Bagnaia again the king of MotoGP sprint! Reigning World Champion dominates Saturday’s race in Austin for the second time this season

Third sprint of this MotoGP season, second triumph for the reigning champion! Francesco Bagnaia conquered Saturday’s race from pole position at the United States Grand Prix. Factory Ducati rider Bagnaiu was joined on the podium by Alex Rins on a satellite Honda and Jorge Martin of the Pramac Ducati team.

The riders of the most prestigious cubature of the MotoGP World Championship of Road Motorcycles visited Austin to compete for the third time this year for the 12 points from Saturday’s sprint race.

A few hours before, last year’s world champion Francesco Bagnaia took pole position in qualifying. Next to him was a pleasant surprise in the form of LCR Honda’s Alex Rins. Luca Marini on a satellite ducati completed the front row at the start.

From his first place at the start, Bagnaia secured the race lead despite Rins’ daring manoeuvre into the opening corner. Marini, who was up to 15th at the end of the first lap, was eliminated from contention for the sprint leader’s position as soon as the lights went out.

Rins was not about to give up and took over the lead just a few corners later. Bagnaia, however, harnessed the power of his factory Ducati on the 1.2km long back straight and had no trouble getting past the 27-year-old Spaniard.

Rins, the 2019 US Grand Prix winner, was confident on the brakes, where he made a couple of threats during his battle with Bagnaia. However, that backfired on him on lap three. He misjudged a braking point at Turn 12 and dove behind Aleix Espargar on the Aprilia.

5. the lap brought two crashes in the same place. The first went down in turn one to Fabio Quartararo, whose woes with the Yamaha continue. Ducati test rider Michele Pirro, the replacement for Enea Bastianini, also fell a few moments later.

Bagnaia gradually began to build a fearless lead. Meanwhile, Rins was closing in on Espargar wherever he could. He eventually overtook him at the same point where he had momentarily beaten Bagnaia during the opening circuit.

The Spaniard’s machine then wobbled at the end of the back straight, which ironically unsettled Espargar more, who opted to escape into the paddock. Jorge Martin took advantage of this to snatch third place for himself. Just a few seconds later, Alex Márquez of the Gresini Ducati stable crashed in the same corner.

On the last lap, Espargaro and Martin battled it out for the last spot on the podium. The former attacked into the penultimate corner, but the manoeuvre only ended in an attempt. Moments later, Bagnaia crossed the line more than two and a half seconds ahead of Rins.

The bronze medal went to Martin ahead of Espargar. Marco Bezzecchi holds on to the championship lead by one point after Saturday’s sprint.

USA MotoGP Grand Prix sprint results (10 laps = 55.1 km; top 10 only):

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) 20::35.270
2. Álex Rins (Span., Honda) +2.545
3. Jorge Martín (Span., Ducati) +4.706
4. Aleix Espargaró (Span., Aprilia) +5.052
5. Brad Binder (RJA, KTM) +8.175
6. Marco Bezzecchi (Ita., Ducati) +8.877
7. Luca Marini (Ita., Ducati) +9.453
8. Miguel Oliveira (Por., Aprilia) +10.768
9. Jack Miller (Aus., KTM) +12.448
10. Maverick Viñales (Span., Aprilia) +12.739

2023 MotoGP rider standings (top 10 only):

1. Marco Bezzecchi (Ita., Ducati) 54
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) 53
3. Johann Zarco (Fra., Ducati) 35
4. Álex Márquez (Span., Ducati) 33
5. Maverick Viñales (Span., Aprilia) 32
6. Jorge Martín (Sp., Ducati) 29
7. Brad Binder (RJA, KTM) 27
8. Jack Miller (Aus., KTM) 26
9. Álex Rins (Span., Honda) 22
10. Franco Morbidelli (Ita., Yamaha) 21

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