Jorge Martin produced one of the great Sprint comebacks of the season to win a dramatic Tissot Sprint at the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Austria, retaking the MotoGP World Championship lead from Marc Marquez after Pedro Acosta crashed out of a commanding lead in the closing laps at the Red Bull Ring.
Racing over 14 laps, Martin’s afternoon swung from disaster to triumph in the space of a lap and a half — plummeting from P1 to P8 at the start, before clawing his way back to the top step by the chequered flag.
Starting from pole with a 1’27.917, Martin grabbed the holeshot into Turn 1 ahead of Marc Marquez, but ran wide on the exit, handing the reigning World Champion a sniff at the lead into Turn 2a. Both riders braked late and neither wanted to give an inch, but it was Martin who came off worse, losing all his mid-corner speed and drive. Having led into Turn 1, by Turn 3 the Aprilia rider had been shuffled all the way back to P8.
Marc Marquez’s spell at the front didn’t last much longer, either. At Turn 3, Pedro Acosta went slightly wide, barged his way through the gap that opened up, and seized the lead from his future 2027 teammate. The KTM rider immediately pulled the pin, opening a gap that crept up towards a second within a handful of laps. Bezzecchi shadowed Marc Marquez closely in third, with Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) rounding out the early top four.
After his disastrous start, Martin set about unpicking a remarkable fightback. He picked off Brad Binder, Francesco Bagnaia, Ai Ogura and Alex Marquez in quick succession to be back up to P4 by Lap 5. At Turn 1 on Lap 7, he carved his way up the inside of teammate Bezzecchi to move into the bronze medal position — and, exactly one lap later at the same corner, returned the favour to title rival Marc Marquez with an aggressive but clean move to rise into P2.
With Acosta now 2.8s up the road, Martin’s focus shifted to holding off Marc Marquez and Bezzecchi behind — and staying within track limits, having already received a warning that put him one infringement away from a Long Lap penalty.
It looked to be job done for Acosta, cruising towards what would have been a second Sprint win of the season on KTM’s home turf — until disaster struck at Turn 2a with three laps to go. Leading by two seconds, the Spaniard went in too hot to the chicane and, while staying committed to keeping his KTM leant into the corner, lost the front and crashed out. Acosta briefly rejoined the race before pitting and retiring for good, handing the Sprint lead — and the day — to Martin.
Unlike his title rival, the 2024 World Champion made no mistake in the closing stages, going on to seal what could prove a crucial 12 points in the championship battle. Marc Marquez and Bezzecchi — Martin’s two closest rivals in the standings — completed the podium in second and third.
Ai Ogura, back from injury, claimed a strong fourth, while Alex Marquez edged out Bagnaia by six tenths of a second to see the two Ducati riders cross the line in fifth and sixth. Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) was the leading HRC representative in seventh, with Fermin Aldeguer and Binder rounding out the point scorers in eighth and ninth.
Full Sprint Classification
- Jorge Martin (SPA) — Aprilia Racing — 20’57.387 — 174.2 km/h
- Marc Marquez (SPA) — Ducati Lenovo Team — +1.026
- Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) — Aprilia Racing — +1.675
- Ai Ogura (JPN) — SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team — +3.495
- Alex Marquez (SPA) — BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP — +4.447
- Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) — Ducati Lenovo Team — +5.142
- Johann Zarco (FRA) — Castrol Honda LCR — +5.895
- Fermin Aldeguer (SPA) — BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP — +6.810
- Brad Binder (RSA) — Red Bull KTM Factory Racing — +7.233
- Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA) — Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team — +9.228
- Enea Bastianini (ITA) — Red Bull KTM Tech3 — +11.580
- Fabio Quartararo (FRA) — Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team — +13.050
- Luca Marini (ITA) — Honda HRC Castrol — +15.076
- Pol Espargaro (SPA) — Red Bull KTM Tech3 — +18.373
- Takaaki Nakagami (JPN) — Honda HRC Castrol — +19.201
- Diogo Moreira (BRA) — Pro Honda LCR — +20.503
- Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) — Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP — +20.964
- Alex Rins (SPA) — Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team — +21.054
- Raul Fernandez (SPA) — SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team — +22.646
- Jack Miller (AUS) — Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP — +26.053
Not Classified: Pedro Acosta (crashed, rejoined, then retired, 1 lap down), Franco Morbidelli (crashed out, 4 laps down)
Martin’s Sprint win sees him retake the MotoGP World Championship lead with 286 points, three clear of Marc Marquez on 283. Bezzecchi sits a distant third on 248, with Di Giannantonio fourth on 223. Ogura and Acosta are now locked together on 209 points apiece in the battle for fifth, ahead of Fernandez on 199.
In the teams’ standings, Aprilia Racing extends its advantage at the top with 534 points, well clear of Ducati Lenovo Team (430) and SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team (408). The constructors’ fight remains a Ducati-Aprilia photo finish, with Aprilia edging ahead 422 points to 421, and KTM a distant third on 252.
It’s never over until the chequered flag in MotoGP — and Saturday’s late drama has set up a mouth-watering Sunday at Spielberg. Acosta and KTM will look to put the pain of a home-turf crash behind them, while Martin, now with the momentum and the championship lead back in his pocket, heads into the Austrian Grand Prix looking to press home his advantage over Marc Marquez in what remains an unrelenting title fight.
Credit Photo : MotoGP
