An Aprilia rider adds a race to his sprint race victory, Acosta is the youngest rider to win two podiums in a row.
Maverick Viñales of Aprilia completed the perfect weekend at the Grand Prix of the Americas. After starting poorly and dropping out of the top 10 on the first lap, Viñales won the sprint race on Sunday. Viñales, who has previously won races with Suzuki and Yamaha, became the first rider to win a race on a Sunday with three different manufacturers. The race was exciting, with multiple lead changes. Pedro Acosta, a 19-year-old rookie for Red Bull GasGas Tech3, finished second, becoming the youngest rider to take back-to-back podiums. Enea Bastianini of Ducati finished third.
After finishing fourth, championship leader Jorge Martín saw his lead over Bastianini in the riders’ standings reduced to 21 points, while the current champion Francesco Bagnaia finished fifth. Viñales battled his way from 11th place to win and deny Ducati manufacturers a 12th consecutive MotoGP race victory. The Spaniard celebrated his first race win since 2021 by donning a black cape matching the Batman logo on his helmet. I sensed that everybody was shoving me. It was amazing. How do I put it? Made history. Nicknamed BatMav, Viñales exclaimed, “I’m dreaming.” “I’m overjoyed… I’m not sure how many mistakes I made.
When the lights went out, Acosta took the lead, and Martín gained four positions as they entered turn one while emerging through yellow smoke from flares. Marc Márquez was forced to drop to fourth, and even Ducati’s Bagnaia gained ground. Using the power of his Ducati, Martín finally overtook Acosta three laps in to take the lead. Márquez also made a move on the same lap, slipping past Bagnaia to move up to second. With fifteen laps remaining, Márquez had his heart in his mouth when Martín made a risky overtake manoeuvre and clipped his front wheel, sending the Gresini rider to fourth as he tried to regain his balance and composure. However, Bagnaia was quickly passed by Acosta and Márquez, eliminating the reigning champion from podium contention.
Márquez attempted to win his seventh race at the Circuit of the Americas and his first with Gresini, but he crashed out of the lead at the halfway point, giving Acosta an advantage up front. However, Viñales advanced through the pack with assurance and was soon engaged in a fierce struggle for the lead, trading positions with Acosta repeatedly until he took the lead outright and held it until the checkered flag. With two laps remaining, Martín was denied a podium as Bastianini, who had been chasing him throughout, finally overtook the Spaniard. After three rounds, Martín has 80 points, Bastianini has 59. With 56 points, Viñales sits in third place in the championship, two points behind Acosta.