Marco Bezzecchi clinches inaugural IndianOil Grand Prix of India title

The winners on the podium.

Marco Bezzecchi became the first rider to win the inaugural IndianOil Grand Prix of India on September 24, riding the Mooney VR46 Racing Team to the top of the podium at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida.

At the commencement of the race, Jorge Martin of Prima Pramac raced off into the lead at Turn 1. Francesco Bagnaia, the championship leader, also sped off, leaving Bezzecchi in third place. Bezzecchi, however, regained his top spot by first overtaking Bagnaia to claim second place and then raced into the lead when an error at Turn 4 sent Martin wide.

Thereafter, Bezzecchi left the pack way behind, thus fighting for the remaining two places on the podium. Absolutely unaware of the events taking place behind him on the track, he took the chequered flag eight seconds before the rest of the  pack.

Bezzecchi loved everything about India. Commenting on the fans, he said, “I really liked this place the day I landed. I like to celebrate with the fans, I would like to give my heart to the fans. In this part of the world, they are very loud, and I really like to hear the crowd. They enjoyed it, of course, and next year they will have even more fun. So, for me it was fantastic.”

As much as the fans, he was impressed with the track that gave him his second win of the season. “It’s a track that I liked the first time I rode on it. Overall it has been good for me. There was some hard braking, but also some fast parts and chicanes. Physically I felt better with the head, so change of direction was not a problem, like it was in Mizano. Sector three was really fantastic to ride,” he further added.