A great premiere in unknown lands! Jorge Martín easily dominated the much-delayed MotoGP sprint in India

Premier India Grand Prix on Saturday was not without its difficulties with the unpredictable local weather. The shortened sprint started an hour and a half after schedule due to safety concerns caused by a heavy cloudburst and subsequent drying of the track. The race winner was Jorge Martín on a Ducati ahead of championship leader Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia. Only the second podium of the season went to Marc Márquez on a factory Honda.

For the first time in its 74-year history, the World Road Motorcycle Championship is taking place in India, the world’s second most populous country. The Buddh host circuit has seen Formula One cars in the past, from 2011 to 2013, however MotoGP uses an alternative version of the layout.

Pole position was snatched in the morning by Marco Bezzecchi, third man overall, ahead of Jorge Martín and Francesco Bagnaia. The factory Hondas of Joan Miró and Marc Márquez were a huge surprise as they managed to squeeze onto the second row. Álex Márquez did not start the race after a crash in qualifying.

During the Moto3 qualifying session, a significant rain shower fell over the circuit, postponing all of Saturday’s programme, including the Royal category sprint. In addition to this, the race directors decided to prolong the wait for the fans by drying the track to achieve the fairest conditions. The sprint started an hour and a half later than originally planned.

The start was affected by two incidents at the first corner. The biggest casualty across the field was Poleman Bezzecchi, who was rear-ended by teammate Luca Marini after failing to judge the ideal braking moment. In addition, Stefan Bradl, Honda’s replacement for Álex Rins, similarly downed both GasGas drivers Augusto Fernández and Polo Espargar.

Bezzecchi held on to his Ducati, but dropped outside the top 10, allowing Martín to take the lead followed by Bagnaia and both Repsol Honda bikes.

The tricky track conditions immediately caused the field of riders to split very quickly. While Martín was running further and further away towards another triumph on Saturday, the factory Hondas of Márquez and Mir were attacking the World Champion Bagnaio. The latter, however, threw his machine away on lap four in the slow third corner. Two laps later he was challenged by Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco.

Bezzecchi, meanwhile, took care of most all the overtaking manoeuvres. The Italian was rapidly working his way up and was already riding around sixth place during the second half of the race. Martín and Bagnaia were having a race of their own, while third-placed Márquez held off KTM rider Brad Binder. Aleix Espargaró of Aprilia joined the list of retirements with a few laps to go.

On the final lap, Bezzecchi surged ahead of Fabio Quartararo to finish his excellent pursuit ride with a final fifth place. However, nothing could stop another dominant performance from Martín, who took his fourth sprint win.

Bagnaia made sure of his minimal loss at the front of the World Championship with his second position. Eight-time champion Márquez has seen more podiums since the opening round in Portugal.

Tomorrow’s main race will see a shortened race, as with the sprint. Only 21 laps of the originally planned 24-lap distance await the riders due to the local high temperatures and high humidity.

After the sprint, it emerged that Marini had injured his left collarbone after a post-start collision. As a result, only 20 drivers will show up for Sunday’s grand prix.

MotoGP Indian Grand Prix sprint results (11 laps = 55.110 km; top 10 only):

1. Jorge Martín (Sp., Ducati) 19:18.836
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) +1.389
3. Marc Márquez (Span., Honda) +2.405
4. Brad Binder (RJA, KTM) +2.904
5. Marco Bezzecchi (Ita., Ducati) +3.266
6. Fabio Quartararo (Fra., Yamaha) +4.327
7. Jack Miller (Aus., KTM) +7.172
8. Maverick Viñales (Span., Aprilia) +8.798
9. Raul Fernandez (Span., Aprilia) +10.530
10. Fabio di Giannantonio (Ita., Ducati) +10.826

2023 MotoGP rider standings (top 10 only):

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) 292
2. Jorge Martín (Spa., Ducati) 259
3. Marco Bezzecchi (Ita., Ducati) 223
4. Brad Binder (RJA, KTM) 179
5. Aleix Espargaró (Span., Aprilia) 160
6. Johann Zarco (Fra., Ducati) 147
7. Luca Marini (Ita., Ducati) 135
8. Maverick Viñales (Span., Aprilia) 130
9. Álex Márquez (Span., Ducati) 108
10. Jack Miller (Aus., KTM) 107

Source: MotoGP