#SanMarinoGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Martin unmatched as Bagnaia fends off Pedrosa for P3
Pole position was converted into a Tissot Sprint victory for Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) at the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini as Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) runs the Spaniard close to finish P2 on home turf. World Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) picked up his 10th Saturday podium of the season – and his most hard-fought yet – as the #1 fended off MotoGP™ Legend Dani Pedrosa and the latter’s Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Brad Binder for P3.
Martin unmatched as a magical podium fight unfolds
Martin got the exact launch he’d have wanted from pole as he grabbed the holeshot into Turn 1, as Bagnaia powered his way around the outside of Bezzecchi to grab an early P2. Pedrosa went P5 to P4 to get the better of Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), as Binder didn’t get away well – the South African was outside the top 10.
Martin immediately began to pull the pin. On Lap 2 his lead was up to 0.9s as Bagnaia made a small mistake to relinquish P2 to Bezzecchi. Meanwhile, Binder was responding in the only way he knows how: full attack mode. Midway around Lap 3 Binder was up to P6 and hounding Viñales, who was nearly two seconds away from Pedrosa.
At the front, it quickly became Martin vs Bezzecchi. Lap 3 belonged to the latter, the Italian cut the gap by a sizeable 0.5s, with Bagnaia dropping to two seconds off the P1 fight. Binder vs Viñales was raging on and on Lap 6 of 13, a move finally stuck for the #33. Next on his radar: KTM stablemate Pedrosa.
With five laps to go, Martin’s gap was up to 0.8s as Pedrosa reeled Bagnaia in by 0.4s. Binder was making ground but he wasn’t taking chunks out of the pair just up the road, the gap to try and bridge was hovering at around one second.
Two laps left in the Tissot Sprint and a two-horse race for P3 became a three-horse race. Binder was right with Bagnaia and Pedrosa, knowing gaining points on Pecco is absolutely crucial. Considering what happened less than a week ago, Pecco was riding unbelievably to keep the KTMs behind as the last lap began.
Martin led by a second over Bezzecchi as we strapped in for a KTM vs Bagnaia scrap for the final podium place. Halfway around the lap, Pecco was holding on. Binder was out of shape; Pedrosa was waiting to pounce. A headshake down the back straight cost Pedrosa time and despite the efforts of the orange bikes, Pecco held on to claim P3 after Martin and Bezzecchi took the chequered flag in P1 and P2 respectively.
The points scorers on Saturday
A dream podium wasn’t to be on Saturday but Pedrosa rolled back the years again to claim a wonderful P4, with Binder crossing the line 0.159s off the ‘Little Samurai’ in P5 after a belting comeback. Viñales grabbed P6 ahead of Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), the latter in P9 picking up the final Tissot Sprint point in Misano.
TOP 10
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing)
Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) 1.445
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) 4.582
Dani Pedrosa (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 4.772
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 4.931
Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) 6.062
Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) 6.519
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) 7.893
Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) 9.264
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) 11.318
MOTOGP – RACE: Pitch perfect Martin doubles up in Misano
Pole position, Tissot Sprint win and a Sunday race victory. Jorge Martin’s (Prima Pramac Racing) weekend at the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini couldn’t have gone any better as the Spaniard made no mistake to take maximum points on his title rival’s stomping ground. The winning margin over second place Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was 1.3s over the line as World Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) fights through the pain to claim an important third.
Martin untouchable again as Pecco fends off Pedrosa
Just like he did in the Tissot Sprint, Martin got a perfect launch and pocketed the holeshot as Bezzecchi and Bagnaia slotted in behind. Dani Pedrosa (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) got away well again and was up to P4, as the MotoGP™ Legend held on after a moment between Turn 1 and 2. Bagnaia then picked his way past Bezzecchi at Turn 3 as the #1 immediately began to hound Martin. Unlike yesterday, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) made good progress off the start and at the beginning of Lap 2, the South African was up to P4 and began to chase Martin, Bagnaia and Bezzecchi. A fascinating early race fight was unfolding at the front. Martin, Bagnaia and Bezzecchi were locked together, with Binder 0.7s adrift heading onto Lap 5. On Lap 6, Bezzecchi passed Pecco for P6 down at Turn 8 but just like he did a lap previous, the Italian was wide at Turn 10 to allow the Champion back through. That gave Martin a little bit of breathing room – if you can call 0.3s that – as Binder went quicker than the trio in front of him.
Disaster then struck for Binder at Turn 14 on Lap 8. The KTM star was down at the tight right-hand hairpin as his podium hopes ended, handing Pedrosa the lead KTM baton. The #26 was 1.5s off the leaders, as KTM’s afternoon then got worse as Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crashed out of contention after being involved in an incident with Michele Pirro (Aruba.it Racing). Elsewhere, on Lap 12 of 27, it was time to cue the jaws music. Who for? Pedrosa. The wildcard was beginning to close at a vast rate of knots and with 15 laps left, Pedrosa was just 0.6s off Bezzecchi’s rear wheel. Unbelievable. Pedrosa was the only rider lapping in the 1:31s at this stage of the race.
Pedrosa’s pace dropped off soon after but the gap remained at just over a second. At the front, with 10 laps to go, Martin’s lead grew to over a second for the first time as the #89 began to get the hammer down. Were the injuries to Bagnaia and Bezzecchi starting to take their toll or was Martin’s pace just too good? Bezzecchi was looking impatient behind VR46 compatriot Bagnaia, and a move came at Turn 8. By now though, Martin’s advantage was 2.2s. Bagnaia was fading. Pedrosa was coming. 0.7s split the double World Champion from the three-time World Champion, with Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) and the classy Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) a further four seconds back. A huge six laps beckoned, could Bagnaia hold on to what would be a very valuable and hard-earned 16 points?
With four laps to go, Bagnaia was holding Pedrosa at bay by 0.6s. Bezzecchi was now under two seconds away from Martin but it was too little too late, with the latter controlling his advantage nicely as he powered towards completing the perfect weekend. With two to go, Pedrosa was right on Bagnaia’s coattails. Catching the Ducati rider was one thing but as he found out in the Sprint, passing was a whole different kettle of fish. In the end, Bagnaia did hold on to a crucial P3 as Martin made no mistake to cap off a sensational weekend. Bezzecchi bagged P2 despite his injured hand to gain ground in the title chase.
The points scorers in Misano
Pedrosa took the chequered flag just 0.6s away from the podium as the Little Samurai again demonstrates why he’s a three-time World Champion and a MotoGP™ Legend. Unreal from the popular Spaniard, who finished six seconds up the road from fifth place Viñales. Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) was sixth ahead of Marc Marquez, who somehow bags a brilliant P7 after racing with a soft rear tyre. Raul Fernandez (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) takes home his best MotoGP™ finish in P8, as the Ducati’s of Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) complete the top 10. Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Catalan GP winner Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), a recovering Binder and Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) closed out the points in San Marino.Pol Espargaro (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) and Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) joined Miller and Pirro as the riders to notch up DNFs.
36 points in it heading to India
A brand-new challenge awaits us next time out as India hosts MotoGP™ for the very first time. Martin’s perfect weekend sees the gap between him and Championship leader Pecco sit at 36 points as the flyaway tour of the season begins.
Top 10:
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing)
Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) 1.350
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) 3.812
Dani Pedrosa (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 4.481
Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) 10.510
Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) 12.274
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) 13.576
Raul Fernandez (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) 14.091
Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) 14.982
Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) 15.484
“A hard one. My start was good but then the first lap was a disaster; everything I did was wrong and I lost a lot of positions. Also, with the full tank I couldn’t overtake and get out of that situation. After some time I found some fresh air and then Brad [Binder] crashed and he was with me. He had a different pace. I tried everything to stay with him and I did it. My lap-times were good. Overall, it’s a bad result and a shame not to get points but there are a few positives that we can analyze from being on that limit. Let’s see what we can find out tomorrow at the test.”
Augusto Fernández P16
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Misano.