Francesco Bagnaia secured a crucial victory in the sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix, bringing him level with Jorge Martin in the MotoGP championship standings. The race, held at Spielberg, was expected to showcase a fierce battle between the two title contenders. However, a mistake by Martin at Turn 2 proved decisive, as he was forced to cut the chicane and rejoin the track, which led to a penalty that took him out of contention for the win. This misstep allowed Bagnaia to comfortably take control of the race and cruise to victory.
Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia claimed the final podium spot, benefiting from a late-race crash by Gresini’s Marc Marquez. Marquez had been running in second place and looked set for a podium finish before his crash on lap 10 of the 14-lap sprint. Bagnaia, who had taken the lead from Martin at the start of the race but was briefly overtaken, regained control after Martin’s error and maintained his advantage.
The pivotal moment came on the second lap when Martin ran off the track at Turn 2. Although he rejoined the race behind Bagnaia, the stewards ruled that he hadn’t dropped sufficiently behind, resulting in a long-lap penalty. This penalty dropped him to third place, just ahead of Espargaro. As Marquez crashed out, Martin moved back into second place, finishing just behind Bagnaia. Both riders now sit tied with 250 points each, setting the stage for an intense battle in Sunday’s grand prix.
Enea Bastianini also made an impressive charge, climbing from ninth on the grid to finish fourth on the factory Ducati, showcasing strong late-race speed. Despite Espargaro’s inability to match the pace of the top two riders, his third-place finish was a solid result for Aprilia.
