2023 Indian MotoGP: Saturday sprint race LIVE UPDATES!
🎉After Friday's practice was led by Luca Marini, Saturday sees final practice, qualif🅰ying and the debut MotoGP (Sprint) race at India's Buddh International Circuit.
Francesco Bagnaia takes a 36-point title lead over Pramac’s Jorge Martin into round 13 of 20.
Michelin is offering a wider choice of tyres for this weekend, four fronts and three rears, as MotoGP faces its first new event without any prior testing in over a decade.
The 13-turn ex-F1 track features several sizeable straights, the longest at just over 1km, plus banked corners at 8 & 9 plus what proved to be a tricky Turn 1 in Friday practice.
Missing this weekend are Ducati’s Enea Bastianini - who fractured his hand and ankle during a multi-rider pile-up in Catalunya, moments before team-mate Bagnaia was run over following a highside - and LCR Honda’s Alex Rins, who is still recovering from leg fractures at Mugello in May.
H🅠RC test rider Stefaꦯn Bradl will replace Rins with Ducati test rider Michele Pirro in place of Bastianini.
Following Friday's feedback from riders and ﷽;official tyre suppliers in the hot and humid conditions, ꧙race distances have been adjusted with one lap taken off the MotoGP Sprint, Moto2 and Moto3 races, while Sunday's MotoGP Grand Prix will be shortened by three laps:
MotoGP Sprint: 11 laps
Moto3: 16 laps
Moto2: 18 laps
MotoGP: 21 laps
Martin wins the first-ever MotoGP race in India, while Marqꦦuez is on the podium for the first-time since the sprint at Portimao. Bagnaia was ๊second.
Bezzecchi is now through on Q♍uartararo for P🍌5. What a comeback ride from the pole man.
Aleix Espargaro's disastrous sprint has ended in the grav✤el.
Bezzecchi is now ahead of Vinales and iꦺs seventh with five laps remaining.
Cr๊ash for Johann Zarco as he's lost sixth spot. Bezzecchi meanwhile, is already in the points and is the fastest rider on circuit.
Joan💙 Mir is down! After a strong start the Spaniard has crash♏ed out of P9.
Bagnaia is under pressure from Marc Marquez for seconꩲd, while Mir and Binder are ꦐright behind Marquez.
Pol Espargaro and Stefan Bradl also colli𝕴ded which resulted in both riders crashing at turn one.
Early drama as Marco Bezzeccꦯhi has been hit by teammate Luca Marini. Jorge Ma🌳rtin leads.
Here we go for the Indian MotoGP sprint.
The warm-upℱ lap is underway at the Buddh International Circuit.
The pit lane is officially open as riders areඣ heading to🦹 the start for what will be a quick-start procedure.
After another delay of ten minutes we're all set t🧸o have pit l♊ane open in 15 minutes. The race will get underway very shortly after that.
The delay is due to the starting grid being wet🌄.
There's been a furt🍬her delay and pit lane is expected to open in 25 minutes.
Coming up in just under 20 🐈minutes is the sprint race. It's a 12:08pm ♏(UK) start time.
Good morning and welcome back to the Indian MotoGP. The added 'wet session' ahead of the sprint has just come to an en🌠d with Jorge Martin on top.
Gresini report that Alex Ma๊rquez is now going to hospital for further checks.
Bez꧟zecchi keeps pole for the inaugural Indian MotoGP and will be joined on the all-Ducati front row by Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia.
But it'll be two Repsol Hondas on row two.
But Marco Bezze♚cchi moves the goalposts with a 1m 43.947s, 0.2s quicker than Jorgeꦬ Martin.
Bagnaia goes 2nd, Mir 4th and Marc Marquez 7th.
