Motorsport Weekend Wrap: Martin seals maiden championship; Ugochukwu wins incident-filled Macau GP

On Sunday, Martin made sure he did everything right and rounded up the podium spots, behind winners Bagnaia and Marc Marquez. His 32 podiums across sprints and races earned him the title by 10 points.

The new world champion Ducati Spanish rider Jorge Martin celebrates on the podium after the MotoGP Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona at the Circuit de Catalunya. | Photo Credit: AFP

This weekend, Jorge Martin won his maiden MotoGP title, becoming the first independent team driver to do so. McLaren’s Ugo Ugochukwu won the Formula Regional World Cup in Macau.

Macau GP: McLaren junior Ugochukwu wins crash-filled race

McLaren junior driver Ugo Ugochukwu won the Macau Grand Prix to replicate his success in the qualifying race. In a race that saw five Safety Car (SC) periods and a red flag, the 17-year-old Ugochukwu led every lap.

The Formula Regional World Cup race began behind the SC as the Guia circuit had some damp patches after heavy rain earlier in the morning. A lap later, racing began a huge pile-up brought out the red flags. 

Ugochukwu managed the restart perfectly while second-placed Oliver Goethe came under threat from Noel Leon. A stop-start event meant he had to control the restart often and succeeded in doing so every time. 

Ugochukwu was able to keep Goethe at arm’s length to become the first American winner of the Macau GP in over 40 years. The Macau GP, an annual motorsport road racing event, includes the Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix and Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix title races, with other races for touring, grand touring, sports and Formula 4 cars.

RELATED | Solidarity Grand Prix: Jorge Martin becomes MotoGP 2024 World Champion

Moto GP: Bagnaia’s Barcelona win goes in vain; Martin crowned 2024 champion

Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin was crowned the 2024 MotoGP world champion. Despite finishing third at the Solidarity Grand Prix, which was won by his title rival Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati, the 24-point advantage he had over the Italian heading into the weekend proved to be enough. 

Martin led by 19 points heading into the final race of the season after he crossed the line third in the sprint. Bagnaia won Saturday’s event with help from his teammate Enea Bastianini in second. But all the Spaniard needed to do was finish in the top nine to clinch the title. 

On Sunday, Martin made sure he did everything right and rounded up the podium spots, behind winners Bagnaia and Marc Marquez. His 32 podiums across sprints and races earned him the title by 10 points.

The Spaniard became the first independent team driver to win the championship title in the modern MotoGP era. The last driver to do so was Valentino Rossi in 2001.

Indian siblings script history in Qatar Superbike and Superstock Championship

Collegian Johann Emmanuel from Chennai scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win all three races in the 300 SSP category of the Qatar Superbike and Superstock Championship over the Nov 16-17 weekend at the iconic Lusail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar.

Johann Emmanuel. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

His elder brother 20-year-old Geoffrey Emmanuel, supported by Ceat Tyres, Sidvin, and the Sports Development Authorities of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), brought more cheer to the family by finishing on the podium in all three races in the 600cc category.

It is the first instance of Indian brothers finishing on podium in all the races they participated in the same championship, though in different categories.

Astride a Kawasaki Ninja 300, 18-year-old Johann Emmanuel, a 1st year Visual Communication student at the Madras Christian College, made a significant impact by winning all the three races on debut in his category.

Meanwhile, Geoffrey Emmanuel, a 3rd year BCA student at the Madras Christian College, exhibited remarkable resilience and skill riding a Kawasaki ZX6r, to earn three podium finishes in as many races.