Defending champion and World Championship leader Pecco Bagnaia confidently led the Qatar GP for 18 of 22 laps, then he was surprised by the onrushing Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Ducati), who drove the best race of his career and won in the premier class for the first time.
While trying to counter, Bagnaia misjudged himself at the end of the start-finish straight, which was over a kilometer long, was sucked into the slipstream and almost hit his Italian compatriot’s rear wheel at the entrance to the corner. Bagnaia shot straight ahead, made a wide arc on the spacious, asphalt run-off area, returned to the track and crossed the finish line in second place – 2.734 seconds behind “Diggia” and 1.7 seconds ahead of third-place Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Ducati).
Since World Championship opponent Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) only finished tenth after his victory in the sprint on Saturday, Bagnaia was able to extend his lead in the overall standings to 21 points. If the champion wins the sprint in Valencia next Saturday and Martin doesn’t make it onto the podium, then Bagnaia will be world champion for the third time before the final Grand Prix on Sunday – for the second time in the highest class.
“That was fantastic, but I’m not happy,” said Bagnaia about his placement. «I wanted to win, but I lost the victory because of a mistake that has happened to me in the past. That’s a shame, but getting sucked into the slipstream can happen. I didn’t expect it to be so strong. Other than that, my pace was great and I was able to build a lead that allowed me to finish second despite my problem. Given Jorge’s problems, this was very important. Now I come to Valencia a little more relaxed.”
Pecco described his mistake like this: “It was terrifying. For a moment I was sure I was going to touch Fabio. That would have been a disaster, somehow I was able to slow the bike down more. In the following two laps I was still shaking and very slow. Fabio was faster. I gave it my maximum – whenever I gained weight, he did too. My goal was to win without taking excessive risks. Because it was very important to take these points with you.”
Was Bagnaia informed by the Ducati factory team that opponent Martin was wandering around in the middle of nowhere (due to a hard rear tire)? “No, I thought he was fourth,” Pecco remarked. “I didn’t know he was so far behind.”
“Last year I was 23 points ahead before the last race, but I was still under a lot of pressure,” recalled the 26-year-old. “It’s different this year, I think we can deal with the situation better now. Jorge has to attack at full speed. I also have to push, but I have a little more leeway. We are in the best starting position.”
Results MotoGP race Doha (11/19):
1. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, 22 rounds in 41:43.654 min
2. Bagnaia, Ducati, + 2.734 sec
3. Marini, Ducati, + 4,408
4. Viñales, Aprilia, + 4,488
5. Binder, KTM, +7,246
6. Alex Márquez, Ducati, + 7,620
7. Quartararo, Yamaha, +7,828
8. Bastianini, Ducati, + 8,239
9. Miller, KTM, +11,509
10. Martin, Ducati, + 14,819
11. Marc Marquez, Honda, +14,964
12. Zarco, Ducati, + 17,431
13. Bezzecchi, Ducati, + 17,807
14. Mir, Honda, +18,673
15. Augusto Fernández, KTM, +21,455
16. Morbidelli, Yamaha, + 21,474
17. Raúl Fernández, Aprilia, + 22,142
18. Pol Espargaró, KTM, +27,194
19. Nakagami, Honda, +27,740
– Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, 16 laps back
– Lecuona, Honda, 1st lap not completed
Results MotoGP Sprint Doha (18.11.):
1. Martin, Ducati, 11 rounds in 20:52.634 min
2. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, + 0.391 sec
3. Marini, Ducati, + 2,875
4. Alex Márquez, Ducati, + 3,370
5. Bagnaia, Ducati, +3,957
6. Viñales, Aprilia, + 4,239
7. Binder, KTM, +5,761
8. Quartararo, Yamaha, +6,454
9. Augusto Fernández, KTM, +8,285
10. Zarco, Ducati, + 8,314
11. Marc Marquez, Honda, + 9,596
12. Miller, KTM, +10,173
13. Bezzecchi, Ducati, + 10,646
14. Raúl Fernández, Aprilia, + 11,117
15. Morbidelli, Yamaha, + 12,163
16. Pol Espargaró, KTM, + 12,745
17. Lecuona, Honda, + 19,285
18. Nakagami, Honda, +26,238
19. Mir, Honda, +28,446
20. Bastianini, Ducati, + 35,553
– Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, 10 laps back
– Oliveira, Aprilia, 1st round not completed
MotoGP World Championship standings after 37 of 39 races:
1. Bagnaia, 437 points. 2. Martin 416. 3. Bezzecchi 326. 4. Binder 268. 5. Zarco 204. 6. Aleix Espargaró 198. 7. Marini 194. 8. Viñales 192. 9. Quartararo 167. Alex Márquez 165. 11. Miller 163. 12. Di Giannantonio 134. 13. Morbidelli 93. 14. Marc Márquez 89. 15. Bastianini 84. 16. Oliveira 76. 17. Augusto Fernández 71. 18. Rins 54. 19. Nakagami 52. 20. Raúl Fernández 40. 21 . Pedrosa 32. 22. Mir 26. 23. Pol Espargaró 13. 24. Savadori 9. 25. Folger 9. 26. Bradl 8. 27. Pirro 5. 28. Petrucci 5. 29. Crutchlow 3.
Constructors’ World Championship:
1. Ducati, 663 points (world champion). 2. KTM 348. 3. Aprilia 309. 4. Yamaha 187. 5. Honda 174.
Team World Cup:
1. Prima Pramac Racing, 620 points. 2. Ducati Lenovo Team 531. 3. Mooney VR46 Racing 520. 4. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 431. 5. Aprilia Racing 390. 6. Gresini Racing 299. 7. Monster Energy Yamaha 260. 8. CryptoDATA RNF 120. 9. Repsol Honda 115. 10. LCR Honda 112. 11. GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, 93.