We’ve checked the databases and every now and then, the wildest of history does indeed repeat itself – rarely does a rider crash and still come away with victory. Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), just when you think he’s won in every kind of scenario, did just that to take Sprint honours at home in Jerez, with teammate Francesco Bagnaia in second – from P10 on the grid – and Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) – from P18 on the grid – joining the 93 on the podium. This is how it happened!
Marc Marquez got a great start from pole, with Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) remaining second as the shuffle began behind. Alex Marquez shot up into third place, with Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) in fourth and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) in fifth.
Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) got a shocker, seemingly with a tear off under the rear off the line, and plummeted down the order, facing a fight back from P16 as the battle at the front started to heat up. Marc Marquez was starting to build a gap but the chase was on. First, Martin attacked Alex Marquez but the 73 answered back at Turn 1, forcing Martin wide. The 89 sat up and looked down at a red-hot front disc too – having struggled to drop anchor.
Next, Alex Marquez was past Zarco. And with 10 to go, the grey overcast skies became drops of rain – with the white flag out, denoting riders can change bikes. We’ve seen it before in a Sprint but never so early in the lap count. This time, there was time to make it count – if it rained enough.
At that point however, it clearly wasn’t too damp – with Zarco and Diggia throwing down in an awesome duel for third. As the drops continued though, Diggia was able to get a grip on P3, with Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) stalking his way up into fourth.
That left Zarco with his hands full of KTMs. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was first on the chase, with Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) for close company. After Acosta was denied by Zarco, Bastianini was able to profit and slip through – the Beast then on the tail of the Frenchman.
Meanwhile at the front, what had been a reasonable gap had been cut and cut until Alex Marquez’s Gresini was absolutely glued to Marc Marquez’s Ducati Lenovo machine in the lead. He shadowed him and looked tempted to make a move, dropped back a little, and then by 6 to go the attack came – the 73 was alongside and through at Turn 9, as Diggia homed in on both.
Drama hit quickly after that as the rain pelted down and the Sprint turned on its head. First Marc Marquez slid out at the final corner, just getting it wrong as the rain started to increase. But that would prove absolutely pivotal – with the #93 choosing to then pick it up and dive straight into the pitlane to switch bikes. The rest of the frontrunners continued – with Binder leading the group of those who dived into pitlane too.
That left Alex Marquez at the front leading Diggia, and Binder leading the chase of those who had switched – with only 4 laps to go. Was there enough time to make a switch of tyres count?
Suddenly, even more drama – this time for Alex Marquez. The 73 was down at the same corner his brother fell at in last year’s Grand Prix, the rain intensifying from a drizzle to a deluge, and it was suddenly absolutely sure – wets were needed. The rest headed for pitlane and Binder was net leader – until the South African suffered his own off too. As the shuffles continued, it was a red duo of Bagnaia and Marc Marquez thundering towards the race lead, passing a defenceless Fermin Aldeguer as the Gresini rider gambled to stay out on slicks.
Bagnaia led Marc Marquez as the rain came down, but the 93 struck for the lead not long after – from the front to the floor and back to the front. As high as P1 and as low as P17 before somehow finding his way back to the lead, it was a Sprint to remember for the 93 who was back on top ahead of his teammate Bagnaia, who, in turn, makes it back-to-back Sprint rostrums whilst unbelievably, having pitted in the first group, Morbidelli came home in third. Binder, despite his crash, still took fourth, which on any other day would’ve been the story.
‘Diggia’ was fifth ahead of Raul Fernandez, whilst Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) took Sprint points in seventh. Fellow countryman Zarco and Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) were the last of the points finishers. And that’s only the half of it… check out the stories below to catch up on everything!
Got your breath back yet? Nope, we haven’t quite either. Tune in from 14:00 (UTC+2) on Sunday to see more unreal MotoGP action in front of a packed Spanish GP crowd in Jerez!
