Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) secured his fourth Sprint race win in a row to take the points lead in the MotoGP championship standings. The Mooney VR46 Racing pair Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi finished second and third respectively. Martin found for track position with Maverick Viñales until he was able to get by on lap 9 of the race. Viñales had previously built up a half second lead but as the race progressed his pace began to fade.
Marquez Crashes Again
Marc Marquez started the weekend off great but his success in practice did not translate to the sprint race. Marques crashed without completing the first lap of the sprint. “Our race was very short today; I lost the front at Turn 11 on the first lap. It’s a shame to finish the race so early because normally in the first laps I am very strong. We took a risk in the first laps and this is what can happen. The negative is that we didn’t finish the race and miss some information about how the tyres behave but the positive point is that we save our physical condition for the race tomorrow which will be a very long and hard race physically. Tomorrow it will be a tough race, the aim is the top 12.”
Bagnaia Drops in the Championship standings
Francesco Bagnaia’s pure dominance in the MotoGP championships points standings finally was relinquished. Bagnaia finished P8 after a failed overtake sent him wide out out of podium contention. The finish put Martin 7 points ahead in the championship.
After the race Bagnaia had the following comments, “Today the track changed a lot, and I was expecting more. The feeling in FP2 was very good, with used tyres I was quite fast, but in Qualifying, I didn’t feel good. My good lap would have been fifth if it was in Q2, but it wasn’t enough. Then, in the race, if you start P13 you already know it will be very difficult, you must put so much effort into gaining positions. I was blocked behind Enea, I was a bit faster today but the only way to get past him would have been to take him out. I tried to leave space to refresh the front tyre, and when I was doing it, I was lapping like the fastest riders. The speed is there, the performance also; I just need to be maybe more aggressive in the first part of the race and in overtakes.”
Championship Points Standings