Jorge Martin.
Credit: X/@88jorgemartin
MotoGP championship contender Jorge Martin on Saturday topped the 11-lap sprint race ahead of the Indian Grand Prix.
The Mooney VR46 Racing Team rider and Martin's rival Marco Bezzecchi had set the qualifying time at one minute, 43.9470 becoming the clear favourite for the sprint race and the marque event at the Buddh International Circuit on Sunday.
Rain delayed the start of the sprint race by close to an hour.
Martin, however, had predicted the scenario after Saturday’s practice sessions. “First lap at the sprint will be interesting,” he commented.
“Turn one is a really tight corner. It looks a bit wider. The first gear corner we arrive is not easy. It’s difficult to find the reference, maybe I found mine so I’m quite confident,” he added.
And it turned out as he predicted. Starting number one on the grid, Bezzecchi's teammate Luca Marini’s erroneous braking on Turn 1, pushed the Italian off the track, and five others out of the race.
While Bezzecchi was pushed down to the 17th position, Martin sped away maintaining the lead throughout the sprint.
“I didn’t need to put my 100% today. I was just trying to concentrate on the turn. My main target was to increase the gap and understand the conditions. We have some margin to fight back with Marco tomorrow,” Martin said after winning the sprint.
Martin, who is second in the championship, took 12 points for the sprint while leader Francesco Bagnaia finished second with nine points and eight-time world champion Marc Marquez rode to third spot on the podium. This was Marquez’s second podium of the season.
However, it was Bezzecchi who defined the exhilarating speed associated with the sport. He rode like there was no tomorrow.
From being pushed to 17th on the opening lap, he was fighting for the fifth place on lap 10. He successfully pipped Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo for the position.