We can safely say that the 2023 MotoGP Grand Prix of India has been one to remember as India’s first ever MotoGP race saw plenty of action up and down the field that also included many shock retirements. Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin took a closely fought second place finish ahead of Fabio Quartararo in the Yamaha.
As the race happened
Unlike the sprint, Bezzecchi did manage to get through the opening lap without much trouble aside from Martin taking the lead early on. Bezzecchi took back the lead in quick succession and never looked back enroute to taking the win.
Meanwhile, behind him there was an almighty scrap for second place between championship leader Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin and even the Repsol Honda of Marc Marquez at one point before a mistake at Turn 1 had Marquez slide out of contention. But disaster struck in the closing stages as Bagnaia crashed out of the race.
The drama didn’t end there as Martin had begun dropping back to the Yamaha of Fabio Quartararo with issues like his riding leather needing to be zipped up again that cost him a second worth of lap time. On the final lap, Martin going wide after the back straight had Quartararo take second place, only for Martin to snatch it back with a bold move in the second sector. Such was the heroic defence of second place for Martin, the Spaniard almost collapsed in parc ferme due to dehydration from the extreme weather conditions over the duration of the 21-lap race.
Thanks to Francesco Bagnaia’s costly DNF on the factory Ducati, the title race is getting even more intense as the Italian’s lead over Jorge Martin in the riders’ standings has been cut down to just 13 points.
