‘Was difficult to concentrate’: Sprint winner Jorge Martin

Victorious Prima Pramac Racing’s rider Jorge Martin (centre), second-placed Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia (left) and Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez, at the end of the Indian Grand Prix’s sprint race at the Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida, on Saturday. Pic/AFP

Jorge Martin held the lead from the start to win the sprint race at India's debut MotoGP on Saturday and close the gap on championship leader Francesco Bagnaia.

Ducati-Pramac rider Martin started second on the grid and jumped into the lead, while a crash on the first corner saw Marco Bezzecchi slip back from pole position.

World champion Bagnaia came second and Marc Marquez completed the podium at the Buddh International Circuit on the outskirts of New Delhi. Bezzecchi's Ducati-VR46 got hit from the rear by teammate Luca Marini, who crashed out along with Stefan Bradl and Pol Espargaro.

Jorge Martin

The race belonged to Martin, who won the previous MotoGP at Misano, with the Spaniard remaining in control as others slipped away. "The moments before the race was difficult because lot of time in the box and it was difficult to concentrate," Martin said about a rain delay.

"But finally everything went well. I did a great start and that was my plan. I got half a second in the first lap and then I tried to push more to increase the gap."

The race was trimmed by a lap after riders complained about the heat in Friday's practice sessions, but he said the conditions for the sprint had been good.

"With low temperature it was nice to ride," he added. "I am the best so far in my career but hope to keep improving."

Also Read: MotoGP controversy: India's distorted map broadcast live, organisers apologise

Bagnaia, sitting on the next chair, quickly responded: "Hope not."

Marco Bezzecchi grabs pole at BIC

Italy's Marco Bezzecchi claimed pole position at India's MotoGP on a hot and humid afternoon at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) on Saturday. The Ducati-VR46 rider clocked a top time of 1 minute, 43.947 seconds in the second qualifying, with Jorge Martin and world champion Francesco Bagnaia completing the front row at two and three.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever