Marco Bezzecchi had secured himself a home pole for this weekend but the question was whether the win would be denied by a hungry Marc Marquez. The answer came sooner than people expected with a shocking race exit from the Ducati rider.
Aggressive off the line
The lights went out and Alex Marquez seemed to get a great launch. That was until his brother Marc manoeuvred himself perfectly and was up into P2 and right behind the race leader. Bezzecchi was forced to ride defensive to keep the Ducati at bay, suffering small errors but keeping control of his bike.
Also getting a good start was Johann Zarco, who moved himself up 5 places at the start of the race.
A fight for P8 began to unfold between Fermin Aldeguer and Pedro Acosta. The two are very familiar with battling each other so knew that neither would shy away from this fight. In the end it was the KTM who won this battle, passing Aldeguer and later Luca Marini on lap 4.
A rotten stroke of luck
Fabio Quartararo has had his fair share of bad luck this season but unfortunately that did not end at the San Marino sprint. The Yamaha rider crashed from P4 on the grid on lap 5. Quartararo had spend the race till that point closing down the gap to Alex Marquez in P3, but lost the rear of his bike.
While all this was going on, Marc Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi were closer than ever, battling for P1. Marquez would eventually claim this position lap 6. This lead did not last long for the Spaniard as disaster struck on lap 7 and Marc Marquez crashed out of the San Marino Sprint!
He has won 14 of the 16 sprint races this season, with his previous worst sprint finish being P2. Sadly for the Ducati rider, the San Marino Sprint will not be added to his tally. The other Ducati rider Bagnaia also suffered in todays sprint, finding himself down in P13.
Heating up in the closing stages
As the race began to draw to a close, the battles were very much still alive. The battle for P3 was on between the two Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing teammates. The pair put on a great show, racing hard but cleanly. In the end, it was Fabio Di Giannantonio keeping Franco Morbidelli at bay and securing that final podium position.
Behind them, Pedro Acosta and Fermin Aldeguer found themselves battling again, but this time for P5. Acosta ultimately retained position all the way to the chequered flag.
Todays race was controlled well by Bezzecchi who despite facing immense pressure from the Marquez brothers, managed to start on pole and win the San Marino Sprint Race. Alex Marquez was unable to close the gap to him and finished in P2.