Bagnaia goes back to back with Valencia victory as Martin and Miller crash out

Francesco Bagnaia claimed back to back MotoGP world championships with victory in Valencia after Jorge Martin’s dream came to a crashing end and Jack Miller also threw a win away.

Following Martin’s special Sprint win on Saturday, 14 points was the difference between the two Ducati stars.

This meant a top five result was enough for Bagnaia to retain the #1 and he also had the pleasure of starting from pole position due to a penalty for Maverick Vinales for ignoring a meatball flag in the warmup.

The factory Ducati stormed into an unchallenged lead off the line, but Martin was also on the charge, flying from sixth to second within two corners after getting by both KTMs.

The two championship leaders headed the field until the start of lap three when Martin cracked and bowled a wide at the opening left hander.

He lost valuable ground, dropping from second to eighth which left him in a four-bike scrap with teammate Johann Zarco, Vinales and Marc Márquez.

This squabble was where it all went wrong for Martin when he clipped the rear of Marquez, sending both into a race-ending trip to the gravel.

Marquez suffered a vicious high side, while Martin initially tried to get through the gravel before falling.

The crashing end to Martin’s season meant Bagnaia could not be beaten to the MotoGP title.

It was a dramatic end to a dramatic season dominated by Ducati and Bagnia was full of praise for his “perfect” team.

“I feel fantastic,” he said post race. 

“I think many times this season the only two able to win were Marc and Vale, and all the races where we were struggling more to do it.

“And even more with the number one, finishing second in the championship could be a very bad result.

“I couldn’t be happy with a second position in the championship, because a number one plate means that you need to demonstrate that you are the number one and I think we did everything perfectly to be considered the number ones.

“Last season was a season to be very proud of, but this season even more because the number one plate with many mistakes, bad luck in some situations and we won the title the same. So we have to be very proud.”

Despite becoming the first Ducati rider to win multiple world championships for the Italian squad, there was still a race to win.

Bagnaia found himself in a battle with both KTMs of Brad Binder and Jack Miller.

The teammates initially ganged up on the Italian to demote him to third, but Binder seized his advantage with a mistake at turn 11 on lap 14.

This put Aussie Miller into the lead and he controlled the field for a further five laps.

But his dreams of a maiden KTM win ended in heartbreaking fashion when the Townsville boy slid off his #43 at turn 10 and cartwheeled through the gravel.

All the drama opened the door for Bagnaia to regain the lead and salute his championship with a seventh victory of the season.

He only enjoyed a 0.176s gap to Fabio Di Giannantonio across the line after the Gresini rider overcame Zarco at the death.

But post race Di Giannantonio received a 3s penalty for exceeding tyre pressures which dropped him to fourth and promoted Zarco and Binder to the podium.

Behind them Raul Fernandez secured his first career top five finish as they were a long list of retirements.

Joining the fallen Miller, Martin and Marquez were Alex Rins, Enea Bastianini, Augusto Fernandez and Marco Bezzecchi.

Photo by Gold and Goose / LAT Images

2023 Valencia Motorcycle Grand Prix results

For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION or subscribe HERE