Jorge Martín prevailed in the Sprint race of the MotoGP Valencia GP, ensuring that the title battle will indeed extend to the final race of the season – scheduled tomorrow at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) had a strong start to take the lead before being overtaken by Maverick Viñales (Aprilia). Martín (Pramac Racing/Ducati) quickly moved up to third. In the first lap, the Spaniard managed to surge ahead of Bagnaia but lost positions to Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) and Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) in the process.
Martín didn’t take long to overtake Márquez. Nine laps from the end, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) crashed out in turn six while preparing to get ahead of Bagnaia and claim fifth place.
A change in the lead occurred on the seventh lap with Binder surpassing Viñales, who was also overtaken by Martín and Márquez. By the eighth lap, Martín overtook Binder to take the lead, while Bagnaia settled in fifth.
Nothing changed in the top positions until the end. Binder attempted but couldn’t surpass Martín, and the Spaniard won with a 0.190s lead over the South African. Márquez finished third, with Viñales in fourth and Bagnaia in fifth. These results leave the Italian with a 14-point advantage going into the last race of the season.
Results: