Victory for Bagnaia as he triumphs over Bezzecchi in the MotoGP Italian Grand Prix sprint
Francesco Bagnaia Claims Third Sprint Race Win of the Season
In a race filled with unpredictability, Francesco Bagnaia secured his third sprint race victory of the season at Mugello. The pole-sitter held on to his lead despite briefly losing it when rain spots fell during lap two. Jorge Martin took advantage and seized first place while riders assessed the conditions.
The rain stopped quickly, and by lap four, Bagnaia had regained his position at the front of the pack. A lap later, Marco Bezzecchi also overtook Martin for second place.
Bagnaia managed to maintain his lead throughout most of the remainder of the race and kept off any late surge from Bezzecchi to win by just under four-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Martin defended against Johann Zarco’s attack to secure third place.
Race Highlights
- Bagnaia started in pole position while Brad Binder collided with Alex Marquez in turn one earning him a long-lap penalty
- Martin took over Marc Marquez’s second-place spot early into lap two but then came out on top after spots of rain hit shortly afterward
- Conditions stabilized after several laps as riders settled into their rhythm
- Bagniapa reasserted himself at Turn One on Lap Four followed by title rival Bezzecchi taking up second-place early in Lap Five ahead of Martin
- Aleix Espargaro finished eighth for Aprilia as Ducati rider Enea Bastianini saw chequered flag for first time this season finishing ninth
- Fabio Quartararo missed out on the points in tenth place. Brad Binder could only recover to eleventh, but he did set a new top-speed record in MotoGP at 227.48mph
The victory allowed Bagnaia to extend his lead over Bezzecchi by four points as they head into the next race at Mugello.