Bagnaia wins Mugello Sprint after costly crash for points leader Martin

Reigning MotoGP champion Pecco Bagnaia took victory in the sprint race at Mugello, as points leader Jorge Martin crashed out.

Bagnaia's win marked his first sprint triumph since Austria last year and came after he'd given away several shots at a sprint win - including one last weekend where he crashed out from the lead on the final lap.

This time, however, he held firm under late pressure from Marc Marquez, and took 12 points out of Martin's lead as a reward.

Martin had started from pole but was overtaken by not only Bagnaia but also Bagnaia's team-mate Enea Bastianini on the opening lap.

He re-passed Bastianini later in the lap, a minor Correntaio error from the latter opening the door, but Bastianini had stayed close enough to attack at San Donato on lap three.

As he ran wide, he sought to slot back into the racing line, but with Martin also turning in it led to a typical kind of contact and a DNF for Bastianini. The incident was investigated but a swift no further action verdict was reached.

This, however, would prove minimal consolation for Martin at the end of proceedings. Though he initially stayed in range to potentially attack Bagnaia, he soon slipped back into the clutches of Marquez, successfully rebuffing a San Donato attack on lap five before having no answer to another lunge on lap six.

And with Tech3 Gas Gas rookie Pedro Acosta bearing down behind and threatening to take third place, Martin went down at San Donato on lap eight.

A second down on Bagnaia after overtaking Martin, Marquez briefly threatened to close in on the reigning champion but soon had to settle for second, finishing 1.5s behind.

Bagnaia is now 27 down on Martin in the standings, with Marquez a further five points off.

But Bagnaia will line up fifth rather than second on the grid tomorrow, carrying a penalty for impeding after Friday practice.

Behind Acosta - who this weekend signed a works KTM deal from 2025 onwards - Franco Morbidelli celebrated the best finish of his Pramac Ducati stint so far in fourth.

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Maverick Vinales completed the top five for Aprilia, his race constrained by being stuck behind KTM's Brad Binder after the start.

Binder had lifted himself from 13th to as high as fourth off the line, but didn't have the pace to stay there, overtaken by first Marquez and then Acosta.

He kept Vinales behind for most of the race, finally ceding with two laps to go but hanging on to sixth over Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati), Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia).

It was a fruitless race for both Yamaha and Honda, despite the promise the former had shown so far this weekend.

Alex Rins was only 13th in the sole Yamaha to reach the finish, while Fabio Quartararo was eliminated early on when Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Aprilia) hit him trying to make an overtake through Scarperia - with the stewards ruling no further action as the pair crashed out.

KTM's wildcard Pol Espargaro was 14th on his return to MotoGP action.

In addition to the four riders to crash, Joan Mir (Honda) exited the race with an apparent technical issue, explaining afterwards that the RC213V was vibrating for an as-yet unspecified issue.