Bagnaia clinches latest impressive victory in Misano Sprint race

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) prevailed in the Misano Sprint race after pulling away from championship rival Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) in the closing stages of the race.

Martin snatched pole position off the line from Bagnaia, but the reigning world champion picked up the pieces and stormed past him in the final few laps.

Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) managed to climb up to fourth after starting in seventh, but failed to overtake Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) for the last podium slot.

Bastianini finished the race in third place as the fastest rider on track, after holding off Marquez with an excellent defensive display despite track limit warnings.

Bagnaia’s Sprint victory sees him close the gap to Martin in the Riders’ Standings, reducing it to just four points with the chance of regaining the championship lead if tomorrow’s feature race bodes well.

After claiming the victory, Bagnaia said: “I tried everything to be my 100% when riding and luckily I am able to ride at my 100%. I missed the start again and to overtake Jorge was very, very tough.

“I used his mistake to get the lead and after that moment everything was much easier for the front tyre.

“The pace today was incredible, one week ago to riding 1-2-3 is something unbelievable.

“This is unbelievable, I’m very happy and thanks to my team once again for doing an amazing job.”

The sprint began with plenty of action as Martin snatched pole position from Bagnaia on the opening lap, pulling 0.6s away from the Italian rider.

Losing the lead on home soil, Bagnaia stormed through the field in a fierce hunt to regain the lead but the opening stages belonged to Martin who dominated the field.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) got off to an excellent start, launching himself to fourth place before Marc Marquez snatched the position heading into Lap 2.

Marc Marquez climbed three positions to fourth in the opening stages, sitting eagerly behind the two Ducati Lenovo riders Bastianini and Bagnaia.

Capitalising on Binder’s vulnerability, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3) found himself in fifth place after snatching the position from the KTM rider in the early stages of the sprint.

At the front of the pack, the two championship rivals traded the fastest sector time in every corner in an ensuing battle for the lead while the grid picked up track limit warnings.

Track limit warnings plagued the field during the Emilia Romagna Sprint around Misano, with race-leader Martin picking up a warning halfway through the race.

The Spaniard credited the track limits warning as the deciding factor in losing the race to Bagnaia, claiming that it derailed his focus.

Martin said: “Yeah for sure I couldn’t keep that concentration when I got the track limits warning.

“I did this small mistake that was the key for losing the race, if I stayed in front I could have had more opportunities.

“But Pecco was unstoppable today, I think for tomorrow I could be a bit stronger and we will find the way to be back with the victory.”

By Lap 9, Bagnaia managed to close the 1.5s gap to Martin down to 0.2s, as the championship leader rode cautiously around the narrow circuit.

With Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) picking up a time penalty for exceeding track limits, Martin opted for a more conservative ride around Misano, but lost time to Bagnaia in the process.

Bagnaia capitalised on Martin running wide, forcing himself to launch the bike down the inside and regain the lead of the Emilia Romagna sprint race.

The reigning world champion held onto the lead in the closing stages of the sprint, besting the Spaniard and cutting the points gap down to four.

Marquez was agonisingly close to Bastianini halfway through the sprint, but backed off after track limit penalties began infiltrating the pack.

Bastianini managed to hold off Marquez to earn a podium slot and help his run against the eight-time world champion in the Riders’ Standings.

After finishing the sprint as the fastest man on track, Bastianini said: “Yeah my pace was wonderful but Pecco’s one was the most wonderful today.

“The most difficult thing for me is always the first two or three laps, but after that, I was confident to try close the gap but their pace was too good.

“Let’s see tomorrow if we can try and do something more.”

Enea Bastianini put in a magnificent defensive display against Marc Marquez’s charge through the field, holding off the eight-time world champion for third place.

Bastianini managed to convert his third-place starting position to a podium slot after showing excellent pace throughout the sprint, going on to secure the fastest lap.

The Ducati Lenovo rider started the race in great conditions, but towards the end of the sprint he began matching the race-leaders’ lap times.

Bastianini pulled 5.3s away from Marquez in the closing stages of the race, also cutting down the gap to Martin to just 1.3s.

Securing a podium on home soil, the Italian rider is in contention for the race win tomorrow if he can continue his excellent form in the feature race.

1/13 MARTIN SNATCHES LEAD FROM BAGNAIA – Jorge Martin snatched pole position from Pecco Bagnaia on the opening lap, pulling 0.6s away from the Italian rider.

3/13 MARQUEZ CLIMBS TO FOURTH – Marc Marquez gained three positions in the opening stages, targetting Enea Bastianini for third place while the championship rivals trade fastest laps’ at the front of the pack.

6/13 TRACK LIMITS PLAGUE THE PACK – Track limit warnings come into play halfway through the sprint with Joan Mir picking up a time penalty and Martin receiving a warning alongside 10 other riders.

9/13 BAGNAIA REGAINS SPRINT LEAD – Bagnaia pulled off a remarkable move on Martin to retake the lead as Martin ran wide around a narrow corner.

13/13 PECCO PULLS ONE BACK – Bagnaia proved victorious on home soil, pulling away from Martin after regaining the lead in the Emilia Romagna Sprint.