From the Martin-Bagnaia duel to Marc Marquez’s hunt for his first Ducati win: here’s the weather forecast and the schedule for the MotoGP in Austria!
We’ve officially reached the halfway point of the MotoGP championship: the Spielberg race will be the 11th out of 20, marking the start of the second half of the season. The championship has already given us some early indications, and the MotoGP market remains as lively as ever. Here’s everything you need to know for the Austrian round of the MotoGP World Championship, an event that has always delivered excitement.
RIDER STANDINGS
At Silverstone, the weekend saw Jorge Martin retake the lead from Pecco Bagnaia: the Spaniard is now ahead in the standings by just three points, a gap that could prove decisive in the battle for the title.
However, the fight between Martin and Bagnaia isn’t the only one to watch: in third place, we have Enea Bastianini, who despite being 49 points behind Martin, has significantly closed the gap in recent races, thanks to his double victory at Silverstone, winning both the Sprint and the main race.
Just behind Enea is Marc Marquez, fourth and only 13 points away from third place. He’ll be aiming to at least secure third place by the end of the year, proving he deserves his spot as a factory Ducati rider, already confirmed for 2025.
THE CIRCUIT
The race will take place at the Red Bull Ring in Styria, Austria. The riders will complete 28 laps for a total of 121.74 km. The circuit consists of 10 corners, predominantly right-handers. The track’s famous feature is its 65-meter elevation change, with climbs in the first sector and descents throughout the rest of the circuit. The lap record belongs to Marco Bezzecchi at 1:28.533. In the last two editions of the Austrian Grand Prix, Pecco Bagnaia emerged victorious, making him the favorite for this weekend.
WEATHER AND SCHEDULE FOR MOTOGP IN AUSTRIA
Here are the session times (BST – British Summer Time):
FRIDAY, AUGUST 16th
• 9:45 AM – FP1
• 2:00 PM – Pre-Qualifying
SATURDAY, AUGUST 17th
• 9:10 AM – FP2
• 9:50 AM – Qualifying
• 2:00 PM – Sprint
SUNDAY, AUGUST 18th
• 1:00 PM – Race
For the weather forecast, directly sourced from the GPKingdom app, expect clear skies, particularly on Friday and Saturday, with high temperatures during the Sprint Race. On Sunday, however, cloudy skies are expected, but with no chance of rain.
Photo: MotoGP