MotoGP 2023: Jorge Martin secures fifth consecutive sprint win in Buriram to cut championship gap

Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin converted his pole position to secure his fifth consecutive sprint win at the Buriram International Circuit to cut championship rival and reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia’s lead to just 18 points.
Martin crossed the finish line 0.933 seconds clear of KTM’s Brad Binder, who claimed the second position, as VR46’s Luca Marini completed the rostrum.Bagnaia, on the other hand, had a day to forget as he finished in the seventh spot.
From pole to the chequered flag, Martin displayed yet another dominant performance, leading every lap without facing any significant challenges, minus Marini’s at the launch to which the Spaniard responded well on Turn 1 by outbraking him. Binder engaged in a fierce battle with Marini, managing to emerge victorious, while Marc Marquez made a last-minute move on his Honda, snatching the fourth spot from Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro.

Espargaro had stamped a notable gap on Marco Bezzecchi in sixth place, riding the second Mooney VR46 Ducati. Despite grappling with a collarbone injury and a subsequent energy drain in the latter stages of the race, Bezzecchi held off the pressure from a resurgent Bagnaia, who followed him home in seventh place. Bagnaia’s poor start from the sixth position pushed him as low as ninth early on, making it challenging for him to make significant progress and catch up with the leading pack for the remainder of the race.
Alex Marquez of Gresini crossed the chequered flag in seventh position as Johann Zarco, who was coming fresh from his maiden MotoGP win last week in Phillip Islands, finished ninth as Jack Miller guided home his KTM to round off the top ten at the Thai Sprint.