Jorge Martín saved Pecco Bagnaia’s first championship ball and gave himself hope for a Sunday of glory. The Madrid driver did what he had to do, the only thing he had in his power, which was to win the Sprint of the Valencian Community GP, his eighth victory on a Saturday, and he had the help of three drivers who delayed the Italian to fifth place.
That is to say, the Spaniard cut 7 points and is close to 14 points behind the lead. The accounts come out quickly: in the long race this Sunday (3:00 p.m.), Martín needs to win again and for the man from Turin to not exceed sixth place; while the Italian would be a two-time champion, finishing in the top five.
First of the last two rounds of the World Championship, just 13 laps away in Cheste. Pecco Bagnaia’s first option to be champion mathematically. Looks of concentration on the starting grid, with the Italian in second position and Jorge Martín in sixth, on the second row. The traffic lights went out and Bagnaia took off like a flash, surpassing polesitter Viñales, and with Martín third.
But soon the roles changed. Viñales, given his great opportunity this year, regained the lead and began to make room before closing the first lap. From behind, Binder and Marc Márquez emerged wanting to make noise. They sneaked in on the two protagonists, who dropped Martín to 4th place and Bagnaia to 5th place. Before closing the second round, the man from Madrid rose to third place from Cervera after having another brush, with a dangerous touch.
The race stabilized on the fourth lap with Martín in third place and Bagnaia in fifth, 1.5 seconds behind. At that moment, in that situation, the Madrid native only discounted 2 points from the Italian, he was close to 19… to have a minimal chance on Sunday. He needed more: to try to win and for someone to get past Pecco. Why not Di Giannantonio again, like in Qatar?
The head of the race brightened on the sixth lap with Binder attacking Viñales for the victory, with Martín on the lookout and Márquez close to Jorge. Bagnaia was still off the lead, 1.7s behind Marc. The South African took the lead with an ax on Maverick’s Aprilia, while Martín had a battle with Márquez for third place.
Having passed the midway point of the short race, Martín attacked Viñales to take second position and put pressure on Binder, who would soon also fall into the clutches of the Madrid native. It was on the eighth lap when the one from San Sebastián de los Reyes conquered first place with courage and aggressiveness, overtaking the KTM, so that he was 14 points behind Bagnaia, fifth, but closer to fourth, Viñales, at 0, 5s.
Going into the last lap, Martín had a margin of 3 tenths over Binder, while Bagnaia was 7 tenths behind Viñales in fourth place and had Di Giannantonio just one behind, very close. The Madrid native held off the South African to score his eighth victory on Saturday and fulfill the part of his miracle: winning and putting pressure on Bagnaia on Sunday in the long race to compete for the title.
For his part, Marc Márquez closed his last Sprint with the Honda Repsol team with a creditable third position, after starting 9th. The one from Cervera, in the 19 short races on Saturdays, has achieved three podiums as best results; He was also 3rd in the first round in Portimão and in India.
“It is the best way to thank the team all these years; I have seen the team excited,” said Marc, who this Sunday says goodbye to the Japanese brand, with which he has raced for the last 11 years and has achieved six MotoGP crowns (2012-19).
