JORGE MARTIN WINS SILVERSTONE SPRINT AS APRILIA TAKES 1-2-3
Jorge Martin completed a perfect Saturday at Silverstone by winning the Tissot Sprint from pole position, extending his championship lead ahead of Sunday’s British Grand Prix. Ai Ogura finished second for Trackhouse, while Marco Bezzecchi completed the podium to give Aprilia its first-ever 1-2-3 in a MotoGP Sprint.
Martin made a perfect start from pole and led Ogura into Turn 1. Fabio Di Giannantonio moved up to third early on, while Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez fought for fourth. By the end of the opening lap, Marquez had moved ahead of Di Giannantonio, while Raul Fernandez dropped to sixth.
Ogura briefly came under pressure from Di Giannantonio on Lap 2, but the Japanese rider defended his position. Martin then began to build a gap at the front, leading Ogura by around half a second as the Sprint reached its early stages.
Raul Fernandez’s strong weekend suffered a setback on Lap 4 when he crashed at Turn 4 while following Bezzecchi. His retirement promoted Alex Marquez to sixth, and the Gresini rider soon passed his brother Marc for fifth.
Bezzecchi then made his move on Marc Marquez at Copse to take fourth before closing the gap to Di Giannantonio. With four laps remaining, the Aprilia rider overtook the VR46 Ducati at Turn 9 to take the final podium position.
Di Giannantonio and Marc Marquez struggled with rear grip in the closing stages. Pedro Acosta moved past Di Giannantonio before also overtaking Marc, while Joan Mir followed him through. On the final lap, Franco Morbidelli passed Marc Marquez for eighth, leaving the six-time MotoGP champion ninth and with just one Sprint point.
At the front, Martin controlled the race from lights to flag to claim his third Sprint victory of the season. The result gives him another three points over Ogura, increasing his championship advantage to 17 points ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Bezzecchi’s third-place finish also moves him ahead of Marc Marquez in the championship standings. The Italian’s result was particularly important after his recent injury problems, with the Aprilia rider showing strong pace throughout the Sprint.
Alex Marquez finished fourth to lead the Ducati riders home, followed by Di Giannantonio in fifth and Pedro Acosta in sixth. Joan Mir was seventh, Morbidelli eighth and Marc Marquez ninth.
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