Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Ducati's Bastianini wins British Grand Prix sprint, Bagnaia crashes

Reuters
Updated
Bastianini celebrates his win
Bastianini celebrates his winReuters
Enea Bastianini (26) of Ducati produced a scintillating performance to win his first sprint at the British Grand Prix on Saturday, as two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia failed to stretch his world championship lead after a crash.

Bastianini had qualified third on the grid but took the lead from world championship contender Jorge Martin of Prima Pramac Racing on the sixth lap.

"The lap time was too crazy, the sprint has been crazy! It's my first victory of the year, I'm so happy. My pace was good. Here at Silverstone, (it) is one of my favourite tracks," Bastianini, who moved to third in the championship standings, said.

Martin had shot off the line from fourth to take the lead on the opening lap over pole-sitter Aleix Espargaro. With the podium, the Spaniard reduced the gap to Bagnaia to one point in the championship ahead of Sunday's race.

"It was really nice to race here in Silverstone. I was pushing like it was qualifying, but finally, Enea was super, was stronger than me... Hopefully, tomorrow we can bring it to the first position," Martin said.

Aprilia's Espargaro, who smashed the lap record in the final moments of qualifying at Silverstone to clinch his second pole position of the season, was under constant pressure from Martin before finishing in third.