MotoGP: Francesco Bagnaia wins first-ever Sprint race

Francesco Bagnaia has cemented his place in the history books as he wins the inaugural MotoGP Sprint race.

After receiving a tow in qualifying, Marc Marquez qualified in pole position for the first-ever MotoGP Sprint race. It was a new lap record in MotoGP history with riders awaiting to rewrite the history books. 

As the lights went out it was the Honda of Marquez who led the way into turn one, with both factory Ducati’s behind. Jorge Martin quickly overtook Enea Bastianini and set his sights on the other factory Ducati of Bagnaia.

Fabio Quartararo was forced to run wide at turn one at turn 13 by Repsol Honda rider, Joan Mir. Quartararo dropped down the order, while Joan Mir crashed out of the race and did not complete a lap.

Two Ducatis would come together at turn five, with Luca Marini tucking the front and making contact with Bastianini. This crash resulted in a fractured right shoulder blade for Bastianini.

Jorge Martin had a great start to his race, chasing the World Champion, and making the move on lap four. Bagnaia would follow behind, as fellow Ducati rider Marco Bezzecchi crashed out.

Marquez sat in third position and struggled early in the race. Both Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira passed the eight-time World Champion at turn one and two on lap five. Miller continued his strong pace on his return to the KTM brand. 

Fabio Quartararo continued his recovery ride and was in 10^th position with five laps to go in the MotoGP Sprint. He was behind Alex Marquez who was having a great start to his 2023 season.

Both factory Aprilia’s of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales were in sixth and seventh. The teammates battled for sixth position in a titanic dual between the two Spaniards.

Jorge Martin had an incredible 10^th lap and began to stretch out the field creating a gap of 0.351 between himself and Bagnaia. But would make a mistake and run wide, allowing Bagnaia to catch up.

Marc Marquez made a spectacular move on Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira and jumped into the podium positions. Miguel Oliveira, however, would quickly return the favour and overtake Marquez for third.

Bagnaia hits the front

Bagnaia showed his pace on the final lap, overtaking Jorge Martin and creating a gap straight away. His lead on Martin grew significantly, with the reigning World Champion having more life in his tyre.

Oliveira made a mistake on the final lap, running wide and off the track, dropping the Portuguese rider to seventh position. This mistake allowed Marquez to take the final position on the podium. 

As the chequered flag flew it was Francesco Bagnaia who took a historic MotoGP Sprint race victory. Jorge Martin finished just 0.307 behind, claiming Ducati’s first one-two of the season.

Marc Marquez took the final podium position, with his brother Alex Marquez claiming the final points-scoring position. Fabio Quartararo finished behind Alex Marquez but scored no points due to Sprint race regulations.

Speaking about his podium, Marquez said: “Well, today was really a surprising day but it was a great day, it helped to restore a lot of confidence for myself and the team. Starting with the pole, honestly, I don’t know how I was able to find this time – it was much faster than I had been before. 

“It’s a good advantage to start from pole position and we were able to fight in the Sprint race. When I saw Oliveira and Miller go wide, I knew this was my chance and I attacked. The new format is very demanding, but I think this short race was a good show for the fans. Tomorrow is what really counts and will show where we are more I think.”

Image credit: motogp.com