Bagnaia wins thrilling Austrian MotoGP sprint to reclaim championship lead

Francesco Bagnaia delivered a stunning performance to win the Austrian MotoGP sprint on Saturday, surpassing Jorge Martin to reclaim the top spot in the championship standings. Bagnaia, the reigning two-time MotoGP champion, completed the 14-lap race in 20 minutes 59.768 seconds, finishing 4.673 seconds ahead of Martin, who started on pole.

Bagnaia’s victory at the Red Bull Ring marks his third sprint win of the season and puts him tied with Martin at 250 points atop the standings. The Italian rider, who started in second place, was ecstatic about the race, describing it as “incredible,” especially after recording a lap time of 1:28.7 during the battle, which was two-tenths faster than last year’s pole position.

Martin, who was hit with a penalty early in the sprint after missing a turn, finished second. Despite the setback, the Spaniard from Madrid expressed his enjoyment of the race and noted that he had more to give if not for the penalty.

Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia completed the podium in third place, while Enea Bastianini finished fourth, and KTM’s Jack Miller took fifth. The top 10 was rounded out by Franco Morbidelli, Brad Binder, Marco Bezzecchi, Pol Espargaro, and rookie Pedro Acosta.

Six-time world champion Marc Marquez, who started third, did not finish the race after sliding off his Ducati-Gresini bike with five laps to go.

As the championship battle intensifies, all eyes will be on Sunday’s Grand Prix, where Martin will start on pole and look to reclaim his lead in the standings.

(Source: AFP)