(Reuters) -Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi won Saturday's sprint at the San Marino Grand Prix after championship leader Marc Marquez crashed out of the lead on Ducati's home turf as the Spaniard failed to finish on the podium for the first time in sprints this season.
An aggressive Marquez had elbowed his way through from the second row to second place before overtaking polesitter Bezzecchi halfway through the sprint.
But six-times champion Marquez, who had won 14 sprints this season, made a rare mistake in the final sector to crash out of the lead.
His brother Alex Marquez of Gresini Racing finished second to reduce the gap in the championship to 173 points and keep alive his slim title hopes while VR46 Racing's Fabio Di Giannantonio edged his teammate Franco Morbidelli to take third place.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
