MotoGP - French Grand Prix - Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans, France - May 13, 2023 Prima Pramac Racing's Jorge Martin celebrates with a medal after winning the sprint race REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
LE MANS (Reuters) -Jorge Martin of Pramac Racing produced a flawless performance to hold off Brad Binder and win his first sprint race at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans on Saturday.
Martin, who leapfrogged Ducati's reigning MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia into the lead, took the chequered flag 1.840 seconds ahead of Red Bull KTM rider Binder, denying the South African a third sprint win of the season.
"I'm super proud, coming back to be first after a long time, even if it's only in the sprint but it's good for energy and for tomorrow," Martin said.
"Maintaining that gap with Brad wasn't easy."
Bagnaia, who took pole earlier on Saturday, finished third after some back and forth with six-times world champion Marc Marquez of Honda, who eventually ended fifth behind Luca Marini of VR46 Ducati.
The 12 points for the win moved Martin three places up the riders' standings into fourth, while Binder moved past Marco Bezzechi up to second.
"I knew the start was everything, I knew I could bring it home in a decent spot," Binder said.
Bagnaia remains in first place with a sizeable 23-point lead.
There was further misery for France's 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo, who looked on course for a points finish in the sprint at his home GP before crashing with four laps to go.
Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro and Gresini Ducati's Alex Marquez nearly collided during the sprint, but MotoGP said no further action would be taken after reviewing the incident, while Binder's team mate Jack Miller crashed out early.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
