LUSAIL, Qatar, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Ducati's Marc Marquez won a thrilling, red-flagged sprint at the Qatar Grand Prix on Saturday to put a record-equalling eighth premier class title within reach, while rival Jorge Martin finished third, two weeks after breaking his wrist.
Fabio di Giannantonio, the 2023 winner, came second in a sprint that was red-flagged when Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia suffered a painful crash on lap one which resulted in a fractured foot.
Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi had been battling for the lead earlier in the sprint but a crash ended not only the Aprilia rider's sprint but also his slim hopes of fighting for the MotoGP title.
With a lead of 49 points, reigning champion Marquez can now win a record-equalling eighth premier class title if he wins Sunday's race and Martin does not score any points.
"It was a strange sprint race, especially with the red flag. We hope and we wish that Pecco (Bagnaia) is okay because it was a nasty crash," Marquez said.
"But apart from that I was super concentrated. I defended the best way possible."
SPRINT RED-FLAGGED
Aprilia's polesitter Bezzecchi made the perfect start to take the lead ahead of Marquez, but Bagnaia's sprint did not last a full lap when Fermin Aldeguer cut across and made contact with the Ducati's rear tyre.
The impact threw Bagnaia into the air before he landed hard and the sprint was red-flagged as the Italian was taken away on a stretcher.
On the restart, Marquez had the better start off the line and the Spaniard took the lead from Bezzecchi while Martin methodically made his way up from 11th to fourth by the end of lap two.
Bezzecchi tried to pass Marquez on the inside on lap four and as the two made contact, it was the Aprilia rider who came off worse, losing his balance and sliding out of contention.
Stewards took no action on the incident, drawing sarcastic applause from Aprilia boss Massimo Rivola in the garage.
MARTIN CHALLENGES MARQUEZ
Marquez had barely any time to recover from the collision as he suddenly had Martin attacking him and they traded positions, but the Ducati rider maintained his lead.
"When I had the impact, even my airbag deployed. For that reason then, Jorge attacked me because it takes some time to return to normal," Marquez added.
However, Martin looked to be tiring and dealing with the pain from his wrist injury as he lost ground to Marquez, soon finding himself battling for second with Di Giannantonio, who overtook him at the end of the sprint.
"I'm really proud of the work I'm doing. Twelve days ago, I broke my wrist... With all the adrenaline, I was trying to push," said Martin, who had strapped an ice bag on his wrist after the sprint.
"For me, it's already a victory and I hope my story can inspire people throughout the world."
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon and Ed Osmond)
