JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA. Jorge Martin confirms himself as the king of Sprint. Even in Spain, on the Jerez track, where Marc Marquez had also regained the luster of his best days with the pole achieved in the wet astride his new Ducati, the Primac rider, not by chance Martinator, put the points of the fast race (the eleventh mini GP that he wins), thus flying to 90. A crazy test, however, the race on Saturday, in which luck certainly did not kiss Francesco Bagnaia: after an opaque seventh place in qualifying which places him in third row on the GP grid (start today at 2pm), the world champion was forced to retire in the Sprint due to a crash on the third lap. A slightly too decisive entry from Binder sent down the national team’s Pecco, who in fact appeared distraught but also enraged. «Binder’s vein closed when Marquez threw him out», the words of the Turin rider. «Then he came in hard and I ended up in the middle. Sprint causes drivers to be out of their minds, they change direction without meaning. Sometimes you get into trouble and go down like it happened to me. With a good strategy we could still end up well.” But Bagnaia certainly wasn’t the only one to end up in the gravel: fifteen falls in total, practically all of which occurred in the same stretch of track due to patches of damp residue from the morning rain. Marc Marquez also paid the price, having set the best time in qualifying on the day of grace, taking pole, the first for Ducati, ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Martin: in the mini race the Spaniard was in the lead when slipped, but managed to get back on the bike, finishing in seventh place. On the podium behind Martin were Pedro Acosta and Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha. Fourth Pedrosa and fifth Morbidelli. The points up for grabs from Sprint guarantee Martin (with his eleventh success in Saturday’s mini GP) to extend his lead in the standings: the Spaniard is on the run with 92 points, but behind him is the debutant Acosta, 29 behind points, ahead of Bastianini (on 59). The bad day caused Bagnaia to slip to fifth place with a 42 point deficit.
«It was a very difficult race, which took place in treacherous conditions. I pushed a lot”, Martin’s words. «As soon as Marc overtook me, I tried to follow him until he made a mistake. Sunday’s dry race will have different conditions. Now, however, I enjoy the moment and this victory in front of my fans. I do my best, using my head. Today it was easier to fall than to stay standing. The GP will be another story.” Appointment today at 2pm.
Daniele Di Candia
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