P1 into Turn 1, down to P8 on the opening lap, then back to P1 at the chequered flag. Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) produced an exquisite Tissot Sprint comeback to win a dramatic Saturday afternoon at the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Austria, as Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crashes out of a comfortable lead in the closing stages. Joining Martin on the Sprint podium were his two main title rivals in the form of Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), as we now look forward to what is set to be a Spielberg thriller on Sunday afternoon.
MARTIN & MARC MARQUEZ GO INTO BATTLE
Before that though, here's how the Sprint unfolded... From a blockbuster front row, Martin grabbed the holeshot ahead of Marc Marquez, but the Aprilia star was wide on the exit to give the reigning World Champion a sniff of taking the lead into Turn 2a. Both braking late, Marquez had the inside line, and with neither wanting to give an inch, it was Martin who lost out. On the outside, Martin wasn’t in an ideal position and lost all of his mid-corner speed and drive, and having led into Turn 1, by Turn 3, Martin was shoved down to P8.
Marc Marquez didn’t lead for long, though. At Turn 3, the #93 was slightly wide and barging his way through the opened door to seize the lead? His 2027 teammate Acosta. And immediately, the #37 pulled the pin to open up a gap that rapidly crept up to a second.
Third place was Bezzecchi at this stage, the Italian shadowing Marc Marquez closely, with the other Marquez, Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), lapping in P4.
THE COMEBACK BEGINS
After the relatively disastrous opening lap, Martin was unravelling a mega comeback. Martin moved past Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team), and then Alex Marquez in quick succession to climb back up to P4 by Lap 5, and at Turn 1 on Lap 7 of 14, Martin carved his way up the inside of teammate Bezzecchi to clamber his way into the bronze medal positions. Next up: title rival Marc Marquez.
And at Turn 1, exactly a lap after his classy move on Bezzecchi, Martin returned the favour on Marc Marquez. An aggressive but clean move saw Martin rise into P2, and with Acosta 2.8s up the road, Martin’s main concern was now keeping Marc Marquez and Bezzecchi at bay – and not exceeding track limits once more, because that would lead to a Long Lap penalty having already received a warning.
ACOSTA CRASHES FROM SPRINT LEAD
It was all looking easy for Acosta to go on and collect a second Sprint win of the season, until an unforced error arrived at Turn 2a with three laps to go. Can you believe it? Leading by two seconds on KTM’s home turf, Acosta lost the front and crashed. The Spaniard was into the chicane too hot, and while remaining committed to keeping his KTM leant into the corner, the front end let go. Acosta snatched defeat from the jaws of victory to hand Martin the lead of the Sprint. MotoGP, hey?
YOUR PODIUM AND POINT SCORERS
And so, unlike Acosta, the championship leader made no mistake. The 2024 World Champion produced a phenomenal ride to gobble up what could prove to be a crucial 12 points, with Marc Marquez and Bezzecchi, your top three in the title race, picking up the silver and bronze medals.
Ogura’s return from injury unearths a Sprint P4 for the Japanese star, with Alex Marquez beating Bagnaia by six tenths as the Ducati riders cross the line in P5 and P6. Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) took top HRC honours in P7, while Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Binder took the final Saturday points in P8 and P9.
Wow. It’s never over until the chequered flag in MotoGP, as KTM and Acosta now look to forget about Saturday’s late drama and string together something similar – minus the crash, of course – in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Come back tomorrow for more MotoGP, with Martin now leading Marc Marquez by three points in this unrelenting, compelling championship chase.
MotoGP Tissot Sprint results from Austria!