Raul Fernandez soars to first MotoGP sprint win at Italian Grand Prix

[p]Starting second on the grid, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandez-raul/dIyisVJD/"]Fernandez[/a] ‌surged into the lead halfway through the opening lap and never looked back, beating [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martin-jorge/zBBka6dR/"]Martin[/a] by ‌more than a second after the factory rider had cut the ‌gap with three laps remaining.[/p][p]VR46 Racing's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/di-giannantonio-fabio/pI4o388M/"]Fabio Di Giannantonio[/a] completed the podium while championship ‌leader [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bezzecchi-marco/EXzAZEse/"]Marco Bezzecchi[/a] finished fourth ahead of Ducati's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/marquez-marc/UPhfij2b/"]Marc Marquez[/a] in fifth.[/p][p]"[b]I ‌feel super happy, I don't really have the words, but thanks to the team[/b]," a beaming Fernandez said.[/p][p]"[b]Since Jerez we are doing a good job. Today and yesterday (in practice) I ‌felt the pace, I felt comfortable with the ⁠bike[/b]."[/p][p]The victory was redemption for Fernandez, ‌who had collided with Martin at the Catalan Grand Prix earlier this month as both ​riders crashed out, sparking a heated confrontation between team bosses in the garage.[/p][p]But this time Aprilia boss Massimo Rivola was all smiles ​as he came over to congratulate their satellite team for a job well done.[/p][h2]Poor getaway for Bezzecchi[/h2][p]The race got off to a chaotic start when ⁠pole sitter Bezzecchi had a ​poor getaway, allowing Marquez to storm off the second row and lead into turn one.[/p][p]But Fernandez, Martin and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/moreira-diogo/jgqvgUFi/"]Diogo Moreira[/a] quickly elbowed their way past the Ducati to push him back down to fourth.[/p][p]Marquez, who was making his return from ‌double surgery on his foot and shoulder, then lost more positions as Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi surged past him.[/p][p]Di Giannantonio quickly moved up to third when he found his way past Moreira, who received a track limits warning before dropping to fifth and finding himself defending his position against Marquez.[/p][embed guid="6971af77-0e49-44ae-a760-97e26eddfbd4" url="https://x.com/MotoGP/status/2060716919200637021" social-type="twitter" /][p]Up front, Fernandez appeared to be cruising but Martin found another gear and reduced the gap with every lap until he was less than half a second behind the Trackhouse rider with three laps left.[/p][p]However, Fernandez managed to surge ahead ‌and take the chequered flag nearly a second ahead of his Spanish ​compatriot.[/p][p]"[b]We always try to fight for the podium and this was my ‌target today, I felt great[/b]," Martin said.[/p][p]"[b]When I was closing the gap to Raul, it was becoming a bit more difficult. But finally I thought the points were more important than a crash. I did my best, Raul was impressive[/b]."[/p][p]Fernandez moved up to fifth in the championship ⁠standings with the victory while Martin ⁠cut Bezzecchi's lead to 12 points ‌ahead of Sunday's race.[/p]