Picture Credit: Twitter
Marco Bezzecchi, the Italian rider for Team VR46 won the inaugural MotoGP Bharat race from pole position at the Buddh International Circuit on September 24, Sunday. The 24-year-old registered his third victory of the 2023 season with a massive margin of 8.649 seconds, to keep himself in the hunt for the Riders Championship, after 13 out of 20 races have been completed.
After a great start off the line, Marco Bezzecchi was quick to take command of the race, leaving the rest of the field to fight for second place. The reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia of Italy fought with the Spaniard Jorge Martin of Pramac Racing in the most intriguing battle for the first half of the race, but the Ducati rider crashed out just after getting the better of his nearest opponent.
Fabio Quartararo, the French rider for Yamaha, took advantage of the situation by ensuring a podium for himself, before trying to chase down Jorge Martin. At the very end, the difference between the second place Martin and third place Quartararo was just 0.206 seconds.
The race winner Marco Bezzecchi registered the time of 36 minutes and 59.157 seconds to complete the 21 laps of the Buddh International Circuit. He received the winner’s trophy from the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, while the Sports Minister in the Government of India, Anurag Thakur presented the constructors trophy to the Team Director of Team VR46, Alessio Salucci.
The Riders Championship for MotoGP still has Francesco Bagnaia in the lead with 292 points. But Jorge Martin (279) and Marco Bezzecchi (248) have closed the gap on him, with podium finishes at the MotoGP Bharat.
