Spaniard Jorge Martin (Ducati-Pramac), second in the MotoGP world championship, won from pole position the sprint of the San Marino Grand Prix, the 12th round of the season contested on Saturday at the Italian Misano track, ahead of the overall leader Francesco Bagnaia, 3rd in pain.
“It’s incredible,” said Bagnaia upon arrival. “Given the situation and with the pain I feel when I drive, being third is crazy,” he added.
And for good reason: victim last Sunday of a frightening gliding flight during the Catalan GP where he was then rolled on his legs by Binder, the Italian suffers from a “hematoma on the right knee which goes down to at the foot,” he explained to the press on Thursday. However, he was declared fit by doctors to drive this weekend.
“I feel pretty bad now, and very tired,” admitted the 26-year-old Turinese, however, an hour after the finish of the race. On Sunday, “the most important thing will definitely be to increase my dose of painkillers,” he added.
As for the sprint, “Pecco” will start 3rd again on the GP grid and is aiming for the Top 5 at the finish.
In the general classification, Martin takes five points from Bagnaia. The reigning world champion still retains a comfortable lead of 45 points at the end of the day (267 points against 222 for Martin).