The decider. It all came down to the final race of the season for the first time since 2017 as Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) went head-to-head for title glory, with Bagnaia boasting a 23-point advantage.
For Quartararo, only a win would see him stand any chance of keeping his crown. For Bagnaia, a P14 finish or higher would see him claim his second World Championship title. Qualifying saw Quartararo bag P4 to give himself a fighting chance of victory, while Pecco would launch from P8.
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MUST-SEE: THE CONTENDERS CLASH IN AN ELECTRIC START
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RACE HIGHLIGHTS!
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UNSEEN: CIGARS, CHAMPAGNE AND MILLER CHAOS AT PECCO'S PARTY
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UNSEEN: DEVASTATED QUARTARARO COMES TO TERMS WITH TITLE LOSS
The first laps were always going to be crucial. Quartararo got a good start but immediately had both Pecco and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) to deal with. Contact was made between the two title chasers at Turn 2, seeing Pecco lose part of his front fairing aero. From there, Bagnaia’s race was all about bringing his machine home. Meanwhile, Quartararo set his sights on the podium fight that was over two seconds up the road.
In the end, Quartararo’s fantastic efforts to claw in the leaders came to no avail. P4 was the best the Frenchman could do, meaning Bagnaia – despite finishing P9 – was crowned King of MotoGP™ for the first time.
Away from the title fight, Suzuki’s Alex Rins led from start to finish to bid a fairy-tale farewell to the Hamamatsu factory, as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) picked up season finale podiums in second and third respectively.