MotoGP 2024: Pramac Ducati's Jorge Martin wins French GP Sprint

-Marc Marquez crosses the line in second

-Maverick Vinales finishes third

-Pecco Bagnaia retires from the race

Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin is slowly and steadily cementing his name as the king of sprint races in MotoGP after dominating Saturday’s Sprint Race. The Spaniard started the race in Pole position and went on to win the race by a comfortable margin over the rest of the field, oblivious to all the drama that unfolded.

Bagnaia’s blunder!

Jorge Martin’s main title rival and defending champion Pecco Bagnaia, on his Factory Ducati, had a miserable start as the lights went out. His Ducati wheelied twice as he tried to shoot off the line and was gobbled up by most of the field as they went into Turn One. As the race progressed, Pecco was struggling to find confidence in the bike and keep up with the field. He complained about issues like front locking up in Turn 7 without any reason. He eventually retired and brought his Ducati to the pits, visibly frustrated with the misfortune that struck him.

Marvellous Marquez

Marc Marquez is having the comeback of his life while showing the world how quickly he’s adapted to riding a Ducati after spending years riding a Honda. The Spaniard made a superb start from P13 on the Grid and overtook a lot of riders going into the first set of corners. He then settled behind Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin and the leading trio pulled away from the rest of the riders.

Marquez kept recording consistent lap times and at one point was closing on Bezzecchi towards the second half of the race. A few laps later, Bezzecchi lost the front going into a corner and that promoted Marquez to second place and Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Vinales to P3. Marquez did try to close the over two-second gap to Martin, but in the end, had to settle for P2. Nevertheless, finishing on P2 after starting from P13 is quite an achievement.

Martin’s Magic

Jorge Martin would surely be looking forward to making the most of the French GP after crashing out of the Spanish GP in Jerez a couple of weeks ago. Martin is in form and has found a lot more faith in his Ducati as he is undoubtedly one of the fastest riders in the 2024 season. He will be looking to seal the weekend by winning the main Race today which begins at 5:30 pm IST.