Saturday at the Gran Premio Pramac dell’Emilia-Romagna delivered sensational action, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) securing Tissot Sprint glory ahead of title rival Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing). This win allowed Bagnaia to reel in Martin by a further three points – reducing his advantage to just four. Meanwhile, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) claimed another Sprint podium – adding to his success in Misano. With Ducati locking out the front row of the grid, if a Ducati rider were to win on Sunday, it would be the Bologna factory’s 100th victory in the premier class.
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) has qualified on pole position for the third time so far this year along with Assen and San Marino and for his 100th MotoGP™ start, setting a new all-time lap record in Misano. This is his fourth pole at Misano in MotoGP™. He took his fourth Sprint win of 2024, and he will now be aiming to take his fourth double (Sprint and GP wins) of 2024 as well as his eighth GP win of the year to make it his best MotoGP™ season regarding wins. He sits four points behind Jorge Martin in the Championship.
2. If Bagnaia wins, he will be the first rider with eight (or more) wins in a single MotoGP™ season since Marc Marquez in 2019 (12) and would join Marquez, Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo as the only riders to have won eight or more Grand Prix races in a single MotoGP™ season.
3. If Ducati win, it will be the 100th win for the Bologna factory in the premier class, their 13th in 2024, their seventh at Misano and fourth in a row at the track. This will be their 11th MotoGP™ win in a row, equalling their personal record from the 2023 San Marino GP to the 2024 Portuguese GP, a streak broken by Maverick Viñales and Aprilia at COTA (4). Ducati will clinch the Constructors’ title for the sixth time in the premier class if they end the Grand Prix with an advantage of 222 or more points. Their lead is currently 236 points, meaning they need a rider to finish fourth or better to secure the crown.
5. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) has qualified second, making it the ninth time so far this year he has qualified in the top three (and the first time since Austria). He finished P2 in the Sprint, for his 12th Sprint podium of 2024. After scoring one point last time out and losing 19 points to Bagnaia in his flag-to-flag gamble, he will aim to take his eighth MotoGP™ win overall, and third of the season. He is still leading the Championship with a 4-point advantage over Bagnaia.
6. Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) is fourth in the Championship and has qualified third for his first top three in qualifying since Silverstone when he also qualified P3 on his way to doing the double (Sprint and GP wins). He took his second Sprint podium of the year (after his maiden Sprint win in Silverstone), finishing P3. Victory on Sunday would be his seventh MotoGP™ win to equal Martin and Loris Capirossi in fourth on the list of most successful Ducati riders in the class. It would also be his fifth podium in five visits to the track in MotoGP™.
7. Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) has qualified seventh after crashing in both FP2 and Q2. He finished P4 in the Sprint and will now be aiming to take three wins in a row for the first time since 2019, when he took five successive wins from San Marino to Australia. It would be his sixth MotoGP™ win at Misano, extending his lead as the rider with the most wins at this track.
8. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) qualified P5 for his fifth top six in qualifying this year. He finished P5 in the Sprint and aged 20 years 120 days old on Sunday, will aim to become the second-youngest premier class winner after Marc Marquez (20 years and 63 days old in Austin in 2013).
9. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) has qualified eighth and finished P10 in the Sprint, both times as the top Aprilia rider. He would be aiming to take his 11th MotoGP™ GP win and his second with Aprilia along with Austin this season.
10. After securing his first back-to-back Q2 of the season, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) has qualified ninth equalling his second-best qualifying so far this season from Portugal, after France when he qualified eighth. He finished P7 in the Sprint and will now be aiming to take his first podium since Indonesia last year (P3). He also will be aiming to score his and Yamaha’s best result of the year so far if he can beat his P7 taken here last time out and in Portugal.
Can Ducati secure a fairytale 100th win in the premier class? Make sure you tune in for the Emilia-Romagna GP on Sunday, with lights out at 13:00 local time (UTC +2)