Bastianini unstoppable as Martin fends off Bagnaia in a tense Buriram Sprint

The Italian stormed to glory in the Tissot Sprint as Martin triumphed over Bagnaia, increasing the title gap to 22 points.

Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) has charged to victory at the PT Grand Prix of Thailand, taking glory by 1.357s after a sublime performance in the Tissot Sprint. ‘The Beast’ took the lead on the opening lap, keeping calm and setting a relentless pace to allow Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) no chance to respond in second.

It was a crucial day for the Championship, with Martin bagging second position and extending his Championship lead to 22 points over title rival Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). The Italian was unable to finish higher than third, with everything still to play for on Sunday.

Once the lights went out, Bagnaia made a phenomenal launch from pole position, taking a slight advantage on the run to Turn 1. However, Martin was on the attack at Turn 1, launching a move down the inside before running wide and dropping to fifth on the opening lap. The #89 was now left with work to do as throughout all the drama, Bastianini was promoted into the lead after a strong start for ‘The Beast’.

Martin began to work hard, putting the hammer down and finding a way through Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) on Lap 2 before setting sights on Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™). Martin soon found his way into the podium places after a textbook move on Marc Marquez at the final corner.

At the front, Bastianini threw down an early gauntlet, stretching his lead to nearly one second – setting the fastest lap in the process. Then drama began to unfold further back as Acosta’s hopes of a strong result were soon crushed at Turn 3 after a crash which would later see the #31 retire to the pitlane.

Further back, Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team’s Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio had a battle of their own. The Italians continued their battle throughout the Sprint as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) began to drop down the order after climbing to P6 in the opening stages.

Martin began to edge closer to the reigning World Champion, following his shadow before making the key move on Lap 7. Martin would make the move stick, running wide on the exit and causing the Spaniard to receive a track limits warning. It was building to be a tense finale, with the title rivals separated by a mere 0.350s on the circuit. Bagnaia continued to pile on the pressure at every corner in an enthralling end to Saturday’s action.

On the final lap, nobody was able to match Bastianini’s pace, with the #23 soaring to victory in Thailand. Bastianini took victory by over one second from Martin, who crucially extended his title advantage to 22 points to title rival Bagnaia ahead of Sunday.

Marc Marquez crossed the line in fourth, grabbing some strong points after the #93 was unable to match the pace of the top three. The eight-time World Champion finished ahead of teammate Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), who rounded out the top five positions after a sensational ride.

The Spaniard had to work hard in the closing laps, with Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) finishing a further 0.947s behind in sixth. Meanwhile, Bezzecchi and Di Giannantonio continued their intense fight to the line as Binder could only watch, clinching ninth and the final point of the Sprint.

After another twist in the tale, make sure you join us as the world’s most exciting sport returns at 15:00 local time (UTC +7) on Sunday for the Thai GP, where Bagnaia will launch from pole position and attempt to close Martin’s advantage!

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