MISANO ADRIATICO: Jorge Martin capped a perfect Saturday by winning the sprint race at the San Marino and Rimini Riviera MotoGP not long after smashing the Misano Adriatico lap record on his way to claiming pole position.
Pramac rider Martin is now 45 points behind world champion Bagnaia ahead of Sunday’s GP after winning his third sprint of the season from pole, 1.445 seconds ahead of Marco Bezzecchi on a hot day at the Italian track.
Martin was on pole after chopping the Misano Adriatico 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 Bezzecchi and Bagnaia, who both rode through pain to claim podium spots.
“Today was a great day, pole position with a record. I expected it to be more difficult, the first laps,” said Martin.
“Marco pushed, pushed, pushed a lot, I had to be at the limit all the time. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel a little bit stronger.” 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.