Following a long delay to help dry up the starting grid, the 11-lap sprint - shortened due to extreme heat and originally scheduled to start at 3:30pm local time - got under way just after 5pm at the Buddh International Circuit, with VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi starting from pole ahead of Pramac’s Martin and world champion Francesco Bagnaia.
Martin got the best launch of the trio and immediately grabbed the lead, while Bezzecchi was trying to consolidate second when his team-mate Luca Marini got the braking wrong for the tricky Turn 1, slamming into the back of his Ducati.
