Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin fended off Suzuki’s reigning world champion Joan Mir to seal his first MotoGP win on Sunday at the Styrian Grand Prix that was stopped and re-started after a fireball incident.
Pole-sitter Martin faced immense pressure from Mir but finished 1,548 seconds ahead of the Suzuki rider to hand Pramac their maiden MotoGP win in his rookie season.
Yamaha’s world championship leader Fabio Quartararo completed the podium, extending his lead to 40 points over nearest rival Johann Zarco of Pramac, who finished sixth.
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The race was red-flagged on the third lap after KTM’s Dani Pedrosa fell on the exit of Turn 3 and Aprilia Racing’s Lorenzo Savadori struck Pedrosa’s fallen bike.
The crash caused a fire on track and the race was halted for more than half an hour.
Pedrosa walked away unhurt from the incident and finished 10th in his first MotoGP race since 2018, while Savadori did not return for the restart.
South Africa’s Brad Binder made a stunning charge for KTM from 16th on the grid to finish fourth, and sit ninth in the overall standings, while Honda’s six-times premier-class winner Marc Marquez came eighth.
Italian great Valentino Rossi, who announced on Thursday he will retire at the end of the season, was 13th on his Petronas Yamaha. He turned 42 in February.