Francesco Bagnaia took full advantage of his factory Ducati team-mate Marc Marquez crashing out of the lead to take an emotional victory in a chaotic Americas GP. Bagnaia made no mistake after inheriting the lead from Marquez, who had won every sprint and grand prix of the season up until today. The error was enough for Marc to lose the lead of the world championship to his brother Alex (Gresini Ducati), who moved ahead of Marc by one point after claiming another solid second place.
The run-up to the race was as chaotic as any seen in recent years. It had been raining, and tyre choice was a hot topic of debate. As the warm-up lap approached, only three riders has risked fitting slick tyres: Brad Binder (KTM), Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia) and Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM).
Then pole man Marc Marquez suddenly set the cat amongst the pigeons by sprinting back towards the pits at the last possible minute before the warm-up lap would have been flagged away. Having decided the track was dry enough after all, his plan was to grab his ‘dry’ second bike from the garage. Many of the top riders, including Alex Marquez and Bagnaia, immediately copied him.
Chaos then ensued, with Maverick Viñales seen trying to wheel his Tech3 KTM through the gap in the pit wall and back onto the grid, where the three slick-shod riders and a few others besides were still waiting in their original positions. It was at this point that race control threw the red flag. The events of Argentina 2018 immedi.
