Enea Bastianini triumphed in the MotoGP British Grand Prix sprint for the Ducati factory team, while a crash by his teammate Francesco Bagnaia allowed Jorge Martin to narrow the championship gap.
Bastianini overtook long-time leader Martin on the seventh lap out of ten, marking his first MotoGP victory since Malaysia 2023, with Aleix Espargaro finishing third for Aprilia after a slow start.
At the race’s outset, Bagnaia launched from the second grid position and passed polesitter Espargaro, but both were soon overtaken by Pramac’s Martin.
Bastianini also found his way past Espargaro and Bagnaia, positioning himself closely behind Martin, the new leader.
During the next segment of the race, Martin and Bastianini ran closely together, while Bagnaia and Espargaro trailed slightly behind in third and fourth.
After Bagnaia set the fastest lap on the fourth lap, he lost control of his GP24 in Turn 4, leading to his immediate retirement from the race.
With Bagnaia out, Bastianini intensified his efforts against Martin, trying to pass at Copse but running wide, which allowed Martin to retake the lead.
A lap later, however, Bastianini successfully overtook Martin at Stowe and quickly distanced himself, finishing with a lead of 1.094 seconds.
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Although Martin struggled to match Bastianini’s pace, he managed to maintain a gap from Espargaro to finish second, closing the points gap to Bagnaia to just one point.
Gresini’s Marc Marquez appeared ready to secure fourth after advancing from seventh on the grid, but the six-time champion lost control of his GP23 entering Vale on the penultimate lap and ended up in the gravel.
This incident promoted KTM’s Brad Binder to fourth place, ahead of Tech3 GasGas rider Pedro Acosta, both having survived a collision on lap two that sent bodywork flying.
Alex Marquez finished in sixth on the last remaining Gresini bike, while KTM’s Jack Miller climbed from a disappointing qualifying to finish seventh.
Maverick Vinales was unable to match Espargaro’s speed, placing a distant eighth, as the top 10 concluded with VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio and Trackhouse’s Miguel Oliveira.
Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo was the top Japanese bike finisher in 11th, three spots ahead of LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco.
A significant crash marred the race start when Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli fell into Turn 1, bringing down VR46 rider Marco Bezzecchi with him.
Bezzecchi required a stretcher while Morbidelli struggled to stand, but both were reported as conscious and taken to the medical center for evaluations.
MotoGP British GP Sprint Race Results:
