The Spaniard storms to Sprint glory to extend his lead to 26 points, escaping a last lap battle to complete the podium.
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) extended his Championship lead in ‘enemy territory’ at the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, initially chased by home hero and reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) before pulling away to take another stunning Tissot Sprint win. He’s now 26 points clear as Bagnaia was forced to settle for second, the reigning Champion in turn holding off late pressure from both Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team).
Bagnaia got a good start but Martin got a better one, with the #89 in a position to go for it and attack straight into Turn 1. He got the job done and got the hammer down immediately, with Bagnaia on the chase ahead of Morbidelli in third.
Behind, Bastianini made big gains from P8 to slot into fifth, shadowing Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and just ahead of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3). The big loser off the start was Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) as he dropped to the back end of the top ten in the shuffle, ending up just behind Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) as the #93 also looked to move forward.
At the front, Martin pounded on but the gap was hovering around a handful of tenths, with Morbidelli still very much in touch too. Instead, the next move came from the second group as Bastianini went for an attack on Binder and took over in fourth, looking down the barrel of 1.7 seconds to the podium fight with nine laps to go.
Drama then hit for Bezzecchi after the tougher start, with the #72 sliding out of contention, rider perfectly ok but looking for a lot more on Sunday as he takes his second front row start of the weekend. His teammate, Fabio Di Giannantonio, also slid out of the Tissot Sprint early on, riders both ok.
Meanwhile, a Pierer Mobility duel was heating up in the fight for fifth, with Acosta homing in on and then slicing past Binder. Just ahead of them, Bastianini was absolutely caning it through the gap to the Morbidelli, who was dropping off the duel for the win too. The ‘Beast’ took half a second off the deficit to his compatriot in one lap. Simultaneously, Marquez was looking impatient behind Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and he struck with seven to go, next targets: Binder and Acosta. The #93 made a lunge at Binder and made it stick not long after, setting up a final push to get past Acosta.
The other final push was coming in from Bastianini – and Morbidelli. As Martin was able to just eke out an advantage at the top, Bagnaia was fading towards Morbidelli just as Bastianini was catching them both. The ‘Beast’ struck against the Pramac early on the last lap, getting past but sailing wide as Morbidelli cut back inside. They pounded on, gap between all three diminishing, with the #21 Pramac gaining on Bagnaia to set up a three-rider train in the final sector.
Meanwhile, Marquez vs Acosta lit up. The #93 shadowed the #31 and inched closer, finally screeching up the inside out of Curvone and holding onto it through T12, from there on out able to hold on to the line.
Behind Martin, who put in another stunning Tissot Sprint to extend his advantage to 26 points and ensure he leaves Misano as Championship leader, holding on to the line was also what it came down to for Bagnaia and Morbidelli. Each did to complete the Sprint podium, with Bastianini taking fourth.
Marc Marquez pickpocketed fifth with that last-lap move on Acosta, with Binder and Miller up next. The final Sprint point went to another impressive Saturday from Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), who managed to hold off Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™).
There’s more to come at Misano on Sunday, with the Sprint serving up a stunning appetizer. Over full Grand Prix distance, what does Martin have in the locker? Can Bagnaia fight back? Or are the likes of Morbidelli, Bastianini and Marquez ready to attack once again? Find out on Sunday as MotoGP™ heads back out to race at 14:00 (UTC+2)!
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