MotoGP Sprint: Pecco Bagnaia impresses to take Assen Sprint win, Jorge Martin second as Marc Marquez crashes out
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Updated 29/06/2024 at 14:41 GMT
Pecco Bagnaia impressed to take victory in the Dutch GP Sprint Race, ahead of Jorge Martin as title rival Marc Marquez crashed out. Aleix Espargaro - on the final corner - was another to slide off as an entertaining race saw Italian Bagnaia come out on top. Martin led the standings ahead of this weekend, with Bagnaia in second and Marc Marquez third. Stream the action live on discovery+.
Pecco Bagnaia.
Image credit: Getty Images
Francesco Bagnaia tasted victory in Assen after dominating the Dutch GP Sprint from start to finish.
The Italian rider launched off the line in a perfect start to lead title rival Jorge Martin heading into Turn 1.
A Lap 2 crash for Marc Marquez saw him out of the race early on, costing him crucial points in the title fight.
Bagnaia finished ahead of championship leader Martin after a stellar display, with the third podium spot taken by Maverick Vinales.
Chaos unfolded on the last lap as a nasty crash for Aleix Espargaro brought out yellow flags in Sector 2, as Bagnaia crossed for his victory.
Bagnaia said: "First of all this is incredible. It's always incredible to win here, it's fantastic. It's only Saturday but we are very happy for the pole position and the Sprint win so I'm looking forward to tomorrow.
"When you win a Sprint, it doesn't mean too much in terms of championship but in terms of confidence it's a lot.
"I'm very happy about everything today - pole position, the pace this morning was fantastic, right now in the Sprint the pace was incredible so I'm very happy about everything.
"The start of the season I was struggling on finding this feeling and in the last five weekends we've had a lot of improvement, I've started to feel better and better and right now my feeling on the bike is incredible."
Martin claimed that he struggled with his tyres throughout the Dutch GP Sprint, failing to challenge the Italian world champion in Assen.
The Spaniard said: "I tried to follow him but I struggled a lot with the front hard, the feeling wasn't good."
Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) got a perfect start to the race after launching quickly off the line to lead heading into Turn 1, edging out the second-runner Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) struggling with tyres.
After starting in third place, Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) retained his third spot on the podium despite advances from Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP).
A battle ensued behind for fourth place as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) quickly climbed the ladder from ninth to fifth.
The South African got off to an incredible start in the Sprint, jumping Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) on the race start.
Martin initially followed closely behind the reigning world champion but quickly began to struggle with his tyres on the Prima Pramac Racing bike.
Meanwhile, Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) suffered an unfortunate crash that swiftly put him out of the race in a crucial loss of points.
Marquez got off to a great start but dove far too deep at Turn 2 on Lap 2, bouncing on the tricky curb and losing control of his Gresini bike.
By Lap 3, the top three riders began to pull away from the rest of the pack while the race leader put 1.045s on the championship leader Martin.
As the race continued, Bagnaia extended his dominant run by pulling 1.5s away from Martin who was being tailed by Vinales.
Track limit warnings could not stop the flying Italian as he continued to set the fastest lap throughout the race, meanwhile Alex Rins crashed out of the left-hander on Turn 5 of Lap 8.
With three laps to go, the battle for fourth got juicy as Alex Marquez picked up a penalty which would ultimately hand Binder the position and points.
Bagnaia starts the race tomorrow from pole position again, hoping to do the double and take some vital points to close the gap to Martin leading the championship.
After starting and finishing the Dutch GP sprint in third, Vinales failed to challenge Bagnaia and Martin ahead. The gap slowly increased to 1.5s by the final lap as the two championship leaders flew ahead.
Vinales said: "I'm not happy because I expect to battle with them in the front. I tried to keep them but at the end my rhythm was a little slow. I was pushing over the limit, but tomorrow it is important to try and fight for the win."
RIDER OF THE DAY: FRANCESO BAGNAIA
Could it be anyone else?
A perfect launch off the line cemented his dominance so far this weekend in Assen. After starting from pole position, Pecco Bagnaia retained his lead heading into Turn 1 of Lap 1 with a swift start.
Initially it appeared to be the case that Martin could challenge the dynamic Ducati, but its dominance shone through as Bagnaia pulled away by Lap 5.
The Italian driver rode a near-perfect race, only picking up one track limit warning for briefly running wide at Turn 5 midway through the race.
His performance his weekend has been nothing short of excellent, smashing his own lap record on Friday practice to then lead the Sprint from start to finish.
Holding off Martin tailing closely behind, Bagnaia pulled away and flew around the TT Circuit Assen in one of his cleanest performances yet.
WHERE THE RACE WAS WON AND LOST
1/13 BAGNAIA FLIES OFF THE LINE - Francesco Bagnaia launched off the line to lead the Dutch sprint race heading into Turn 1. A perfect start saw him fly around the first lap while Jorge Martin struggled to tail the flying Italian.
2/13 MARQUEZ CRASHES OUT OF SPRINT - The world champion was on the hunt for a place on the podium when he dove too deep on the curve of Turn 2. A bounce on the tricky curve forced the Spaniard out of the race early, marking the first time Marquez has failed to score points in a sprint race this year.
5/13 TOP THREE RETAIN STARTING POSITIONS - The top three front-runners retain their starting positions heading into Lap 5 of the Dutch GP Sprint. Francesco Bagnaia slowly begins to build a gap to Jorge Martin in second, who is being closely followed by Maverick Vinales in third.
8/13 BATTLE FOR FOURTH CONTINUES - After starting the sprint in ninth, Brad Binder has climbed four places after an excellent start to the race. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing driver planted himself firmly in the points-scoring positions as he inherited a position after Marquez crashed out of the race.
10/13 THREE LAPS TO GO - In one of his most dominant displays yet, Pecco Bagnaia looks to secure yet another victory in MotoGP. The battle for fourth gets juicy as Alex Marquez picked up a penalty, putting extra pressure on the Gresini Racing rider to pull away from Binder in fifth.
13/13 BAGNAIA TASTES VICTORY IN ASSEN SPRINT - Francesco Bagnaia dominates the Dutch GP sprint from start to finish to taste victory in Assen. He finishes 1.5s ahead of Jorge Martin in second who was being closely tailed by Maverick Vinales.
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