Bagnaia pips Martin to win the 2024 Austrian MotoGP Sprint, Marquez crashes

Francesco Bagnaia’s thrilling victory at the 2024 Austrian MotoGP Sprint has once again highlighted the intense rivalry for the championship after edging Jorge Martin.

The 2024 Austrian MotoGP Sprint consisted of 14 laps around the picturesque Red Bull Ring, with clear skies and a vibrant crowd creating an electric atmosphere.

As the riders lined up on the grid, anticipation filled the air, particularly for the duel between championship contenders Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin.

Before the sprint, the championship battle was heating up, with only three points separating the title rivals. Both riders had shown exceptional form throughout the weekend, setting the stage for a fierce competition.

The Pramac star started from pole position, while his factory Ducati stablemate was determined to reclaim the championship lead.

Meanwhile, KTM’s Jack Miller was the filling in an Aprilia sandwich on the second row, with Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales lining up fourth and sixth respectively.

As the lights turned green, Bagnaia made a phenomenal start, quickly seizing the holeshot into Turn 1. However, Martin, who started from pole position, fought back immediately, reclaiming the lead by the end of the first lap.

Miller on the other hand had an awful launch but held onto fifth, with Gresini’s Alex Marquez not so lucky, going down at Turn 2.

The excitement escalated on the second lap when Martin struggled to brake effectively into Turn 2, going wide and inadvertently cutting the track. This mistake forced him to take a shortcut, allowing Bagnaia to regain the lead.

The stewards later ruled that Martin had not lost enough time during his off-track excursion, which resulted in a long lap penalty for the championship leader.

With Bagnaia back in the lead, he began to extend his advantage over the field. By lap six, he had built a comfortable gap, demonstrating his mastery of the Ducati and the track.

Meanwhile, Martin, having served his penalty on lap eight, rejoined the race in third place, trailing both Bagnaia and Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing). Espargaro however, was too far back, sitting two seconds adrift of the Gresini rider in fourth.

As the race progressed, Marquez held a strong position in second, but Martin was determined to reclaim his spot. The two riders engaged in a fierce battle, with Martin pushing hard to close the gap as he struggled to keep pace with the leaders.

Martin was making light work of dropping Espargaro, who once again fell into a no man’s land race. Further back was Miller, running his best race of the year, holding onto fifth with Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli and Ducati’s Enea Bastianini close behind.

However, on lap 10, disaster struck for Marquez, who crashed out while running comfortably in second place. This incident allowed Martin to inherit the second position, as he fought hard to capitalize on the misfortune of his rival.

Meanwhile, Miller was now in an intense battle for fourth and he still had company in the form of Bastianini, Morbidelli and KTM team-mate Brad Binder, who had joined the party. There was little the Ausiie could do however when Bastianini slotted into fourth at Turn 9 at the end of Lap 12.

Bagnaia proceeded to cross the finish line first, clocking a time of 21:01.844, securing his third sprint win of the season. Martin finished second, approximately 5 seconds behind, while Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) rounded out the podium in third place ahead of Bastianini in fourth.

Miller held onto a fine fifth, ahead of Morbidelli and Binder with VR46 Ducati’s Marco Bezzecchi taking eighth. KTM wildcard rider Pol Espargaro took the final point on offer in the Sprint, finishing an impressive ninth.

Tech3 GasGas rider Pedro Acosta rounded out the top-10, albeit 16.6s off of the win in what has been a tricky weekend thus far for the Spanish rookie.

2024 Austrian MotoGP Sprint Race Results