MANDALIKA, Indonesia (Reuters) – Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin won his fourth straight sprint with a spectacular showing at the Indonesia Grand Prix in Mandalika on Saturday to roar to the top of the championship standings after Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia ended in eighth.
Martin, who started on the second row in sixth place, held off a late charge by pole-sitter Luca Marini, with Marini’s VR46 Racing team mate Marco Bezzecchi coming in third.
The Spaniard turned on the aggression as soon as he shot off the mark, moving into fourth place before barrelling past Fabio Quartararo, Luca Marini and Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) into first place.
VR46 Racing also had cause to celebrate, with their two riders putting in heroic performances to claim podium finishes despite having both suffered collarbone injuries in recent weeks.
World champion Bagnaia, who started in 13th after failing to qualify from Q1, finished in eighth place behind team mate Enea Bastianini.
There was some consolation for Ducati, however, as they retained the constructor’s championship on Saturday.
Honda’s six-times MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez, who confirmed earlier this week that he will be joining Gresini Racing for the 2024 season, crashed out in the first lap.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content.