Jorge Martin Wins San Marino MotoGP Sprint Race

Jorge Martin won Saturday's sprint race at the San Marino and Rimini Riviera MotoGP to close the gap on championship leader Francesco Bagnaia

Misano Adriatico, Italy, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Sep, 2023 ) :Jorge Martin won Saturday's sprint race at the San Marino and Rimini Riviera MotoGP to close the gap on championship leader Francesco Bagnaia.

Pramac rider Martin is now 45 points behind world champion Bagnaia ahead of Sunday's GP after winning from pole position well over a second ahead of Marco Bezzecchi.

Martin was on pole after smashing the lap record clocked by VR46 rider Bezzecchi on Friday by nearly half a second in qualifying on Saturday morning.

He will start there again for Sunday's GP and on the evidence of the sprint is a good bet to claim the honours ahead of his principle championship rivals.

The 25-year-old never looked troubled by the Italian pair chasing him, both of whom were suffering from injuries sustained in crashes at last weekend's Catalunya MotoGP.

Ducati's Bagnaia flew off his bike at high speed at Montmelo and was then run over by Brad Binder, but has been riding well this weekend and will be aiming to limit the damage to his lead in the overall standings.

He managed to hold off Dani Pedrosa despite riding in pain and delighted the supporters in the stands when he crossed the line.

td/ea