MotoGP Qatar: Marquez wins sprint, Bagnaia hurt with foot fractures

Marc Marquez (Ducati) won the MotoGP sprint in Qatar at Losail, in a session marked by two incidents: a start stopped by Francesco Bagnaia's heavy crash, then contact with Marco Bezzecchi. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati) finished second and Jorge Martin (Aprilia) third.

Bagnaia taken out at the start

The initial start was stopped by a red flag: Fermín Aldeguer (Gresini) lost control of his bike under braking and hit Bagnaia, who was thrown into the air. A completely new sprint was run, which Bagnaia could not take part in. Aldeguer received a double long-lap penalty in the restarted race.

Bagnaia was taken to hospital in Doha. According to Ducati, he has two fractures in his right foot, in the fourth and fifth metatarsals. He will miss at least Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix, surgery is being considered and the rest of his season is uncertain. A two-time world champion with Ducati (2022 and 2023), he joins Aprilia next year.

Marquez and Bezzecchi make contact

In the restarted sprint, Bezzecchi, who started on pole, tried to pass Marquez at the first corner. The two touched and Bezzecchi crashed, leaving with no points. Marquez says he did nothing strange; his airbag deployed at the moment of contact, which made some corners hard to ride.

Martin's winning tyre gamble

Martin, who started 11th, took the risk of switching from a medium to a soft rear tyre, against Aprilia's advice. He quickly rose onto the podium and led for one corner ahead of Marquez, before Di Giannantonio passed him for second in the closing laps as his soft tyre faded. He is still riding hampered by a fractured right wrist, suffered in the Phillip Island sprint two weeks earlier.

A title getting closer

After the sprint, Marquez leads the standings with 411 points, ahead of Martin (362), Bezzecchi (332), Pedro Acosta (299) and Ai Ogura (281). Marquez's lead over Martin is 49 points. Two Grands Prix remain after Losail, worth at most 74 points at Portimão and Valencia.

To be crowned on Sunday, Marquez must win the Grand Prix without Martin scoring. He says his team lacks the pace to win and expects a difficult race against Aprilias that are fast over the distance.

The editorial team