RACE REPORT | MotoGP San Marino 2023

Jorge Martin triumphed in the San Marino Grand Prix at the Misano circuit, extending his lead over Francesco Bagnaia in the MotoGP title fight. The Pramac Ducati rider repeated his win from the last sprint. It was his second triumph of this MotoGP season, following his victory in Germany in June. Martin dominated the entire race, leading from start to finish, which allowed Marco Bezzecchi to take second place, while Francesco Bagnaia finished third.

Jorge Martin led from the start and secured a sovereign victory at Misano in the San Marino Grand Prix. The Team Pramac Ducati rider held the top spot from start to finish and in doing so claimed his second triumph of this GP season, doubling his victory from Saturday's sprint. Francesco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi chased Martin throughout most of the race but were never able to find an opportunity to attack. Eventually Martin managed a breakaway that broke Bagnaia's resistance before the halfway point of the race, and from then on it was clear that no one was going to catch him.

Bezzecchi briefly got ahead of Bagnaia at the start of the race, but decided to stay quietly behind his compatriot after taking a wide track option. However, Bezzecchi, who was suffering from an injured hand, decided to try the same manoeuvre again on lap 19 when he passed Bagnaia on the brakes at Turn 8, and this time he was successful. Bagnaia subsequently pulled away to secure second place. Bagnaia himself was riding battered and bruised after his horror crash a week ago at the Catalan Grand Prix. Although he dropped the pace in the closing stages and had to succumb to Bezzecchi, the championship leader was able to fight off a charging Dani Pedrosa and secure a podium finish in his home race.

The KTM duo of Pedrosa and Brad Binder were the only ones able to keep up with the Ducati trio at the front of the race. Binder chased Martin in the early part of the race and almost caught him before his race ended prematurely due to a crash at Turn 14. Pedrosa, who came into the weekend as a wild card, moved up to fourth place, where he also tried to cut the Ducati's lead. Unfortunately, however, he made a mistake on lap 14 that cost him the position and complicated his battle.

In the closing laps, things got closer again as Bagnaia slowed and Pedrosa accelerated. Bagnaia, however, defended his position valiantly and eventually held on to it, securing him a place on the podium. Maverick Vinales was the best of the other riders, finishing fifth, followed by Miguel Oliveira. Marc Marquez put in a strong performance for the Honda team, battling with Raul Fernandez and Luca Marini to secure seventh place.

With a flawless weekend, Jorge Martin reduced his points deficit to Francesco Bagnaia to 36 points. Marco Bezzecchi is third with a further 29 points behind