Marco Bezzecchi became the first MotoGP rider to win the inaugural IndianOil Grand Prix of India on Sunday, riding his Mooney VR46 Racing Team machine to a dominant victory.
Want to give my heart to the fans, Bezzecchi says after clinching the inaugural IndianOil Grand Prix of India
Bezzecchi started the race from third on the grid but quickly moved into second place behind Jorge Martin. He then took the lead when Martin made an error at Turn 4 on lap 5.
From there, Bezzecchi never looked back, building a gap of over eight seconds to the chasing pack. He crossed the finish line well ahead of the field to take his second win of the season.
The fight for the remaining podium positions was much more closely contested. Francesco Bagnaia and Fabio Quartararo were engaged in a close battle for second place, but Bagnaia crashed out at Turn 4 on lap 18.
This left Quartararo in second place, but he was quickly challenged by Jorge Martin. The two riders traded positions several times in the final lap, but in the end, it was Martin who prevailed to take the second step on the podium.
KTM’s Brad Binder finished fourth and Repsol Honda’s Joan Mir fifth. Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez finished ninth after running wide at Turn 4 on lap 18.
Other Class Results
In Moto2, Pedro Acosta claimed victory to extend his championship lead. Tony Arbolino finished second, while Joe Roberts took the final podium spot.
In Moto3, Jaume Masia took a dominant victory. Ayumu Sasaki finished second, while Kaito Toba was third.
Bezzecchi Impressed with Track and Fans
After the race, Bezzecchi spoke about how much he enjoyed the Indian GP. “I really liked this place the day I landed,” he said. “I like to celebrate with the fans, I would like to give my heart to the fans. In this part of the world, they are very loud, and I really like to hear the crowd. They enjoyed it, of course and next year they will have even more fun. So, for me it was fantastic.”
Bezzecchi was also impressed with the Buddh International Circuit. “It’s a track that I liked the first time I rode on it,” he said. “Overall it has been good for me. There was some hard braking, but also some fast parts and chicanes. Physically I felt better with the head, so change of direction was not a problem, like it was in Mizano. Sector three was really fantastic to ride.”
Exciting Finish in Moto2
The Moto2 race was restarted after a red flag due to a multi-rider pile-up on Turn 1 in the first lap. Pedro Acosta took the lead from the restart and maintained a comfortable gap throughout the race to take his fourth win of the season.
Tony Arbolino finished second, while Joe Roberts took the final podium spot. Roberts and Sergio Garcia were engaged in a close battle for third place in the final lap, but Garcia ran wide into the chicane on the penultimate corner to hand over the position to Roberts.
Masia Takes Dominant Moto3 Victory
Jaume Masia took a dominant victory in the Moto3 race. He started from pole position and built a gap of over five seconds to the chasing pack in the early stages of the race.
Ayumu Sasaki finished second but gave away the position to Kaito Toba in the closing stages. Sasaki had to settle for third place.
