Jorge Martin galloped to his first victory of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship season after escaping clear of a frenzied fight for the podium to claim Sprint Race glory at Le Mans.

The Pramac Ducati rider capitalised on a strong getaway that lifted him to second early on, before proceeding to hound Pecco Bagnaia and pounce for the lead on lap four as the factory Ducati rider wilted.

It allowed Martin to ease clear of his rivals to take the flag almost two seconds up on Brad Binder, with Bagnaia completing the top three to consolidate his lead in the overall standings.

The defending champion came into the half-length race as the hot favourite to extend his championship lead after producing a stunning last gasp lap in qualifying to score pole position.

Converting it into an early lead through the tricky Turn 3/4 chicane, Bagnaia led the fast-starting Martin - up from fifth via a looping wide line into Turn 3 - Jack Miller, Marc Marquez and Luca Marini round to the end of the opening lap.

With two Sprint Race wins to his name already this year, Bagnaia's bid for a hat-trick in France began to unravel three laps into the race as he struggled to break away from the eager attentions of the chasing pack led by Martin.

Clinging onto the tail of the sister Ducati GP23 coming up the hill to Dunlop at the start of lap four, Martin lined up a pass on Bagnaia to move into the lead.

It was a pivotal moment, Bagnaia seemingly lacking the pace of those around him but gamely defending his position. By the time Brad Binder - now leading the KTM challenge after Jack Miller slid off on lap two at Turn 7 - hustled his way past Bagnaia for second, Martin was already more than 1.5secs up the road.

Maintaining his composure to the flag, Martin crossed the line for only the second victory for both himself and the Pramac Ducati team.

Fast becoming a master of the Sprint Race format, Binder collected his third Sprint Race podium in five starts from tenth on the grid, the South African subsequently leapfrogging Marco Bezzecchi to lead the chase for Bagnaia at the head of the championship standings.

A peculiar afternoon for the pole sitter, Bagnaia dropped as low as fifth during a curious lull in performance before getting back into the podium battle with Marquez and Marini.

Finding his rhythm in the closing stages after spending some laps being beaten up by the gaggles around him, Bagnaia prevailed in an entertaining tussle with Marini to come home third, while Marquez faded to fifth following his spirited start.

Johann Zarco consolidated Pramac Ducati's strong race in sixth place, while he also eased French frustrations after countryman Fabio Quartararo crashed out late on while running in eighth place.

Behind Zarco, Marco Bezzecchi brought it home in seventh, while Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales found themselves in the thick of the mid-field action, the duo caught up in a skirmish with Alex Marquez that delayed the team-mates and forced the Gresini Ducati rider to the latter end of the field.

French MotoGP | SPRINT RACE RESULTS

Le Mans | Conditions - Dry, Sunny