MotoGP San Marino GP: Martin wins Misano sprint, Pedrosa narrowly misses podium

The Pramac rider led from the off, and despite VR46 rider Bezzecchi attempting a fight back after passing Francesco Bagnaia for second, Martin held on for his second consecutive podium.

Despite both carrying injuries after separate incidents in last weekend’s Catalan GP, home favourites Bezzecchi and championship leader Bagnaia completed the podium.

It was far from easy for the Ducati factory rider, who was passed by Bezzecchi early on before having to hold off KTM wildcard Dani Pedrosa and Brad Binder, who had a strong charge from seventh.

With Martin getting the holeshot, Pedrosa made up a place off the line, passing Aprilia rider Maverick Vinales for fourth, as further back Binder fell three places to 10th.

Martin was already 0.5s clear of Bagnaia by lap two, and the reigning world champion then ran wide to let Bezzecchi, struggling with an injured hand, through.

Behind, Binder forced his way past Honda’s Marc Marquez, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) and VR46’s Luca Marini to run sixth. Binder then attempted a move on Vinales at Turn 6, but was forced to fall back as the Aprilia man put in a staunch defence.

Binder eventually passed Vinales on lap six as he continued his charge, while maligned Honda rider Joan Mir was handed a long-lap penalty for exceeding track limits before receiving a second for failing to serve the first properly.

Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team, Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team (Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images)

The gap between Martin and Bezzecchi stabilised around 0.7s by the halfway mark, while further back Alex Marquez (Gresini) passed brother Marc for ninth, the final points paying position.

With five laps remaining, Pedrosa was closing on Bagnaia, with the gap down to 0.4s by lap eight as Bezzecchi stalled in his charge to catch Martin. A fierce battle for third ensued, with Binder then catching Pedrosa as the KTM duo fought to catch Bagnaia.

Despite having severe bruising on his right leg after last weekend’s crash, Bagnaia managed to hold off both riders for the podium.

But Martin’s victory cuts Bagnaia’s lead in the standings from 50 points to 45 with eight rounds remaining after this weekend.

Pedrosa kept Binder behind to take his best result since Valencia 2017, with Vinales sixth ahead of Marini. Espargaro was ninth, ahead of the Marquez brothers.

Franco Morbidelli initially failed to get off the grid on his Yamaha machine, and though he got going, was also handed a long lap penalty for exceeding track limits. He was then handed a three-second penalty for failing to serve it.

Pol Espargaro met the same fate, as did Mir and Honda test rider Stefan Bradl, while Pramac rider Johann Zarco was dropped one position to 14th after exceeding track limits on the last lap.

MotoGP San Marino GP Sprint Race Results (13 laps):

Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

         

Driver Info			Main Information Additional Data
Cla	Rider	#		Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Retirement	Points
1	J. Martin Pramac Racing	89		Ducati	13	-				12
2	M. Bezzecchi Team VR46	72		Ducati	13	+1.445	1.445			9
3	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	1		Ducati	13	+4.582	3.137			7
4	D. Pedrosa Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	26		KTM	13	+4.772	0.190			6
5	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33		KTM	13	+4.931	0.159			5
6	M. Viñales Aprilia Racing Team	12		Aprilia	13	+6.062	1.131			4
7	L. Marini Team VR46	10		Ducati	13	+6.519	0.457			3
8	A. Espargaro Aprilia Racing Team	41		Aprilia	13	+7.893	1.374			2
9	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73		Ducati	13	+9.264	1.371			1
10	M. Marquez Repsol Honda Team	93		Honda	13	+11.318	2.054
11	R. Fernández RNF Racing	25		Aprilia	13	+13.365	2.047
12	M. Oliveira RNF Racing	88		Aprilia	13	+13.788	0.423
13	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20		Yamaha	13	+14.243	0.455
14	J. Zarco Pramac Racing	5		Ducati	13	+14.154
15	J. Miller Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	43		KTM	13	+17.421	3.267
16	P. Espargaro Tech 3	44		KTM	13	+17.451	0.030
17	F. Di Giannantonio Gresini Racing	49		Ducati	13	+18.133	0.682
18	F. Morbidelli Yamaha Factory Racing	21		Yamaha	13	+19.749	1.616
19	A. Fernandez Tech 3	37		KTM	13	+20.403	0.654
20	M. Pirro Ducati Team	51		Ducati	13	+21.454	1.051
21	T. Nakagami Team LCR	30		Honda	13	+21.962	0.508
22	S. Bradl Honda World Superbike Team	6		Honda	13	+23.672	1.710
23	J. Mir Repsol Honda Team	36		Honda	13	+36.100	12.428
View full results