Set to finish a barren run and not using a dash win since final yr’s Austrian GP, Bagnaia fell off his manufacturing facility Ducati at Flip 5 on the final lap of 12 whereas operating eight tenths away from Aprilia’s Espargaro.
Espargaro, who began from pole however received crushed up within the early laps, had recovered to second on lap eight and was promoted to the lead when Bagnaia crashed.
It marks his first dash win of the season and comes simply 48 hours after saying forward of his residence race that he’ll retire from racing on the finish of the 2024 season.
Marc Marquez got here from 14th on the grid to complete second, besting Tech3 GasGas rookie Pedro Acosta on the ultimate lap.
A tricky race for championship chief Jorge Martin noticed him salvage fourth from seventh on the grid, which means his factors lead has solely shrunk by one to 37.
The 12-lap dash had 5 riders main it at varied phases, three of whom crashing out whereas heading the pack.
Bagnaia nailed the launch off the road from second on the grid to take the holeshot at first, with Acosta transferring into second from third-place starter Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing), KTM’s Brad Binder and Espargaro.
Martin moved as much as sixth within the opening turns, whereas Marquez survived Flip 2 contact with KTM’s Jack Miller – which left the Gresini rider lacking wings on the left facet of his fairing – to sit down eighth off the road.
Acosta put a problem on Bagnaia for the lead on the run to Flip 1 at first of lap two, although the Ducati rider carved previous once more at Flip 5.
Acosta repeated that transfer on lap 3, whereas Fernandez received opportunistic and scythed beneath Bagnaia at Flip 3, which then allowed Binder to overhaul the Italian for third at Flip 4.
Fernandez then threw his 2023-spec Aprilia up the within of Acosta at Flip 5, an aggressive transfer that opened the door for Binder to come back by way of into second.
The Trackhouse rider proceeded to dart away from the pack, swelling his result in eight tenths over Acosta come the top of lap 4.
However Fernandez crashed at Flip 10 on the subsequent tour, releasing Acosta into the lead earlier than Binder jumped the Tech3 rider at Flip 1 on lap six.
Binder was breaking away on lap seven when he crashed at Flip 5 whereas main, releasing Bagnaia to move the pack after the Ducati rider got here out on prime in a battle with Acosta on lap six and earlier on the seventh tour.
Bagnaia regarded set to carry onto the lead as Espargaro, who moved forward of Acosta for second on lap eight at Flip 1, couldn’t make any inroads into the Ducati rider.
However, on the ultimate lap, Bagnaia slid off his GP24 at Flip 5, gifting Espargaro a lead of virtually 9 tenths to make sure victory.
Marquez’s march in direction of the entrance having gotten to eighth at first continued on lap seven when he handed Martin for what was fifth on the time, earlier than outbraking Acosta for third at Flip 1 on the ultimate tour.
That turned second when Bagnaia crashed, extending his robust run of Saturday rostrums to 4 for 2024 to this point.
He held Acosta at bay by 0.277s, whereas Enea Bastianini got here from eleventh to fifth on the second manufacturing facility crew Ducati.
Fabio Di Giannantonio was seventh on the VR46 Ducati, with Miller, Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales and Marco Bezzecchi (VR46) rounding out the highest 9 to take the final factors.
Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo got here simply 0.598s from some extent in tenth, whereas Trackhouse Racing’s Miguel Oliveira and LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco crashed out.
