KTM pull a showstopper out of the hat as Bagnaia picks a late race pocket to complete his Saturday turnaround
It was blink-and-you-miss-it action right from the moment the lights went out in the Tissot Sprint at the Gran Premio MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn de España. After an early red flag on the initial start, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) flew off the line on the restart as he went on to outsmart his KTM teammate and take a hard-fought Sprint victory. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) put in a timely performance to put himself back into championship contention as he snatched 2nd place from Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) on the final lap.
Light out… and then lights out again
Tensions were high on the grid ahead of the first Tissot Sprint on Spanish soil, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) had a slow launch from the initial start as the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo flew off into 1st and 2nd. The red flags came out soon after however as a pile-up at turn 2 meant the Sprint was to be restarted.
Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi was caught out by the 3 rider collision happening ahead of him, leaving the Italian nowhere to go as he joined Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), and Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) in the Circuito de Jerez gravel trap. All four riders quickly returned to the garage to mount their machines and join the Sprint for a full restart to proceedings.
The riders lined up on the grid once again for a second go at getting their Tissot Sprint off to the perfect start. The KTM’s did the same again as Binder flew into the lead with Miller slotting himself into a tiny gap on Espargaro at turn 1. This unsettled the Spaniard as he dropped down to 5th which promoted the two Ducatis of Martin and Bagnaia to 3rd and 4th.
The riders came barreling into Angel Nieto corner and Martin meant business as he threw his Prima Pramac Racing Duacti up the inside of Miller to snatch 2nd place away for the Aussie. In the meantine, Bagnaia and Espargaro were right in the mix watching the Sprint unfold ahead of them.
One lap later and it was a divebomb at Dani Pedrosa corner from Jack Miller, as he took 2nd place back from Martin. Martin tried to fight back but the Ausse wasn’t having any of it…