2024 San Marino MotoGP: Jorge Martin stuns Francesco Bagnaia for Misano sprint win
Championship leader extends his points advantage
Jorge Martin stunned Francesco Bagnaia to come from fourth on the grid to lead every lap of the MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix sprint to swell his championship lead.
Pramac rider Martin endured a scrappy qualifying that left him a disappointing fourth on the grid.
But the Spaniard nailed his launch off the line to lead into Turn 1 on the opening lap and resisted early pressure from Bagnaia before eventually taking the chequered flag 1.495s clear.
Martin has extended his championship lead to 26 points.
Franco Morbidelli completed the podium for the first time in any MotoGP race since 2021 after resisting a last-lap move from Enea Bastianini to finish third on his Pramac Ducati.
Marc Marquez recovered to fifth after starting ninth.
Friday’s long run pace suggested Martin and Bagnaia would be the riders to beat in Saturday’s sprint.
Martin jumped Bagnaia into Turn 1 from fourth on the grid and took a half-a-second lead by the end of the opening tour.
That gap remained stable for the first half of the 13-lap sprint, as Bagnaia kept his chief title rival in sight.
But as the race wore on, Martin began to break Bagnaia’s resolve and would beat him by almost 1.5s to score his first sprint win since Germany in July.
In the early part of the race, Morbidelli ran with the leading two but would soon find himself cast over a second adrift.
After qualifying down in eighth, Enea Bastianini rallied to put Morbidelli under pressure for the final podium spot.
Factory Ducati rider Bastianini threw his bike up the inside of Morbidelli at Turn 8 on the last lap, but ran in too hot and allowed the Pramac GP24 back through to complete the podium.
Marc Marquez put a brave move on Tech3 rookie Pedro Acosta into Turn 13 on the last lap to snatch fifth from the GASGAS rider.
That overtake ensured Marquez held onto third in the standings, but is level on 234 points with Bastianini as the pair slide 77 adrift of Martin.
Brad Binder was seventh ahead of factory KTM rider Jack Miller, while Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo took the final point in ninth.
Alex Marquez was 0.337s outside of the points in 10th on the sister Gresini Ducati, while no Aprilia featured in the top 10 in the sprint - with Maverick Vinales the best of the RS-GPs in 11th.
Johann Zarco was the top Honda rider for LCR in 13th.
After qualifying on the front row, Marco Bezzecchi’s race was a disaster from the off as he plummeted down to eighth on the opening lap.
He would crash out on lap five at Turn 2. On the second tour, his VR46 Ducati team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio fell off at Turn 14. He would rejoin, but pitted into retirement late on.
Honda wildcard Stefan Bradl also retired.
Full sprint results from the 2024 MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix
