Martin keeps MotoGP dream alive

Saturday specialist Jorge Martin was a man on a mission and has kept his MotoGP title dream alive by taking an important Sprint win in the finale at Valencia.

Francesco Bagnaia entered the weekend with an imposing 21-point advantage and could have wrapped it up in the Sprint race at Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

However, it was Martin who stepped up when it mattered most despite Bagnaia leading early.

With the #1 Ducati eventually dropping to fifth and the #89 Pramac Ducati storming to a ninth Sprint win of the year, the difference is now 14 points heading into Sunday’s Grand Prix.

This means if Martin does the double and wins the Grand Prix, Bagnaia needs to record a top five result to retain his crown.

It was fitting Martin reignited his title hopes on a Saturday, having been the class Sprint rider of the year.

But this result was far from a certainty given Bagnaia qualified second, four spots ahead of Martin.

The reigning champion further strengthened his position by taking the lead off the line and jumping pole sitter Maverick Viñales.

But this did not last long as Vinales hit back at turn 2 to reclaim the lead, while Martin picked off both teammate Johann Zarco and Brad Binder.

This saw the two championship rivals nose to tail in second and third and Martin sensed his opportunity by making a big move at the turn 11 right hander.

He managed to pick off his title rival, but only after forcing both wide and allowing both Marc Marquez and Binder through.

This battle allowed Vinales to open eight tenths on the field but he was soon caught by Binder, who was on his tail by lap 6.

In between times Bagnaia was under threat from Fabio Quartararo, but he did not have to worry about the Yamaha for long as the Frenchman fell right in front of the Italian when performing an overtake at turn 2.

Up front Binder was successful on snatching the lead from Vinales with his second counterattack at turn 4, while behind Marquez and Martin made contact when battling for third meanwhile Bagnaia was a further second back.

After the Pramac Ducati rider survived the scare, he set his sights on Vinales.

The #89 swooped down the inside of the Aprilia at the first turn of lap 8 as the Spaniard started to struggle.

By the time the pack arrived at the mid section of the circuit, Martin was hounding Binder and caught the KTM napping at the double right hander of turns 10 and 11.

Binder ran wide which provided an open invitation for Martin to surge into a lead he would not let go across the final five laps.

After an intense period of racing, the race settled down as Martin took the chequered flag just 0.190s ahead of Binder and Marquez joining them on the podium.

Vinales managed to hold onto fourth, while Bagnaia survived a battle with Fabio Di Giannantonio to retain fifth.

Australia’s Jack Miller had a relatively quiet race coming home 12th.

The stage is set for the 2023 MotoGP World Championship to be decided at 01.00 AEDT.

Image: Gold & Goose / Red Bull Content Pool

MotoGP Valencia Motorcycle Grand Prix Sprint results

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