Jorge Martin started the Sprint race in Qatar from pole position after edging out Aleix Espargaro in Q2. In the sprint Martin continued his form in record setting fashion by winning the Tissot Sprint in Qatar and breaking the lap record. Martin finished ahead of South African Red Bull KTM rider Brad Binder. Bind was just over a half second behind in P2 and finished ahead of almost 8 tenths ahead of Aleix Espargaro in third. Espargaro’s pace started to fall off in the mid point of the race. His late effort to make a challenge for P2 fell short. The front of the pack was relatively spread out limiting opportunities for drafting. The win meant Martin was the first rider in MotoGP history to reach 10 Sprint race wins.
Bagnaia Falls Short But Salvages P4
Defending champion Francesco Bagnaia fell short of the win today. While not the optimal finish Bagnaia walked away with championship points and an overall positive day. “Overall, it was a positive Sprint, as a fourth place represents a good number of points secured,” said Bagnaia. “Surely the feeling is different compared to testing, maybe because of track conditions. It’s true that if I started from the front row, or even from pole, things would have been very different, but unfortunately, I got the last two corners wrong during my quick-lap attempt. We need to work on the bike behavior at the rear end; I struggled at the end, I could make the most of cornering and had to change my style a bit. We now have a clearer picture on where to improve ahead of tomorrow.”
The the season opening Qatar Grand Prix Kicks off tomorrow where Martin will attempt to double his winning ways.
Qatar GP Sprint Race Results