Maverick Vinales of Aprilia had a completely dominant effort in winning the Sprint race at the Circuit of Americas (COTA). Vinales has won two Sprint races in a row, crossing the finish line more than two seconds clear of Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin from Pramac. Francesco Bagnaia, the defending champion, had a disappointing day, finishing eighth and earning two points. Bagnaia’s Ducati’s front fender was replaced before the Sprint, and when the race began, he suffered rear wheel spin and the bike wheelied. It seemed that the hits just kept coming for the Italian.
2024 MotoGP Americas: Welcome to the Vinales show!
Maverick Vinales is currently the best-informed rider on the grid. From start to finish, the Spaniard rode brilliantly, with no competition after the first few laps. Gresini’s Marc Marquez, the COTA sheriff, faced off again with Tech3’s Pedro Acosta for second place. Marquez used all of his experience to pass Acosta on the rise of Turn 1. Vinales raised the heat from Lap 4 onward, deciding to use the afterburner and surge ahead. While Marquez and Acosta battled for second place, the Aprilia rider was well gone. The Gresini driver kept his cool and managed to hold the Tech3 rookie at bay as he finished second.
2024 MotoGP Americas: Martin regrouped to finish third
Jorge Martin had a horrific qualifier session, as he managed to crash twice and only manage sixth place. The current champion leader played the waiting game as he slowly built momentum and overtook Ducati’s Enea Bastianini. The Pramac rider had no problems with Bagnaia, who struggled for pace at the start and sank like a rock. The battle for second place between Marquez and Acosta favoured Martin, who was able to catch up to the duo. Acosta’s blunder on lap 6 deprived the rookie of a podium finish. The Tech3 rider attempted to take the inside line at Turn 7, but he ended up running wide, allowing Marquez to cement second place.
Despite all of this, Martin pulled off the ideal heist, passing Acosta and finishing third in the Sprint. The Tech3 rider continued to impress, finishing fourth ahead of Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, Ducati’s Bastianini, and KTM’s Jack Miller. Bagnaia, the double world champion, finished eighth, with Raul Fernandez for Trackhouse and Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli rounding out the top 10.
| MotoGP Americas Sprint | ||
| Position | Rider | Team |
| 1 | Maverick Vinales | Aprilia |
| 2 | Marc Marquez | Gresini |
| 3 | Jorge Martin | Pramac |
| 4 | Pedro Acosta | Tech3 |
| 5 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia |
| 6 | Enea Bastianini | Ducati |
| 7 | Jack Miller | KTM |
| 8 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati |
| 9 | Raul Fernandez | Trackhouse |
| 10 | Franco Morbidelli | Pramac |
