Martin, a ‘Sprint’ shot freezes Bagnaia. But Misano finds morbide again

What a shot Martinator

If we were in tennis, we might talk about a serve stolen from the opponent. Jorge Martinwho started from fourth position today in the Sprint race, passed Turn 1 in first position and never relinquished the lead of the race, freezing poleman Pecco Bagnaia with a perfect start right in front of his fans – the Misano ones – who had welcomed him with an ovation before the race and who were already looking forward to a repeat of the Mugello double. Instead, the short races remain the prerogative of Martinator who, numbers in hand, is starting to have a conspicuous advantage: 26 points with eight GPs and seven Sprints still to go are not too many, but they are not too few either. Ironically, if from now until the end of the season the #89 wins all the Sprints with Bagnaia second and Pecco wins all the GPs with Martin second, the title will still take the road to Spain.

Desire for redemption

Bagnaia today seemed to take the blow. His disappointment was evident from the moment he took off his helmet and even in front of the journalists the reigning world champion did not hide his disappointment. A state of mind also noticed by the Spanish media, who teased Martin about the psychological weight of this victory. The leader of the World Championship did not take up what seemed like a clear provocation towards his rival, but certainly this success has a value for him that should not be underestimated. But be careful of the #1’s ability to react: in the past, when he was with his back to the wall, Bagnaia has always responded like a champion and the hunger for revenge in his eyes in view of tomorrow was evident.

Tomorrow precisely, as well as on a weather that doesn’t leave you too relaxedall attention will be focused on turning off the traffic lights. Marc Marquez summed it up perfectly: “If there are no crashes, whoever is in front at turn 1 will win the race.“, said the phenomenon from Cervera, underlining the great difficulty that exists in overtaking on this track. However, he also made several today, getting rid of three KTMs on the track and moving up the grid from ninth to fifth after the fall that cut his legs in qualifying.

Soft, what a joy

For Italian fans though, the best news brought by Saturday at Misano is Franco Morbidelli’s return to the podium. Of course, it is not a ‘real’ podium but that of a Sprint, but for the Roman rider the satisfaction is huge and more than deserved after so much bad luck and so many difficulties. morbide however has confirmed himself as a gentleman, not pointing the finger in any way at those who in recent years have criticized him mercilessly, forgetting – as also underlined in a decisive manner by Pecco Bagnaia – the value of a rider who in 2020 came second in the World Championship. “This is the real Franco”the words of the reigning champion. “Haters gonna hate”the comment instead of Morbidelli, who dreams of repeating himself tomorrow and maybe doing even better. ransomfinally, he desperately searches for it too Marco Bezzecchithird in qualifying but crashed in the Sprint. Bez will have to take the cue from Morbido and try to turn around, in front of his home crowd, a season so far full of bitterness and stingy with smiles.