511 days later, Jorge Martín (Aprilia) regains the taste of victory in Sprint. After a year of suffering marked by a series of injuries, the 2024 world champion wins for the first time since the 2024 Malaysian Grand Prix. In a race marred by the crashes of many favorites, he capitalizes on this result to take the lead in the championship, which he had not defended since winning his world title at the end of the Solidarity Grand Prix.
Indeed, chaos set in on the Texan circuit right from the start of the Sprint. Marc Márquez (Ducati) made a good start from 6th place and used turn 1 to move up to 4th position. Quickly picking up the pace, he attacked Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) – whose start from pole was less brilliant – at turn 11. After a late braking to try to take 3rd place from him, the Ducati rider lost the front and caused the poleman of the day to crash. Ducati thereby missed out on a double podium chance.
This incident propelled the Aprilias to 3rd and 4th places, behind Joan Mir and Pedro Acosta. Two riders whom Jorge Martín and Marco Bezzecchi did not hesitate to challenge. However, after overtaking his garage mate, #72 lost control three laps from the end, relinquishing valuable points in the process.
While the gap between Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martín was still over a second at this stage of the race, the Italian suffered a significant tire degradation in the last two laps to cover. Closing in on his opponent, the 2024 world champion executed a successful attack on his long-time rival at turn 11, before soaring to victory.
Euphoric, the Aprilia rider had a scare during the deceleration lap. Trying to impress the American crowd with wheelies, he crashed at full speed and had to make his way to the Parc Fermé in the medical car. More of a fright than harm for the rider who did not appear to be injured in the incident.
A point for Johann Zarco
Pedro Acosta completed the podium, nearly two seconds behind the leading duo. The numerous crashes of the day allowed Enea Bastianini, starting 11th, to secure an excellent 4th place with Tech3. After Joan Mir’s crash (Honda) on the final lap, Álex Márquez (Gresini Ducati) and the Spaniard’s teammate, Luca Marini, finished 5th and 6th.
For the French, Johann Zarco (Honda LCR) took advantage of the many turn of events to claim the 9th place point. The Sprint was more challenging for Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), finishing 11th as the top Yamaha at the finish line.
Apart from the numerous crashes, Diogo Moreira (Honda LCR) retired on the 4th lap due to a technical issue. Same fate for Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (Pramac Yamaha) midway through the race.
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MotoGP – United States Grand Prix
Sprint Race Results: [Context: The article reports on the Sprint race results of the MotoGP United States Grand Prix, highlighting the key events and performances of the race.]
