World Championship leader Jorge Martin (Ducati-Pramac) wins the sprint race of the Australian GP of the MotoGP World Championship on Saturday. His rival Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) only finished fourth.
Martin, who came to Australia with a ten-point lead over Bagnaia, now has a 16-point lead in the championship ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix.
Victory in the sprint (13 laps) is a good sign for Martin ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix, which comprises 27 laps and will bring more points. But the weather on Philipp Island off Melbourne is often capricious with rain and sometimes strong winds, as was the case on Saturday.
Marc Marquez, who started the race from second on the grid, got off to a bad start and finished eighth, while Jorge Martin immediately took the lead. Behind him was Marco Bezzecchi, followed by Francesco Bagnaia and South African Brad Binder (KTM), who was riding very well.
Marquez began a race to catch up and was in fifth place after two laps before overtaking Binder with a daring maneuver. Bagnaia was briefly able to take second place, but he was unable to prevent his rival from pulling away at the front of the championship.
Martin extended his lead to three seconds by the middle of the race. The duel between Marc Marquez and "Pecco" Bagnaia behind him was won by the Spaniard, and the two-time Italian champion was later even overtaken by Enea Bastianini.
In the championship, Martin now has 404 points and Bagnaia 388, while Marc Marquez is further back with 320 points, level on points with Bastianini. After the race in Australia on Sunday, there are still three Grands Prix and just as many sprints to be contested, so everything remains open between Martin and Bagnaia, the reigning double world champion.
SDA
