Four points in it: Bagnaia reels in Martin after tense Misano Sprint

The Italian took Sprint honours on Saturday and closed the Championship gap after defeating Martin and Bastianini.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) closed in on the Championship lead on Saturday at the Gran Premio Pramac dell’Emilia-Romagna after a stunning performance from the reigning World Champion at home round. The Italian was initially pushed back to second before making the move for the lead stick on Lap 8.

Bagnaia claimed another gold medal after he was chased to the line by title rival Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), whose advantage has now shrunk to just four points ahead of Sunday’s GP. Meanwhile, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) had another strong Sprint, claiming third position after a good opening lap.

Martin made a dream launch at the start of the Sprint, with the #89 launching his attack on the run to Turn 1. Martin pulled the pin at the beginning, pushing hard on the opening laps as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) leapfrogged the reigning World Champion – pushing Bagnaia down to third.

The reigning World Champion did not wait long to attack, with Binder dropping down to fourth at Turn 8 as the Bagnaia and his teammate Bastianini slotted into the podium places. However, behind Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) also began to make moves, slotting into the top five places after the #93 was forced to start from P7 on the grid. Marc Marquez soon overtook Binder, who quickly dropped back to sixth as Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) also found his way through.

All eyes returned to the front as Bagnaia reeled in the Championship leader, closing the gap to under half a second. ‘The Beast’ began to lose touch with the front two as Bagnaia pushed to the limit and prepared his attack. Martin was handed a track limit warning before the key move came on Lap 8 with an overtake at Turn 13 after Martin made a mistake and ran wide.

Once Bagnaia hit the front, the gap quickly extended, increasing his lead to over half a second within one lap – setting personal best sectors in the process. It was a sensational showing for the Italian, who set sights on claiming Sprint victory at home.

Marc Marquez would also make a mistake, losing time after a mistake at Turn 13 – the #93 soon had Acosta glued to his tailpipe. Less than one second separated the pair throughout as the #93 attempted to stretch a gap.

Further back, there was an intense battle for the final point-scoring positions in the Sprint, with Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team), Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Prima Pramac Racing’s Franco Morbidelli having a battle for seventh. Quartararo and Bezzecchi would continue to fight as they entered the final lap.

At the front, Martin kept Bagnaia honest, edging closer in the latter stages of the Sprint but once the flag flew, Bagnaia was able to secure victory and close in on Martin’s title advantage. The #89 crossed the line a mere 0.285s behind, with Bastianini rounding out a talented top three.

Marc Marquez held onto fourth position, with the eight-time World Champion increasing his gap to Acosta to over a second. The #31 had another strong ride and crossed the line as the top Pierer Mobility rider after beating Binder at the flag. The South African was unable to recover the positions lost in the opening laps, securing sixth and further Sprint points.

Meanwhile, Quartararo would get the better of Bezzecchi, with the Frenchman increasing his gap to over half a second as he crossed the line to finish in seventh. Bezzecchi did take eighth, while the final point went the way of Morbidelli in ninth.

There is still plenty of action to come from the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli as we await to see if Bagnaia can repeat his success on Sunday to complete a dream weekend. Find out on Sunday as we go racing at 13:00 local time (UTC +2) for further Championship drama.

Top 10:

FULL RESULTS!

- Advertisement -