After a disappointing British Grand Prix, Francesco Bagnaia was looking to take back the Championship lead in Austria.
Francesco Bagnaia is back in the lead of the MotoGP World Championship after the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint Race. The 10-lap battle seemed to bring drama for every rider, other than the World Champion.
Bagnaia started from second place on the grid and immediately took the lead. In the early laps, the Italian battled with Jorge Martin for first place. However, Martin ran on and lost the lead to Bagnaia, something he would never get back.
After his fight with Martin ended Bagnaia rode away from the opposition unchallenged, taking the chequered flag all alone.
After the race, Bagnaia reflected on an 'incredible' and 'intense' Sprint Race victory:
"Incredible," Bagnaia stated after being asked his thoughts on the Sprint Race. "But the most incredible thing we did was our best lap time during the battle. We did a 1:28.7, which is two-tenths lower than the pole position last year, which is incredible.
"I am very happy, the fight was intense. But I saw Jorge (Martin) going wide so I said 'Ok I have to be calm' because the front tyre could be a problem. But everything went perfectly, I am very happy and let's continue like this."
Bagnaia now leads the MotoGP World Championship. However, he is equal on points with Martin.
