Moreira scores historic first MotoGP Sprint podium at Motegi
Mobility Resort MotegiPro Honda LCR rider Diogo Moreira takes second place and becomes the first Brazilian to finish on a MotoGP Sprint podium at Honda's home round in Japan.
MotoGP rookie Diogo Moreira started the 12-lap Sprint from a solid ninth place following a positive Q2 performance and made a strong start to the race, avoiding a multi-rider collision on the opening lap and moving up to fourth place. Moreira maintained his position throughout much of the race but, in the closing stages, began to close in on both Martin and Bastianini ahead. Both riders were handed track-limits penalties on the final lap, meaning that while the Brazilian crossed the line in fourth, Moreira was promoted to second place.
Johann Zarco was determined to make up ground from the moment the lights went out following a crash in qualifying that prevented the Frenchman from setting a faster lap time. Like his teammate, Zarco avoided the early-race drama and worked his way up to seventh place after starting 10th. However, the Castrol Honda LCR rider did not have the extra pace needed to gain any further positions but was still able to hold onto seventh and collect valuable championship points.
Luca Marini entered the 16th Sprint race of the season on the back foot and looked to make up lost ground after a crash on Friday. The Italian put in a valiant effort but was just 0.3s shy of one of the two transfer spots available in Q1. Determined to recover, the #10 made a strong start to the Sprint and pushed hard to break into the top 10. Chasing down Fabio Quartararo, Raul Fernandez and Zarco, Marini applied pressure to the group battling for the points-paying positions until the closing stages of the race. Crossing the line in 11th place, the Italian gathered valuable information to help shape Sunday's strategy.
Thailand's first premier-class Grand Prix rider, Somkiat Chantra, delivered a stellar Q1 performance to secure 15th on the grid, his best qualifying result in the premier class. A clean start to the Sprint saw him lose contact with the riders ahead in the early laps, but he kept a calm head and finished 14th, just one tenth of a second behind the experienced Alex Rins.
The Japanese Grand Prix will see Honda HRC Castrol's special home Grand Prix livery make its on-track debut. The modern tribute to the Honda RC181 is sure to attract attention when the lights go out for the 24-lap race at 14:00 local time.
“I know it’s not ‘a real result’. Today I was lucky, but anyway, I’m super happy! A podium in MotoGP feels amazing. I felt really good on the bike today, and I gave it everything, following the flow of the track. On the last lap, I was there; with one more lap, I could have taken it. Then after crossing the line, I realised I was on the podium. For me, for the team and for Honda, this is very important. Thanks to everybody who made it possible!”
“I know it’s not ‘a real result’. Today I was lucky, but anyway, I’m super happy! A podium in MotoGP feels amazing. I felt really good on the bike today, and I gave it everything, following the flow of the track. On the last lap, I was there; with one more lap, I could have taken it. Then after crossing the line, I realised I was on the podium. For me, for the team and for Honda, this is very important. Thanks to everybody who made it possible!”
"I made a mistake in qualifying; otherwise, the second row would have been possible. In the race, luckily, I wasn’t involved in the Turn 3 crash, and I was settling into my rhythm behind Diogo. After a few laps, I struggled to get below 1’44 and lost contact. I’m happy to have won my battle with Raul and defended seventh, but I’m disappointed that I couldn’t match the pace of the riders ahead. We’ll try again tomorrow!”
"I made a mistake in qualifying; otherwise, the second row would have been possible. In the race, luckily, I wasn’t involved in the Turn 3 crash, and I was settling into my rhythm behind Diogo. After a few laps, I struggled to get below 1’44 and lost contact. I’m happy to have won my battle with Raul and defended seventh, but I’m disappointed that I couldn’t match the pace of the riders ahead. We’ll try again tomorrow!”
“Today we made some progress compared to yesterday, but we still missed that last tenth or so in Qualifying to miss the top ten. I made a pretty good start to the Sprint and was able to gain positions early, then I focused a lot on defending. As we can see, the choice of tyre will be crucial for Sunday’s race, so we need to understand what the options are. Sunday is a new day and we still have some cards to play, the motivation is really high to do well in front of the home fans.”
“Today we made some progress compared to yesterday, but we still missed that last tenth or so in Qualifying to miss the top ten. I made a pretty good start to the Sprint and was able to gain positions early, then I focused a lot on defending. As we can see, the choice of tyre will be crucial for Sunday’s race, so we need to understand what the options are. Sunday is a new day and we still have some cards to play, the motivation is really high to do well in front of the home fans.”
“It was a really exciting day today, honestly, I enjoyed it a lot. I am super happy with what I managed in Qualifying, to come back and achieve my best grid position in MotoGP is great and I have to say a huge thank you to the team for making such a good job this weekend. On the grid for the Sprint, I felt really happy to be back in MotoGP. Once the race started, I was quite careful in the opening laps to avoid any problems, and I worked to gain some ground at the end of the race. Tomorrow I will try better with what we have learned from today. We keep enjoying every lap.”
“It was a really exciting day today, honestly, I enjoyed it a lot. I am super happy with what I managed in Qualifying, to come back and achieve my best grid position in MotoGP is great and I have to say a huge thank you to the team for making such a good job this weekend. On the grid for the Sprint, I felt really happy to be back in MotoGP. Once the race started, I was quite careful in the opening laps to avoid any problems, and I worked to gain some ground at the end of the race. Tomorrow I will try better with what we have learned from today. We keep enjoying every lap.”
