Martin shocks Austin
Jorge Martin won the MotoGP sprint in Austin with a last‑lap pass after Bagnaia and Marc Márquez crashed out in dramatic fashion on March 28. ( ) The finish shook up the weekend and leaves the championship fight hotter with key rivals forced into recovery. (motogp.com)
Martin crossed the line in 20:19.546 — 0.755 seconds clear of Bagnaia — delivering his first Sprint victory since 2024 and his first win aboard an Aprilia while extending his all-time MotoGP Sprint record to 17 wins. (thestar.com.my) (crash.net) The result reshuffled the championship: Martin now tops the standings on 57 points, one ahead of teammate Marco Bezzecchi on 56, with Pedro Acosta third on 49 after three rounds. (roadracingworld.com) (crash.net) Pedro Acosta was handed an eight‑second tyre‑pressure penalty after the Sprint and was demoted from the podium to eighth place, promoting Enea Bastianini to third in the revised classification. (motogp.com) (crash.net) Marc Márquez was penalised by the stewards for his opening‑lap clash with Fabio Di Giannantonio and must serve a Long‑Lap Penalty during Sunday’s Grand Prix. (motogp.com) (motorsport.com) Qualifying investigations also reshaped the grid: Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini received two‑place drops for impeding in Q2, which moves Bezzecchi off the front row and promotes Pedro Acosta and Francesco Bagnaia up the starting order for Sunday. (motogp.com) (crash.net) Saturday’s Sprint featured multiple high‑profile incidents: Márquez took out Di Giannantonio on lap one, Marco Bezzecchi slid out with three laps to go from a podium position, and Joan Mir crashed on the final lap while challenging for the podium. (motogp.com) After taking the chequered flag, Martin clipped his Aprilia doing a celebratory wheelie on the cool‑down lap and fell off at speed; he emerged uninjured and later spoke with media. (motogp.com) (cyclenews.com)
