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Bagnaia Triumphs in Italian GP Sprint, Marquez Second After Martin’s Crash
Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia (27) clinched the Italian MotoGP sprint victory on Saturday, closing in on championship leader Jorge Martin after the Pramac Racing rider crashed at the Mugello circuit. Gresini Racing’s Marc Marquez secured second place for the fifth time in a sprint this season, while Tech3 rookie Pedro Acosta finished third after Martin lost control and slid into the gravel with four laps remaining.
Bagnaia’s first sprint win of the season narrowed the gap to Martin to 27 points heading into Sunday’s race, where the Ducati rider will start from the second row following a three-place penalty on Friday.
“I enjoyed every single lap. The last part of the race was tough, but the bike is working perfectly. I’m very happy, winning here again is incredible,” said Bagnaia, who also won both the sprint and race at Mugello last year.
The factory Ducatis had a strong start with Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini moving up to first and second, but polesitter Martin quickly reclaimed second place.
Bastianini, at risk of losing his seat on the factory team, attempted to overtake Martin again, but they collided at turn one when the Pramac rider tried to retake the position, causing Bastianini to crash out.
Before Martin could focus on catching Bagnaia, Marquez was right behind him. Although Marquez’s first attempt to overtake didn’t succeed, he took second place with six laps to go by diving inside the San Donato bend.
Martin struggled to keep up with Marquez and, as he tried to give chase, he lost control at turn one and slid into the gravel, allowing Acosta to move into third place.
With three laps remaining, the top three riders were too far apart to battle for position, and Bagnaia took the chequered flag—a week after he crashed while leading the Catalan Grand Prix sprint on the final lap.
“The pace is super good. Looks like Pecco (Bagnaia) is a bit faster than us,” said Marquez, who is chasing his first victory on a Ducati and sits third in the championship, five points behind Bagnaia.
“I started fourth (on the grid) and the start was not so good… But the race pace was there, I feel good. Let’s see if we can get a podium in the race tomorrow.”
