After a delayed start due to unseasonal rain, the first ever MotoGP Sprint race in India saw Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin take a dominant victory, leading every lap and crossing the chequered flag 1.4 seconds ahead of fellow Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia.

1. Marc Marquez completed the podium.
2. Turn 1 incident marred pole-sitter Bezzecchi’s race
3. Brad Binder was the top KTM rider in 4th

Disastrous Sprint for Mooney VR46

Having spent all weekend establishing itself as the strongest team at the Indian GP, the Mooney VR46 squad had a disastrous sprint race, with both its riders involved in a turn 1 incident on lap one. Having gotten a strong start from 4th place, Luca Marini left his braking a little too late and ended up slamming into the rear of teammate and pole-sitter Marco Bezzecchi. The former crashed out, while the latter was pushed wide and dropped to last position, before making an impressive recovery through the field to finish in 5th. Despite his salvage effort and the 5 points it earned him, Bezzecchi sees his gap to the championship lead grow to 69 points.

Martin stamps his authority

As the dust settled from the turn 1 incident, it was Jorge Martin who emerged in the lead, and he held that position for the entirety of the race. He was followed by Ducati Lenovo man Francesco Bagnaia, who gradually dropped back over the course of the race, before slightly reducing the gap towards the end. The Italian continues to lead the world championship standings, but sees his lead cut down to 33 points by a hard-charging Martin.

Mixed fortunes for Repsol Honda

Rounding out the podium was Repsol Honda man Marc Marquez, who resisted race-long pressure from Red Bull Ktm rider Brad Binder to hold onto 3rd place. A strong showing for the Japanese manufacturer thus far was slightly dampened when Joan Mir failed to capitalise on his second row starting position, crashing out at turn 3 soon after having run wide at turn 1 and lost 4th position.

Heading into tomorrow’s 21-lap main race, Bezzecchi will once again set off from pole position, ahead of Bagnaia and Martin. Full qualifying results are available here. Marini, meanwhile, has been diagnosed with a broken collarbone after today’s crash, and will miss the rest of the weekend.

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