Bagnaia wins Spanish Grand Prix to close gap in MotoGP world standings

The reigning MotoGP champion, Francesco Bagnaia, won his third straight Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday to make up ground on Jorge Martín in the world championship standings after the Pramac Racing rider crashed out of the race while leading.

Marc Márquez, a six-times MotoGP champion, finished second from pole position for Gresini Racing at the Circuito de Jerez, with VR46 Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi third.

Bagnaia, who started on the third row of the grid in seventh place, put himself in the mix early on with a series of audacious overtakes on the first lap, zipping past Bezzecchi, Martín and Márquez to take the lead.

Saturday’s sprint winner Martín quickly wrested back the lead and was in front for much of the first half of the race, but the Spaniard lost the front-end of his Ducati on the 11th lap and was dumped in the gravel.

The second half of the race provided a different challenge for Bagnaia as he went from doggedly chasing the lead to defending it with Márquez pushed him hard in the final few laps.

Márquez, roared on by the fans in Jerez, twice overtook Bagnaia but the two-time world champion made a late surge to claim his first win of the season.