-Jorge Martin finishes second
-Aleix Espargaro crosses the finish line in third
-Pecco Bagnaia crashes out of the race
Enea Bastianini reigned supreme during the 2024 MotoGP British Grand Prix Sprint Race. The Italian rider astride the Ducati factory bike was incredible and after such a strong showing, he is a strong contender for the Championship.
A crucial start
As the lights went out, pole-sitter Aleix Espargaro on the factory Aprilia failed to capitalise on his position and fell down the order in the first couple of corners. Jorge Martin swooped into the lead and it appeared that he’d put up another strong performance during the Saturday Sprint, as he often does.
As the race progressed towards the second half, Martin’s pace was getting stronger and stronger, the Prima Pramac Racing rider kept asking questions of the field behind.
Pecco blows it apart
Defending Champion Pecco Bagnaia had a Sprint race to forget as he crashed while chasing the leading trio of Martin, Bastianini and Espargaro. He was gaining on them as the race progressed to half distance and then, without warning, he lost the front end and crashed.
A few laps later, Marc Marquez on the Gresisni Ducati also crashed similarly. The crashes made a significant impact on the Championship campaign for both Pecco and Marquez. Pecco was the biggest loser as his sizeable gap to Martin in the Championship is now reduced to one point.
The Beast rises
Enea ‘The Beast’ Bastianini was hot on the heels of Martin around the halfway mark of the race. Martin tried everything to keep him at bay. However, it wasn’t enough as Enea made a move on the inside of Martin and grabbed the lead.
From then on, there was no looking back for the Italian and he won the first Sprint race of his career. More importantly, he’s closed the gap to Pecco and Martin in the Championship and is looking like a contender for the title.
