Jorge Martín produced a remarkable comeback to win the Austrian GP Sprint after dropping from pole to eighth on the opening lap.
The Aprilia rider fought his way back through the field to take second before Acosta’s late crash handed him the lead late in the race. Marc Márquez finished second, with Marco Bezzecchi rounding up the podium.
Earlier in the day, Martín had secured pole position ahead of Márquez and Acosta, with just 0.071 seconds separating the entire front row. With Martín and Márquez lining up for an Austrian GP Sprint, level on points and Acosta looking to deliver KTM a home victory, Saturday had plenty at stake before the Sprint even began.
A quiet start to Saturday
Saturday morning’s FP2 was a very different session to the Friday action.
Overnight rain had left damp patches around the Red Bull Ring, and riders were understandably cautious about heading out. Ten minutes into the session, only eight riders had taken to the track, with several teams choosing to wait and see how the conditions developed.
The track gradually improved as the session went on, with the field becoming busier in the closing stages. It was Marc Márquez who ultimately found the most pace, setting a 1:29.663 to finish 0.202 seconds ahead of Jorge Martín, with Pedro Acosta third.
Márquez’s session ended with a scare of its own. With less than a minute remaining, the Ducati rider crashed at Turn 1 after losing the front. He was able to get the bike moving again with help from the marshals and still finished the session at the top of the timesheets.
It was a complete change from Friday, when Acosta had dominated both FP1 and Practice at KTM’s home Grand Prix. The #37 had topped FP1 with a 1:29.851 before going even faster in Practice with a 1:28.381, giving KTM plenty of reason to be confident heading into Saturday.
Bagnaia and Zarco fight through Q1
With several big names forced into Q1 after Friday’s Practice, there was plenty at stake in the opening qualifying session.
Johann Zarco and Pol Espargaró initially traded the fastest time, before Raúl Fernández and Espargaró moved to the top during the second runs.
Zarco and Bagnaia left it late, eventually setting identical fastest lap times to secure the two Q2 spots while Raúl Fernández narrowly missing out on a spot in Q2.
It was an important recovery for Bagnaia after his difficult Friday, while Zarco continued to show strong qualifying pace for Honda.
Martín takes pole by 0.015 seconds
Q2 delivered exactly what the championship battle promised. The fight for pole was always expected to be close, but even by MotoGP standards, the final result was incredibly tight.
Marco Bezzecchi led the early stages before Pedro Acosta moved to the top after the opening runs. As the riders headed back out for their final attacks, the fight for pole became a three-way battle between Acosta, Márquez and Martín.
Martín then delivered the lap that mattered.
The Aprilia rider moved to the top with a 1:27.917, just 0.015 seconds ahead of Marc Márquez. Acosta was only another 0.056 seconds behind, leaving the entire front row separated by just 0.071 seconds.
The session was interrupted late on when Álex Márquez crashed at Turn 1, for the second time this the weekend. Despite the incident, the Gresini rider held onto sixth place.
When asked Álex said:
“This morning I made a mistake while changing gear and crashed. We managed to save qualifying with a second-row start, but clearly the crash didn’t help.”
With Martín taking pole ahead of Marc Márquez and Acosta, it was Bezzecchi, Ai Ogura and Álex Márquez who completed the second row. Top ten was rounded up by Bagnaia, Di Giannantonio, Quartararo and Zarco.
With Aprilia, Ducati and KTM all represented on the front row, the stage was set for a fascinating Austrian GP Sprint.
Martín turns disaster into recovery drive
If anyone thought pole position meant Martín would have an easy afternoon, the opening lap quickly proved otherwise.
The Aprilia rider ran wide at Turn 1 and came close to Marc Márquez before running wide and going off-track. Another mistake through the Turn 2 complex then dropped him further down the order, leaving him eighth at the end of the opening lap.
It looked like his race had fallen apart. But Martín was far from finished.
The championship contender began his recovery almost immediately, moving to seventh early on Lap 2. By Lap 3 he had climbed to sixth, before moving into fifth on Lap 4. Two laps later, he was already up to fourth.
At the front, Acosta had taken control. The KTM rider moved into the lead by Lap 2 and began to build a gap, while Márquez was put under pressure by Bezzecchi.
While Acosta grew the gap ahead of Márquez, Martín continued his charge through the grid. By Lap 7, Martín had moved into third after passing Bezzecchi and had Marc Márquez in his sights. One lap later, Martín made his move for second, with the two riders coming extremely close as Márquez ran wide. From eighth to second in just a handful of laps.
Acosta heartbreak hands Martín the Sprint
Victory looked impossible as Acosta seemed unreachable, then everything changed.
Acosta was controlling the race at the front, building a lead of around 2.8 seconds over Martín. After dominating Friday and starting from the front row, the KTM rider appeared to be on course for the perfect home result.
With just three laps remaining, unthinkable happened. Acosta lost the front at Turn 2A from the race lead. He had been over two seconds clear, but the mistake brought his race to an end. Acosta was able to rejoin the circuit but ultimately retired, leaving Martín to inherit the lead.
It could have been so easy for Martín to settle for damage limitation and bring in any points he could after losing the lead during the opening lap. Instead, he charged through the grid, eventually taking the lead and controlling the race until the end.
Marc Márquez finished second, with Marco Bezzecchi completing the podium. Ai Ogura, making his return from injury, finished an impressive fourth, ahead of Álex Márquez and Bagnaia. Johann Zarco was the highest-placed Honda rider in seventh. Meanwhile, Fermín Aldeguer and Brad Binder completed the Sprint points scorers.
For KTM, it was a particularly painful ending to Saturday’s track action. Acosta had looked almost untouchable throughout Friday and had controlled much of the Sprint before the late crash. What looked like a potential home victory disappeared in a matter of seconds.
Looking ahead to Sunday
The Sprint victory also changed the championship picture.
Martín and Márquez arrived at the Red Bull Ring level on points. However, after Martín’s Austrian GP Sprint win, he now leads the championship heading into Sunday’s race.
After Friday’s KTM domination, Saturday belonged to Aprilia. Yet if this weekend has shown anything is that Acosta and KTM has the pace to fight at the front
Martín will start Sunday’s Grand Prix from pole, with Márquez alongside him and Acosta on the front row. Sunday’s race is set to be one you won’t want to miss.
With just three points separating the top two of the championship, will we see the lead change hands once again?
Feature image courtesy of MotoGP