Jorge Martin wins in Le Mans

Martin’s incredible start saw him snatch the holeshot, while Bagnaia’s experience was an unfortunate contrast as he slid from second to the middle of the pack, seemingly due to an issue. Concurrently, a friendly, yet competitive clash among the Aprilias led to further changes in the lineup, pushing Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) into second place as he pursued Martin.

In contrast to Bagnaia’s decline, Marc Marquez was making rapid progress up the order. The racer with number 93 exhibited flawless maneuvering from the get-go and swiftly moved into fifth place. Within several laps, he was hot on the heels of the ongoing Martin-Bezzecchi face-off at the front.

The next twist came when Aleix Espargaro fell out of contention from the leading battle as his promising start proved unsustainable; he was penalized with a double Long Lap for jump starting. The situation became even more intense for Bagnaia, who was trailing behind when he veered off course from the back of the pack. Something was evidently amiss with number #1, who subsequently entered the pitlane. The reigning champion was thus eliminated from the Sprint.

That left Martin leading Bezzecchi leading Marquez, with Viñales next up. A gaggle of Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had the gloves off too, and Espargaro then rejoined in their midst.

Suddenly, there was more drama at the front. Yellow flashed across the run off at Turn 9 as Bezzecchi slid out from that second place, leaving Marquez on the chase behind Martin. The gap between the two was now at over two seconds, however, and the clock was counting down. The Sprint King was on his way to another Saturday stunner, and he got the job done in style to capitalise on a tough Sprint for Bagnaia.

Behind Martin’s impressive charge at the front, Marquez took second after an awesome comeback ride from P13 on the grid, with Viñales holding onto third in the last laps as Bastianini put in a late charge for glory. The ‘Beast’ had to settle for fourth.

Espargaro recovered from his double Long Lap to finish fifth, with Acosta taking a solid sixth and putting in a final corner save. Di Giannantonio held off Miller for seventh, with Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) taking the final point on Saturday… just marginally ahead of home hero Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™).

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