MotoGP | Jorge Martin wins ‘crazy’ Sprint race in Jerez; Marc Marquez crashes while leading
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) won the Sprint race in Jerez, for the Spanish Grand Prix of the MotoGP championship, in a ‘crazy’ race full of crashes and twists.
One of those who crashed (while he was leading!) was Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing), who started from first position, as he had achieved pole position. He didn’t start well, losing two positions, but managed to recover and make a daring overtake on Martin to regain the lead.
As the track still had some small parts that were damp due to the rain that fell during training, touching them lost grip and increased the risk of a fall. We don’t know what happened to Marquez, but he must have caught one of these parts and ended up losing the front of his bike, with no chance of saving it. He still returned to the race, made some overtakes, and finished in seventh place.
As we mentioned, many riders crashed alone one after the other and, practically, at the same point on the track. Some who crashed while fighting for fourth position were Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing), Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team).
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) crashed and retired while competing for fifth position with Binder and Bezzecchi. He ended up in the middle of the two at the entrance to turn 1, was touched and ended up crashing.
Other notable riders who also crashed in other parts of the track were Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina VR46 Racing Team).
With all these crashes, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) reached the podium, in second and third position, respectively. The Spanish rookie took second place in the championship. Quartararo, who started in 23rd position, took an 8-second penalty after the race, due to low tire pressure, and gave up 3rd position to Dani Pedrosa, who raced as a wildcard for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.
MotoGP returns on April 28th, with the Spanish GP, at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto.