Arizona Tribune - Martin completes perfect Misano weekend to close gap on leader Bagnaia

Pramac rider Martin is now 36 points behind world champion Bagnaia after claiming the third Grand Prix win of his career, from pole position and well over a second ahead of Marco Bezzecchi.

The 25-year-old took maximum points from Misano Adriatico after also winning the sprint race on Saturday, but injured Bagnaia limited the damage to his overall lead with a superb third place which delighted the home supporters at the Italian track.

Martin was on pole after also smashing the lap record by nearly half a second in qualifying on Saturday morning, and the Spaniard never looked troubled by the Italian pair chasing him.

"Thanks to all the people who helped me do this because we put in a lot of work," said Martin.

"Today in front of Marco and Bagnaia it was always going to be tough... as soon as I saw a bit of a gap I started pushing like hell, with all I had."

Bagnaia and VR46 rider Bezzecchi were riding in pain after bad crashes at last weekend's Catalunya MotoGP.

Ducati's Bagnaia flew off his bike at high speed at Montmelo and was then run over by Brad Binder, while Bezzecchi had to deal with a hand injury sustained in a multi-bike pile up in Spain.

But Bagnaia rode well all weekend on pain killers and was delighted by what given the circumstances must be one of the best rides of his career.

"I was pushed by the fact that I wanted to do a good race for the fans, and for me," said exhausted Bagnaia, who could barely walk or speak after the race.

"Happy, happy, it wasn't easy considering the situation."

Bezzecchi also gained ground on Bagnaia and is now 65 points behind the leader with another display which drew the warm approval of fans who flooded onto the track after the race.

- Battered Bagnaia and Bezzecchi -

"I'm really really happy. I gave my all from beginning to end," said Bezzecchi.

"When I overtook 'Pecco' (Bagnaia) fortunately I had fresh air on my front tyre and I was able to breathe a little bit and able to make a good rhythm even if the pain was coming more and more."

Bagnaia quickly overtook Bezzecchi and by the time the top three flew through the red smoke billowing over the track from Ducati fans' flares he was neatly tucked behind Martin.

Bezzecchi moved into second over the Quercia corner on lap six but Bagnaia responded almost immediately to reclaim the spot behind Martin.

Martin took advantage of the injuries to his principle title rivals with 10 laps to go, at one point stretching his lead to well over two seconds.

And eventually Bagnaia gave in to the pain and Bezzecchi's pressure to concede second place to his countryman.

And with the top two positions all-but secured all eyes turned to a brilliant podium battle between Bagnaia and Dani Pedrosa.

Reserve KTM rider Pedrosa pushed Bagnaia all the way, getting to two hundredths of a second behind his rival but could not find his way past the Italian's brilliant defence.

Earlier David Alonso won the Moto3 race after a thrilling final-lap tussle with Jaume Masia and Deniz Oncu, coming out on top as the trio battled for first place over the last three corners.

Alonso is 46 points behind championship leader Daniel Holgado, who finished over 11 seconds off the pace in 16th and saw his championship lead cut to just four points over Japan's Ayumu Sasaki.

Pedro Acosta won the Moto2 race to extend his lead at the top of the overall standings to 34 points over home hope Tony Arbolino.

Th.Gonzalez--AT