The holeshot settled it
Marc Marquez lined up second at Misano this afternoon. He took the lead at the first corner and never gave it back. The reigning champion beat Marco Bezzecchi under braking into Turn 1, and held the position for all 13 laps of the San Marino Grand Prix sprint. Less than a second covered the pair at the flag.
Bezzecchi never backed off, though. Having started on pole, the Italian was right back on the Ducati’s tail by the middle of the race. Marquez upped the pace, the gap settled, and the Spaniard banked his sixth sprint win of the season.
The tyre choice split the two favourites. Bezzecchi went for the medium rear, Marquez the soft. The harder compound still didn’t stop the Ducati rider from nailing the best start.
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Martin salvages something, Quartararo implodes
Jorge Martin completed the podium. The championship leader started fifth, worked his way up, then passed Fabio Di Giannantonio to grab third, on the same medium rear as Marquez. A rescue act after a winless weekend in Aragon.
Behind them, Alex Marquez took fifth and Pedro Acosta sixth. Johann Zarco finished 10th. The Frenchman will drop three places on the grid on Sunday after being penalised for holding up Bezzecchi in qualifying.
Fabio Quartararo threw his race away early. The Yamaha rider went down while trying to get past Diogo Moreira for 11th, rejoined, and came home 21st, last of the classified runners.
Francesco Bagnaia didn’t do much better. He was 13th at the finish after starting 14th, following the worst qualifying performance of his career at Misano. And this is supposed to be his final home round in official Ducati colours.
Fourteen points before Sunday’s race
The title race is tightening up. Martin still leads the championship, but his advantage over Marquez has shrunk to 14 points, down from 19 before the sprint. Bezzecchi stays in touch with the two Spaniards.
Misano is round 14 of a 22-race calendar. The Grand Prix takes place on Sunday, with a long-lap penalty still to serve for Franco Morbidelli after he blocked Enea Bastianini in Friday practice. Bezzecchi will also keep one eye on his qualifying lap: a 1’29″982, the first sub-1’30 marker in the circuit’s history.
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