Ducati lockout the top seven in Honda's backyard as Francesco Bagnaia took an important victory in Motegi.
Francesco Bagnaia had it under control in the MotoGP Sprint Race when he hit the front of the field. The Italian rider was running in second but inherited the lead after Pedro Acosta crashed from first place. Bagnaia put together a classic Bagnaia ride to close in on the Championship leader.
The Ducati Lenovo Team finished 1-2 in the Japanese Sprint Race with Enea Bastianini in second. The Italian rider was in a tense battle with third place in the latter laps as he finished runner-up to his teammate.
In third place was Marc Marquez on the Gresini Racing Ducati GP23. Marquez was once again the best 2023 Ducati rider as he took it to the factory Ducati riders.
The Prima Pramac Racing squad finished in fourth and fifth places in the Sprint Race. Jorge Martin finished in fourth place in a damage limitation race for his Championship. Behind Martin was his teammate Franco Morbidelli in fifth.
Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team rider, Fabio di Giannantonio, went on to finish in sixth place. Just behind the Italian was the Gresini Racing Ducati rider, Alex Marquez in seventh place.
The top non-Ducati rider was Jack Miller on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine. The Australian rider went on to finish in eighth place after two of his KTM colleagues failed to finish the race.
Behind Miller was also a non-Ducati as Maverick Vinales took his Aprilia to ninth place. The Italian rider took the last point-scoring position on his Aprilia RS-GP.
MotoGP Japan, Full Sprint Race Results:
| 2024 Japanese MotoGP | Mobility Resort Motegi | Sprint Race Results | Round 16 of 20 | |||||
| Pos | Name | Nat. | Team | Bike | Gap |
| 1 | Pecco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP24 | |
| 2 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP24 | +0.181 |
| 3 | Marc Marquez | ESP | Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati GP23 | +0.349 |
| 4 | Jorge Martin | ESP | Prima Pramac Racing | Ducati GP24 | +2.498 |
| 5 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Prima Pramac Racing | Ducati GP24 | +4.326 |
| 6 | Fabio di Giannantonio | ITA | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati GP23 | +4.446 |
| 7 | Alex Marquez | ESP | Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati GP23 | +11.444 |
| 8 | Jack Miller | AUS | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | +11.875 |
| 9 | Maverick Vinales | ESP | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia RS-GP | +11.947 |
| 10 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati GP23 | +12.299 |
| 11 | Raul Fernandez | ESP | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia RS-GP | +14.559 |
| 12 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha M1 | +14.645 |
| 13 | Luca Marini | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda RC213V | +15.886 |
| 14 | Johann Zarco | FRA | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda RC213V | +16.170 |
| 15 | Augusto Fernandez | ESP | GasGas Factory Racing Tech3 | KTM RC16 | +20.522 |
| 16 | Alex Rins | ESP | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha M1 | +24.415 |
| 17 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia RS-GP | +25.482 |
| 18 | Remy Gardner | AUS | Yamaha Factory Racing Team | Yamaha M1 | +32.620 |
| 19 | Joan Mir | ESP | Repsol Honda Team | Honda RC213V | +51.010 |
| DNF | Pedro Acosta | ESP | GasGas Factory Racing Tech3 | KTM RC16 | |
| DNF | Aleix Espargaro | ESP | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia RS-GP | |
| DNF | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda RC213V | |
| DNF | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | |
