MotoGP: Jorge Martin claims San Marino Sprint victory ahead of title rival Francesco Bagnaia

Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) jumped Franesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) off the line with a great launch to claim victory in the San Marino MotoGP Sprint.

Hopes for an all-Italian podium on home soil were lost as Martin snagged the win and extended his lead ahead of Bagnaia in the riders’ standings.

Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) converted his top-three qualifying slot to a podium position after holding off Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) and a charging Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP).

Marc Marquez climbed up to fifth place after a brilliant charge through the field, clearing the KTM riders to reverse his poor qualifying result.

The Sprint saw a Ducati top-five on home soil as the Italian constructor proved their dominance around Misano.

Martin got off to a great start in an exciting Sprint race around the Misano World Circuit, launching his bike off the line to jump the Italian trio ahead.

Martin’s blisteringly quick start saw him in the lead of the Sprint by Turn 5, ruining the VR46 Academy riders’ hopes for a first podium as a trio.

The Spaniard retained his position leading the pack throughout the race, holding off Bagnaia’s attempts to cut down the gap and make a move on him.

Timesheets throughout the weekend so far have alternated between the two championship rivals, but Martin came out on top as he pulled 1.4s away from Bagnaia by the end of the Sprint.

Martin said: “I’m super happy, I think we did a really good job – even from practice we were trying to find perfection so it was difficult.

“Today I expected to be fighting with Pecco but I did not expect to do that from the start, and from that point I was okay.

“13 laps of qualifying pace, I was pushing and trying to not make any mistakes and be super focused.

“I have a gap to keep for the last two laps so I’m super happy, for tomorrow it’s another story but I feel confident that we are super fast.”

A dreamy Sprint race for Martin secured him those crucial points in the title fight as he now leads Bagnaia by 26 points, hoping to pull off the double in Sunday’s feature race.

For Bagnaia, his hopes of sealing the double victory on home soil are lost after losing pole position off the line leave him with fewer points to grab this weekend.

Bagnaia initially hoped to convert his pole position into a win, and to share the podium with the top-three qualifiers Morbidelli and Marco Bezzecchi but Italian dreams were crushed.

Bagnaia said: “I’m absolutely not happy. I tried, but Jorge was breaking hard and after the start it was a disaster.

“I lost the first position and from that moment it was very difficult, but in any case second position after what happened last week is okay.

“We will improve the start because it was a disaster then try to be in a better shape tomorrow.”

While Morbidelli was able to convert his top-three qualifying position into a podium finish, Bezzecchi crashed out of the Sprint after tumbling down the order on the opening lap.

Bezzecchi got off to a slow start in the San Marino Sprint, dropping from third to 10th, and crashed halfway through the race while searching for a way around Fabio Quartararo.

Marc Marquez, however, endured a much better day by storming through the field on his blisteringly fast Gresini Ducati to finish in fifth place.

Last week’s double winner showed great speed throughout the weekend but toppled off his bike in qualifying to start from ninth.

The eight-time world champion managed to clear both KTM riders ahead of him, once with a magnificent move on Jack Miller around the tight Turn 14.

Marquez squeezed through a tiny gap to climb up to sixth place on Lap 9 then solidified his fifth-placed finish on the closing stages of the Sprint.

Although Jorge Martin got off to a superb start, Marc Marquez made up for his qualifying crash during the thrilling Sprint race around Misano.

Starting from ninth, the eight-time world champion climbed up to fifth in the 13-lap Sprint race and pulled off some glorious moves to do so.

He fell one position on the opening lap after a packed field bunched together through the tight Sector 1, but quickly recovered heading into the second lap.

By Lap 3, he had made up one position as Bezzecchi tumbled down the order, and he had his eyes set on his next target of the two KTMs ahead.

The greasy Misano surface was troublesome for some, but not Marquez and he pulled off a move on Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) to climb up to seventh place on Lap 7.

Then, the Spaniard squeezed around the inside of Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) on the tight corner of Turn 14, redeeming his qualifying crash in one move.

Marquez solidified his redeeming ride with a fifth-place finish, overtaking Pedro Acosta during the closing stages of the Sprint.

1/13 MARTIN JUMPS THE ITALIANS – Jorge Martin got off to a great start, launching his bike off the line to lead the Sprint heading into the third corner by jumping the three Italian VR46 Academy riders.

5/13 BEZZECCHI DOWN – Searching for a way around Fabio Quartararo, Marco Bezzecchi lost control of his VR46 Ducati bike and crashes out of his home race.

7/13 BAGNAIA LINGERS BEHIND MARTIN – Martin attempts to pull away from Bagnaia but the Italian rider lingers closely behind. Just 0.4s behind, Bagnaia hopes to clear Martin and fly away in clean air.

9/13 MARQUEZ CLEARS KTMs– Marc Marquez dove down the inside of Miller heading into Turn 14, pulling off an impressive move to climb up to sixth after clearing both KTMs.

11/13 MARTIN CLOSES THE DOOR ON PECCO – Martin closes the door on Pecco Bagnaia as he pulls 1.3s away from the reigning world champion.

13/13 MARTIN SNATCHES THE VICTORY – Jorge Martin snatches the Sprint victory from Pecco Bagnaia on home soil and runs away with an extended championship lead.