Francesco Bagnaia once again MotoGP world champion

The Spaniard also sent Marc Marquez out of bounds in a dangerous maneuver in the early stages. Jack Miller retired while in the lead, his KTM teammate Brad Binder finished fourth.

Bagnaia appropriately secured his title with his seventh win of the season; even if Martin had triumphed, fifth place would have been enough for the 26-year-old. “Incredible. It was another 27 laps of battle, I had problems with the tires, it was really tough. But we won the title and the race, that’s fantastic, and I would like to thank everyone in the team for that,” said the old man and new champion, who won ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio and Johann Zarco.

Bagnaia is the first motorcycle rider after Valentino Rossi and Marquez to successfully defend his title in the premier motorcycle class. After eleven years with the Japanese Honda racing team, Marquez is moving to the industry leader Ducati from next season. The 30-year-old will be racing at Gresini Racing alongside his younger brother Alex Marquez (27).

The red-white-red KTM racing team experienced a MotoGP season without a race win, but took second place in the constructors’ championship behind Ducati. The South African Binder raced to victory twice in the sprint and ended the year fourth in the World Championships. The 19-year-old Spaniard Pedro Acosta, who became Moto2 champion this year and will be moving to the GasGas KTM team in the premier class next year, is also giving the Mattighofen team confidence.