Here we go! Martín once again shows his MotoGP sprint extravaganza in Qatar, just 7 points away from championship leader Bagnai

Francesco Bagnaia or Jorge Martín? Only one of the pair will be this year’s MotoGP World Champion as the championship enters the penultimate race of the season, the Qatar Grand Prix. The race programme opened with a royal category sprint, which Martín took ahead of Fabio Di Giannantoni and Luca Marini. Bagnaia finished only fifth, and Martín’s triumph pushed his potential coronation all the way to Valencia. The difference between them is 7 points.

The World Road Series will take on the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend, the traditional season opener at the Lusail circuit. Championship leader Pecco Bagnaia enters the nineteenth race of the twenty, with a 14-point lead over stable rival Jorge Martín.

It’s no mystery that this season has been utterly dominated by Ducati and its eight riders on essentially equally fast bikes. Just like last time in Malaysia, it conquered the morning qualifying session when its machines took the first six positions on the grid. Luca Marini was the most delighted, with title challengers Bagnaia and Martín qualifying fourth and fifth respectively.

The battle of the title contenders right on the track – the pinnacle of motorsport!

Marini held on to the lead and led a field of 22 drivers into the first corner. Behind them, Bagnaia and Martín clashed, with the latter making his way past the Italian into third place without any regard.

The 25-year-old Spaniard lost two positions and was now essentially behind Bagnaia again. The first lap still saw Aleix Espargar, Miguel Oliveira and previous grand prix winner Eney Bastianini all crash en masse.

A factory Ducati is down! 😱

It's @Bestia23! @PeccoBagnaia loses his wingman! 💥#QatarGP 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/R5biD1uF9E

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 18, 2023

Martín waited for nothing and quickly earned a position ahead of the well-starting Marc Márquez on the factory Honda. The Spaniard’s pace in the sprints is regularly phenomenal and if he finds himself in a situation where he has to overtake, he is not afraid to do so, as he proved with a hard manoeuvre into Turn 10 at Bagnaio.

At the same time, a handsome battle for the sprint lead between Marini and the younger Márquez was brewing. And to make matters worse for the spectators, Bagnaia also lost fourth position to Di Giannantonio, which threw even more gasoline on the Italian’s already hot fire of frustration.

Behind them, Marc Márquez lost several positions to Brad Binder’s indiscriminate attack, sending him to the last points position. However, crucial moments continued to unfold at the front. Martín was flying around the track in incredible fashion, easily pulling up to the leading pair and easily taking out both Álex Márquez and Marini on lap five.

HE LEADS! 🚨

It could be just SEVEN POINTS! 🤯#QatarGP 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/kTvK73SP6x

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 18, 2023

Bagnaia watched Martín’s high-speed chase from fifth position, which in this constellation would have cut his lead by exactly half, from 14 points to just 7. Not only that, but rather than chasing down his Ducati teammates like Martín, the 26-year-old Turin native was more likely to fight back against the riders behind him.

Martín overwhelmingly dominated the sprints – just 7 points!

Immediately after Martín settled into first position, he built up a half-second lead on the rest of the competition. Márquez and Marini couldn’t keep up with the Spaniard’s pace. However, this was not the case for Di Giannantonio, who fought his way into second position and did not let Martín get away for more than half a second.

The rest of Saturday’s race was relatively quiet with no direct battles for position. Fifth-placed Bagnaia held on just ahead of Maverick Viñales’ closing Aprilia and Di Giannantonio held on to Martín, but in both cases there were no exchanges of track position until the end of the sprint. However, the pace of the leading duo was incredible, and they managed to build up as much as a 2.5-second lead on third-placed Marini in the second half of the 11-lap race.

Whether or not Di Giannantonio was willing to take the risk of interfering in the title battle, Martín eventually broke away from his pursuer and crossed the imaginary finish line first in a MotoGP sprint for the eighth time this year. Third went to Marini ahead of Álex Márquez and Bagnaia, whose lead really shrunk to the aforementioned 7 points.

YET ANOTHER TWIST! 🤯@88jorgemartin PILES THE PRESSURE ON! 🥇#PECCOvsMARTIN | #QatarGP 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/Sj0Me5zygA

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 18, 2023

So after the penultimate sprint of the season, it is clear that for the second year in a row, the world championship will not be decided until the last grand prix in Valencia, Spain, which will be the first time in the modern history of MotoGP.

Results of the sprint at the Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix (11 laps = 59.180 km; top 10 only):

1. Jorge Martín (Sp., Ducati) 20:52.634
2. Fabio Di Giannantonio, Ducati) +0.391
3. Luca Marini (Ita., Ducati) +2.875
4. Álex Márquez (Span., Ducati) +3.370
5. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) +3.957
6. Maverick Viñales (Span., Aprilia) +4.239
7. Brad Binder (RJA, KTM) +5.761
8. Fabio Quartararo (Fra., Yamaha) +6.454
9. Augusto Fernández (Span., KTM) +8.285
10. Johann Zarco (Fra., Ducati) +8.314

2023 MotoGP rider standings (top 10 only):

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) 417
2. Jorge Martín (Spa., Ducati) 410
3. Marco Bezzecchi (Ita., Ducati) 323
4. Brad Binder (RJA, KTM) 257
5. Johann Zarco (Fra., Ducati) 200
6. Aleix Espargaró (Sp., Aprilia) 198
7. Maverick Viñales (Span., Aprilia) 179
8. Luca Marini (Ita., Ducati) 178
9. Fabio Quartararo (Fra., Yamaha) 158
10. Jack Miller (Aus., KTM) 156

Source: MotoGP