MotoGP Japanese GP: Martin cuts Bagnaia's points lead with sprint win

Jorge Martin converted his Motegi MotoGP pole position into victory in the Japanese Grand Prix sprint, cutting the points lead of Francesco Bagnaia even further in the process.

Pramac Ducati rider Martin was never truly threatened at the head of the field, easing away from the chasing pack over the course of Saturday's 12-lap contest to record his fifth sprint race win of the season.

It means the gap between Martin and works Ducati man Bagnaia is now down to just eight points ahead of the main race on Sunday.

However, Bagnaia managed to gain back a crucial point with a brave pass on Jack Miller to finish third after a poor start from second on the grid.

Bagnaia dropped to fourth on the opening lap as he was passed by the two KTMs of Miller and Brad Binder, who proceeded to swap places at the downhill Turn 11 right-hander.

Binder briefly looked as if he would threaten Martin for the lead, but by the eighth lap he was a second down on the Pramac rider and took the chequered flag just under 1.4s in arrears.

All eyes were then on the battle for third as Bagnaia caught up to Miller and applied the pressure on the Australian in the closing stages.

The decisive move arrived on lap 10, as Miller braked slightly too late at Turn 11, giving Bagnaia the chance to cut to the inside and then sweep all the way around the outside of the KTM man at Turn 12.

Miller managed to hang on to fourth, seeing off a late charge from the second Pramac bike of Johann Zarco.

Marco Bezzecchi was sixth on the VR46 Ducati after passing Honda's Marc Marquez at the Turn 8-9 complex on the penultimate lap.

Fringe title contender Bezzecchi had been running ahead of Zarco until he ran wide at Turn 11 in a failed bid to get ahead of Marquez for fifth on lap eight, allowing not only Zarco but also the Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro through.

However, Espargaro would soon pit to retire his RS-GP with engine trouble.

That meant the marque's lead finisher was Maverick Vinales, who claimed the final point in ninth behind the solo Gresini Ducati of Fabio di Giannantonio.

The Yamaha contingent endured a miserable sprint as Fabio Quartararo trailed home 15th, with team-mate Franco Morbidelli behind in 16th.

Wildcard Cal Crutchlow was 18th after picking up a long lap penalty for exceeding track limits, one place behind local hero Takaaki Nakagami on the LCR Honda.

MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix - sprint results:

Driver Info

Cla	Rider	#	Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Retirement	Points
1	J. Martin Pramac Racing	89	Ducati	12	21'00.734		164.5		12
2	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33	KTM	12	+1.390	1.390	164.3		9
3	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	1	Ducati	12	+5.279	3.889	163.8		7
4	J. Miller Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	43	KTM	12	+6.194	0.915	163.7		6
5	J. Zarco Pramac Racing	5	Ducati	12	+6.315	0.121	163.6		5
6	M. Bezzecchi Team VR46	72	Ducati	12	+8.919	2.604	163.3		4
7	M. Marquez Repsol Honda Team	93	Honda	12	+9.298	0.379	163.3		3
8	F. Di Giannantonio Gresini Racing	49	Ducati	12	+10.189	0.891	163.1		2
9	M. Viñales Aprilia Racing Team	12	Aprilia	12	+12.404	2.215	162.9		1
10	R. Fernández RNF Racing	25	Aprilia	12	+15.366	2.962	162.5
11	P. Espargaro Tech 3	44	KTM	12	+15.473	0.107	162.5
12	A. Fernandez Tech 3	37	KTM	12	+15.592	0.119	162.5
13	J. Mir Repsol Honda Team	36	Honda	12	+17.052	1.460	162.3
14	M. Oliveira RNF Racing	88	Aprilia	12	+18.092	1.040	162.1
15	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20	Yamaha	12	+19.333	1.241	162.0
16	F. Morbidelli Yamaha Factory Racing	21	Yamaha	12	+19.645	0.312	161.9
17	T. Nakagami Team LCR	30	Honda	12	+21.862	2.217	161.7
18	C. Crutchlow Yamaha Factory Racing	35	Yamaha	12	+26.026	4.164	161.1
19	M. Pirro Ducati Team	51	Ducati	12	+27.911	1.885	160.9
20	S. Bradl Team LCR	6	Honda	12	+28.178	0.267	160.9
dnf	A. Espargaro Aprilia Racing Team	41	Aprilia	8	+4 Laps	4 Laps	163.0	Retirement
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