Bastianini stuns Martin to take thrilling victory, Bagnaia crashes out

Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) earned Ducati’s 100th victory in MotoGP on home soil after usurping Jorge Martin’s (Prima Pramac Racing) lead with a bold move on the final lap.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) lost the lead in a scrappy battle with Jorge Martin and his team-mate Bastianini, crashing out in the closing stages of the race in an attempt to catch up.

Martin led a majority of the race, defending hard around the narrow track until his lead was viciously snatched by Bastianini on the final lap.

Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) earned another podium after inheriting third place from Bagnaia, securing crucial points in the title fight as he sneaks up the standings.

Due to Bagnaia’s crash, Martin leaves the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix leading the Riders’ Standings ahead of the reigning world champion.

Although Martin was forced to settle for second place, he now has a 24-point gap to Bagnaia in the championship.

Martin said: “It was a nice race, it was really tough – at the beginning I was struggling to overtake Pecco.

“I was confident with that pace, trying to keep it constant but then I saw Enea was arriving.

“Then I just tried to close the gap, the manner was maybe a bit too much because he pushed me out of the track so I couldn’t fight back.

“I think I was stronger and I deserved the victory but it’s okay and I will try again for the next one.”

The race immediately kicked off with excitement as the pole-sitter Bagnaia lost the lead off the line when Martin stormed past.

Martin briefly held onto the lead until Bagnaia came back in full force around Turn 3 on the opening lap to regain the lead, while Bastianini lingered closely behind.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) made his way up to fourth place in a spectacular opening stint only to crash out of the race on Lap 2, gifting the position to Pedro Acosta.

A three-way battle for the lead was sparked as Bagnaia, Martin, and Bastianini pulled away from the rest of the pack while trading fastest laps.

On Lap 6 Martin got a great exit coming out of Turn 6 to storm past Bagnaia through the breaking zone, beginning his resurgence after a disappointing sprint race yesterday.

In a horrible sequence for Bagnaia, he lost second place to teammate Bastianini after going wheel to wheel down a narrow corner.

Bagnaia briefly fell off the pace of the two race leaders, falling under pressure from Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3) before he crashed out of the race and gifted the position to Marc Marquez.

The reigning champion began to recover, cutting the gap down to his teammate swiftly but made a crucial error that saw him out of the race in the closing stages.

With just six laps to go, Bagnaia crashed out of the race on one of the track’s fastest corners as he threw his bike aggressively around Sector 2.

Bastianini took this opportunity to quicken up the pace and cut the gap to Martin, attempting to overtake on every possible corner while the Spaniard blocked his moves.

In an excellent defensive display Martin managed to hold off the quicker Ducati, shutting down all of his moves before accidentally leaving space on the final lap.

The Italian rider crept alongside Martin heading into the final lap, squeezing his way past at Turn 4 with a bold move that forced the latter briefly off track.

Bastianini said: “It has been an incredible race today, Jorge was perfect for all the race and it was too difficult to overtake him. I tried for three laps to go but he closed the line from the exit of Turn 6.

“After in the last lap I saw a bit of space inside Turn 4 and I went a bit on the limit and I closed the line.

“It’s incredible to win today in Misano in front of my fans and team, and to be back on the top step.”

Martin settled for second place, but it was Bastianini who prevailed and secured Ducati’s 100th win in MotoGP on home soil in a climb to third in the Riders’ Standings.

Marc Marquez benefited from other riders’ mistakes and earned yet another podium finish after a glorious streak in the last few weeks.

Marquez said: “Before I started the race we said fourth place would be a good result for us.

“I was looking for that place and trying to control Acosta, and in one moment I saw Bagnaia struggling a bit but then he started to push.

“He was riding an incredible pace and when I saw his mistake I was on the podium.

“Today was a present, this podium, because the three guys were faster than us, but I’m happy.

“I’m happy the way the team is working and now it’s time to keep the mentality and keep the concentration, because now we are going to Asia and anything can happen.”

Despite losing the lead on the final lap, Martin put in an excellent performance and proved why he currently leads the Riders’ Standings.

Martin led for the majority of the race, defending hard and clean against the two Ducati Lenovo riders, but only relented in an attempt to be fair on the final lap.

The Spaniard went wheel-to-wheel with Bastianini for five laps, predicting and blocking every move in unique defensive displays across the track.

In spite of his track limit warning, Martin managed to hold off the Ducati rider until the final few moments where he gave just an inch of space to avoid sending both riders off track.

The championship leader also retained his second place position after being forced off track in a particularly bold move by Bastianini, going on to finish with the title lead in the bag.

1/27 BLOW FOR BLOW ON OPENING LAP – Jorge Martin launched his bike off the line to overtake the reigning champion on the starting straight but Pecco Bagnaia came back in full force to dive down the inside of the Spaniard around Turn 3 and regain the lead.

3/27 BINDER OUT WHILE BATTLE UNFOLDS – Brad Binder crashed out of the race on Lap 2 after a failed attempt to squeeze his way around Enea Bastianini in third place, opening up a three-way battle at the front of the pack.

6/27 MARTIN USURPS THE LEAD – Jorge Martin got a great exit coming out of Turn 6 to storm past Pecco Bagnaia on the breaking zone, allowing Enea Bastianini to storm past his teammate too.

21/27 BAGNAIA OUT OF THE RACE! – Pecco Bagnaia crashes out of the race in a quick breaking zone after chasing his teammate Enea Bastianini down for a podium slot.

27/27 BASTIANINI STEALS MARTIN’S LEAD ON FINAL LAP – In a particularly offensive move, Bastianini crept alongside Martin to squeeze past and steal the lead on home soil. Martin briefly went off track but retained second place.

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