnaia goes down! 

Martin tried all he could to break the factory Ducati man but Bagnaia wasn't going anywhere. The Italian made his move with eight laps to go as he tried to break the Spaniard.

The pressure got to Bagnaia shortly after though as a tiny mistake saw the front end wash out from underneath him as his title hopes took a massive blow with his rivals now sat 1st and 2nd in the race. 

This also promoted Fabio Quartararo to a rostrum position. The Yamaha man had been lurking in 4th for some time as the Ducati battle was unfolding ahead of him.  

Last lap drama 

We didn’t see much of the race leader Marco Bezzecchi as he brought home an incredible victory, showing the paddock exactly what he's made of and adding 25 points to his title bid. 

Martin really began to struggle in the closing stages with the Indian heat proving incredibly difficult to overcome onboard his 250hp beast. The Spaniard made a costly mistake with the chequered flag drawing closer. The 4th-placed Quartararo smelt blood as he slotted himself ahead of Martin.  
 
Quartararo then quickly came under attack from Martin as the Spaniard forced his way back past. The Frenchman did all he could to take 2nd but an impressive defensive performance coupled with Ducati power consolidated P2 for Jorge Martin. 

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was embroiled in an epic battle with Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) for 4th place. The South African got the better of the Spaniard after flying his way through the pack from 13th on the grid.  

Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) bagged P6 ahead of Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).  

Marc Marquez made an incredible recovery to finish in 9th place, seven seconds up the road from Raul Fernandez (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) who rounded out the top 10. 

The Championship has been turned on its head once again in MotoGP™ as the first-ever IndianOil Grand Prix of India threw up an absolute treat. MotoGP™ now turns its attention to the Mobility Resort Motegi in Japan for the Motul Grand Prix of Japan from the 29th of September to the 1st of October. Make sure to keep up to date with all of the action as it unfolds on motogp.com! 

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