Spanish motorcyclist Jorge Martin wins the MotoGP sprint race at Le Mans. Martin started from fifth on his Ducati, but soon found himself at the front of the race. World champion Francesco Bagnaia, who left the first place, had to be content with the third place. South African Brad Bender was tagged into second place after thirteen rounds, having qualified tenth.
The 25-year-old Martin made a good start and immediately moved into second place. On the fourth lap he passed Bagnaia, who also saw Binder pass. Even the Ducati factory team leader dropped to fifth, in part due to a hard pass from Marc Marquez. However, the Italian managed to fight his way back to third place.
Marquez, a six-time MotoGP world champion, is back in France this weekend. The Spaniard had broken his right thumb at the end of March during the opening race in Portugal. The healing process took longer than expected. Marquez also had to skip the major competitions of Argentina, the United States and Spain. He qualified second at Le Mans on Saturday and finished the sprint in fifth place.
France’s Fabio Quartaro, the 2021 world champion, crashed in front of a home crowd while running eighth. Australian Jack Miller, who finished third, had already crashed earlier. Sunday is the main race at Le Mans.
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