Ducati’s Enea Bastianini led from start to finish in the MotoGP Thai Grand Prix sprint as Jorge Martin sur꧒vived a track limits scare to finish a crucial second.

Having heaped the pressure on hജimself after crashing in qualifying, Martin made a scrappy start to the sprint from third 🌳on the grid as he tried to launch into the lead ahead of poleman Francesco Bagnaia.

As he pushed both wide, Bastianinౠi came through to take🙈 the lead and led every lap to secure victory by 1.357 seconds.

Martin fought back to second ahead of Bagnaia, but was h🌠anded a track limits warning midway through the 13-lap sprint, creating a nervous end to the race for the Pramac rider.

Responding to late pressure from Bagnaia, though, Martin cemented second by 1.015s 🃏to take two vital points and extend his championship lead to 22.

Martin has now put himself in a position that if Bagnaia wins every one o💛f the remaining races, the Pramac rider only has to finish second in each of them to win the championship.

Bagnaia completed the podium ahead🤡 of Gresini’s Marc Marquez, who faded out of the rostrum battle on his GP23 to 3.030s behind his future team-mate.

Off the line, Martin jumped Bastianini and drew alongside Bagnaiꦉa into Turn 1, with an aggressive move forcing both wide.

Martin ran further off trꦺack and had to cut the throttle as he rejoined as he nea💧rly hit Marc Marquez.

This dropped Martin to fifth behind Tech3 GASGAS rookie Pedro Acosta, wꦚho kept the Pramac rider a♛t bay until Turn 5 on lap two.

At the start of lap three, Basti🍨anini was 0.8s clear of Bagnaia, while Martin would clear Marquez on lap four.

Once ahead of Marquez, Martin quickly piled the pressure on Bagnaia and took second away from his championship ꧋rival with an impres💙sive move on the inside of Turn 7 on lap seven.

But Martin ran wide as he did this, which earned him ꧋a track l🤪imits warning.

Bastianini came under no threatꦛ through to the chequered flag as he beat Martin🅠 by 1.357s, while the latter avoided any track limits penalty in second.

Behind Bagnaia and Marquez came the sister Gresiℱni Ducati of Alex Marquez, who was 4.7s behind his team-mate in fifth and 0.9s clear of Pramac’s Francꩵo Morbidelli.

VR46 duo Marco B🤡ezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio came next, with KTM’s Brad Binder scoring the final sprint 🏅point in ninth.

A big moment on lap one dropped sixth-placed stᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚarter Fabio Quartararo out of the points, wit♉h the Yamaha rider taking the chequered flag in 10th ahead of KTM’s Jack Miller and leading Honda Johann Zarco in 12th.

The Aprilias suffered a🐠 difficult sprint, with Raul Fernandez for Trackhouse the marque’s leading rider in 14th - 19.6s off the win.

Acosta crashed on lap four at Turn 3. He🍎 remounted, but retired into p꧂itlane late on. 

Full 2024 MotoGP Thai Grand Prix sprint results