Marc Marquez wins the sprint race at the Japanese MotoGP Grand Prix

Ducati rider Marc Marquez won the sprint race at the Japanese Grand Prix in the World Motorcycle Championship on Saturday, reducing the five-point gap separating him from the leader of the standings, Jorge Martin, Aprilia rider.

Marquez started strongly and maintained the inside lane at the first turn on the opening lap to pass Martin, who set a lap record on the Motegi circuit, to take pole position in qualifying that was held earlier on Saturday.

Marquez, the defending champion, maintained the lead and went on to win, raising his score to 306 points, seven points behind Martin (313 points) before the main race held on Sunday.

Seven-time world champion Marquez said: “The goal in qualifying was to start on the front row. Starting from first or second place was the perfect place to have a great speed race.”

He added: “We made minor adjustments for the speed race, and I felt much better on the bike.”

Martin finished the race second on the track, but fell to third place behind Diogo Moreira of the LCR Honda team.

The Spaniard faced difficulty at the end of the sprint after he was subjected to pressure from Enea Bastianini from the Tech 3 team, and this exciting struggle led to both competitors leaving the track.

“I tried to do everything I could on the last lap to keep Enya behind me,” Martin said. "And I succeeded in that."

He added: “I don’t know exactly where I touched (the outside), because I was so focused on avoiding that. So, it was a huge mistake.”

Brazilian Moreira (22 years old) climbed onto the podium for the first time in a speed race. This was also the first time that his LCR team climbed onto the podium in speed races since 2023.

“Today was the desired day,” Moreira said. We watched the accident and I said I would try to push and see what happens, and in the end I felt more comfortable on the bike lap after lap.”

KTM rider Pedro Acosta, who recently achieved his first victory in the World Motorcycle Championship, started from the front row, but soon found himself in the gravel after being involved in a triple collision with Alex Marquez and Fabio di Giannantonio.

Japanese Trackhouse team rider Ai Ogura finished the race in fifth place, ahead of Martin's Aprilia teammate Marko Betsiki, whose hopes of winning the championship took another hit.