Reigning MotoGP champion Pecco Bagnaia defeated Jorge Martin in a straight fight for Emilia Romagna Grand Prix sprint honours at Misano, closing in on the championship lead.
Bagnaia now trails Martin by four points, meaning a win from pole in Sunday's race will take him into the championship lead.
A better start for Martin than Bagnaia - exaggerated by KTM's Brad Binder also overtaking the Ducati man - meant that even as Bagnaia quickly got back past Binder, Martin had by then already established an early seven-tenths buffer.
🚦 ROUND TWO IN MISANO IS GO! 🚦@PeccoBagnaia has been relegated to third! @88jorgemartin leads! 🚀#EmiliaRomagnaGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/fRgxh1SzmM
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 21, 2024
Yet unlike two weeks ago, when dropping behind Martin left Bagnaia with no recourse in the San Marino Grand Prix sprint at the same track, this time he managed to put Martin under enough pressure to capitalise on an error.
The pressure was coming particularly in the fast right-handers of the third sector, and that's where the error would come, too, on lap 8 of 13, as Martin ran wide and Bagnaia swept past.
🚨 MARTIN GOES WIDE! 🚨
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 21, 2024
@PeccoBagnaia forces @88jorgemartin to crack!
The hunter is now the hunted! 🔄#EmiliaRomagnaGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/htHuWm1VMp
Martin did stay with his rival but never really threatened to reclaim position, coming home three tenths behind.
Bagnaia's team-mate Enea Bastianini made it an all-Ducati GP24 podium, finishing a second back from the leaders.
Marc Marquez undid much of the damage from his messy Q2 on the opening lap, but didn't have the performance to challenge for more than fourth, instead even briefly coming under threat from Tech3 Gas Gas rookie Pedro Acosta.
He held off Acosta quite comfortably in the end - the 20-year-old settling for the position of best KTM/Gas Gas rider in fifth.
This came despite Binder's sublime start, as the South African went backwards immediately, down to sixth from second already on the second lap and preoccupied from that point onwards on (successfully) protecting his position against Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo.
Marco Bezzecchi and Franco Morbidelli completed the points-scoring top nine behind Quartararo.
