Jorge Martin boosts title hopes with breathless German Grand Prix victory, Francesco Bagnaia finishes second

Jorge Martin boosted his MotoGP World Championship prospects with a breathless victory over nearest title rival Francesco Bagnaia at the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring. The Spaniard reclaimed the lead from the world champion Bagnaia with half a dozen laps remaining and somehow clung on as the inspired Italian – starting on pole and desperately chasing his first victory at the historic circuit – swarmed all over Martin in the closing minutes.

Ad It is Martin's first GP triumph since the 2021 Styrian GP in Austria with over 96,000 fans in attendance witnessing a classic battle in blistering track heat that saw the two leading men touch bikes on the penultimate lap in an intense battle for supremacy. Grand Prix GermanyMartin wins Sprint race in German Grand Prix at SachsenringA DAY AGO In the end, there was little or nothing between the daring, dynamic duo as the briefest of collisions allowed Martin to speed away and maintain his lead which amounted to a winning margin of just 0.064s in a frantic scramble for the line.

Bagnaia continues to lead the World Championship standings for Ducati on 160 points after seven rounds, but Martin is only 16 points adrift and well in the mix ahead of the Dutch GP next weekend. France's Johann Zarco made up the powerful all-conquering Ducati podium after South African powerhouse Brad Binder suffered a disaster in crashing out on lap 19 after taking turn 8 too fast on his KTM.

At least Binder made it to the starting grid with German GP winning machine Marc Marquez denied the chance to chase a ninth success for Honda in MotoGP's premier class. Due to starting a lowly seventh on the grid, the eight-time world champion suffered a small fracture to his left thumb after a fifth crash of