Jorge Martin claims maiden MotoGP™ win

Jorge Martin capitalised on his record-setting pole position to claim victory in a dramatic Styrian Grand Prix on Sunday to seal his maiden win in MotoGP™.

Martin, competing in his maiden MotoGP™ campaign, clinched pole with a time of 1:22.994 – the fastest recorded at the Red Bull Ring.

However, he needed a second chance to turn his superb qualifying session into a race triumph following an early red flag due to a crash involving Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo Savadori.

Francesco Bagnaia had taken an early lead ahead of Martin, but when the race restarted, the original grid positions were used, and having reclaimed control from Jack Miller – who later crashed out – the Pramac Racing rider held firm to secure a first premier class success ahead of Joan Mir and runaway championship leader Fabio Quartararo.

Bagnaia wasted no time in getting on the attack and had overtaken Martin within seconds of the start, while Mir, Quartararo and Marc Marquez had an almighty tussle for position on Turn 6.

Yet their efforts proved fruitless as the red flag was soon raised.

Pedrosa fell on the exit hairpin of Turn 3 with Savadori subsequently colliding with the stricken bike.

Making his first start in MotoGP™ since 2018, Pedrosa came away unscathed, though Savadori had to receive further medical attention and was carried away on a stretcher. Meanwhile, race marshals had to contend with a fire on the track – a result of a ruptured fuel tank from one of the bikes.

After a 30-minute delay, the race restarted with 27 laps remaining. This time, it was Miller who was the early aggressor, with six-time MotoGP™ champion Marquez dropping to 14th and Martin back to third.

Miller could not hold on, though, with Martin picking his line perfectly to undertake, while defending champion Mir and Quartararo soon followed suit.

Matters were made worse for Miller with 10 laps to go, the Australian skidding out on Turn 7 as he attempted to hunt down Quartararo. It is the second successive race he has failed to finish.

The day instead belonged to Martin, the 23-year-old keeping compatriot Mir at bay to win with a 1.548-second cushion.

Quartararo came in in third, collecting more points in his quest for the world title, while Marquez – who finished on the podium in three of his four previous MotoGP™ races at the Red Bull Ring – had to settle for eighth.

TOP 10

1. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing)
2. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +1.548s
3. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +9.632s
4. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +12.771s
5. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) +12.923s
6. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +13.031s
7. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +14.839s
8. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +17.953s
9. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) +19.059s
10. Dani Pedrosa (Red Bull KTM) +19.389s

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Riders

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 172
2. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 132
3. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) 121
4. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 114
5. Jack Miller (Ducati) 100

Teams

1. Monster Energy Yamaha 251
2. Ducati 209
3. Pramac Racing 149
4. Red Bull KTM 145
5. Suzuki Ecstar 134