Martin wins Sprint to edge closer to title after costly Bagnaia crash

Jorge Martin took another step closer to his maiden MotoGP title after dominating the Malaysian sprint race, leading from start to finish after snatching an immediate lead from pole-sitter Francesco Bagnaia.

Bagnaia was ready to put up a fight, but ran slightly wide at Turn 9 mid-race and crashed out in an unexpected turn of events which gifts championship front-runner Martin 12 points in the standings.

Marc Marquez settled for third place ahead of Enea Bastianini, making yet more progress towards securing third place in the world championship.

The penultimate round in Malaysia leaves Bagnaia with few chances to make a comeback to win his third championship, as the points gap increases to 29.

Martin needs to score nine more points this weekend to win the title a round early and earn his first MotoGP crown, but the tricky conditions around Sepang may prove a challenge for riders in Sunday’s showdown.

Martin’s spectacular performance has brought him closer to winning his maiden championship in the premier class after he prevailed through the wet conditions.

Rain began to fall as the riders set off on their warm-up lap and created wet patches around the circuit such as in Turns 4 and 9, adding difficulty to an already tricky track.

Martin got off to an amazing start, launching off the line to usurp the lead from Francesco Bagnaia around the inside of Turn 1 after an intense battle on the starting straight.

Bagnaia stumbled slightly off the line and settled for second place heading into the first corner, but his pace matched Martin as they sparked a fierce battle.

Meanwhile, Marc Marquez traded positions with his brother Alex Marquez, climbing up to third place on the opening lap as he jumped Enea Bastianini for the position.

The top three riders were blisteringly quick despite the conditions and Bagnaia was beginning to close the gap to Martin before he suffered that unfortunate crash.

On Lap 3, the defending champion ran slightly wide around Turn 9 and tumbled out of the race in an unexpected turn of events.

Bagnaia had set the fastest lap and was searching for a way around Martin, but the rainfall created wet splotches across the track which proved to be his undoing.

His crash promoted a speedy Marc Marquez to second place with Bastianini climbing to third, but it was Martin who benefited the most.

Martin then cruised to victory with Marquez unable to catch him, picking up another 12 points in the fight that pushes him 29 ahead of Bagnaia in the standings.

Depending on how the feature race pans out on Sunday, this could be the mistake that cost Bagnaia a third world championship.

Redeeming his crash during practice that incited doubt in the minds of many, Martin put in a spectacular sprint performance which edges him closer to earning his maiden title.

Martin got off to a perfect start, snatching the lead off the line and comfortably cruising around Sepang to earn another sprint victory.

The sprint king held off Marquez and managed to pull one second away from the six-time world champion by the end of the race.

In pursuit of the title, Martin has picked up 12 more points to add to his lead at the top of the tables, and now leads Bagnaia by 29 points.

His caution today gave him a safe ride to victory despite the tricky conditions, proving that he is certainly championship material.

1/10 MARTIN USURPS THE LEAD – Jorge Martin gets off to an amazing start, launching off the line to usurp the lead from Francesco Bagnaia around the inside of Turn 1.

3/10 BAGNAIA CRASHES OUT OF THE SPRINT – Francesco Bagnaia crashes out of the sprint race on the slippery Turn 9, as he runs slightly wide and tumbles off his bike.

6/10 MARTIN LEADS COMFORTABLY – The championship leader leads the pack around Sepang as he comfortably cruises around the circuit, trying his best to keep his bike on track.

10/10 MARTIN WINS THE MALAYSIAN SPRINT RACE – Jorge Martin wins the sprint race around Sepang after usurping the lead off the line from pole-sitter Francesco Bagnaia, who crashed out of the battle mid-race.