Styrian MotoGP Race Results | Jorge Martin, Pramac clinch maiden MotoGP win

Jorge Martin has scored a stunning maiden MotoGP victory from pole position in the Styrian MotoGP to deliver the veteran Pramac Racing team its long-awaited first success after almost 20 years in the series.

The Spanish rookie emphasised his status as one of MotoGP’s future superstars with an exceptional performance that defied both his experience and expectations for a win that won’t be forgotten.

Indeed, as impressive as Martin’s feat is in only his tenth MotoGP race, it is the landmark win for Pramac Racing - which has competed as Ducati’s satellite effort since 2002 but never topped the podium - that is arguably the headline of the day.

Moreover, the manner in which it was achieved was particularly notable, Martin - starting from his second career pole position - shrugging off a pass for the lead by Jack Miller on the run to Turn 3 to get back in front by lap three before retaining his momentum to the end.

He had to work hard for it initially with Martin shadowed for the majority of the race by Joan Mir, but with the defending champion beginning to ail in the closing stages, Martin could ease out his advantage to the chequered flag for Ducati’s sixth win in seven grands prix held at the Red Bull Ring.

Joy for Pramac Racing after so many years of trying, it is its first win after 24 podiums and echoes of a similar achievement made by Tech 3 Racing in Austria a year ago when Miguel Oliveira scored its first win after 21 years of trying.

A race that had to be restarted after a long delay and clean up operation following a fiery accident involving Lorenzo Savadori and Dani Pedrosa, the restart flipped the script on its head with Miller - slow away from the first start - instead getting the early jump.

However, he couldn’t sustain the pace and soon dropped behind Mir and Martin, before Martin got the better of the Suzuki man.

With no rider able to live with Martin and Mir’s pace, Fabio Quartararo delivered a well-judged run to third position on a circuit that doesn’t suit the Yamaha. Indeed, the Frenchman arguably achieved one of his best results of the year after hunting down and passing Miller, his job made easier when the Aussie crashed out of fourth with six laps to go.

Further back, Brad Binder brought some unexpected joy to the KTM squad from 15th on the grid, the South African stalking his way up the order and passing both Johann Zarco and Takaaki Nakagami on the final lap. With Nakagami also getting by Zarco, the late slip means Zarco drops back in the title race with Quartararo now 40 points clear.

Alex Rins collected healthy points with a quiet run to seventh, ahead of Marc Marquez, who endured an eventful race by twice striking Aleix Espargaro at Turn 1 on both starts - leading to the Aprilia man’s eventual retirement - before slipping down the order on lap two when he ran wide at Turn 1, only to recover ground and get ahead of his brother Alex Marquez late on.

Despite being involved in the original red flag incident, Pedrosa put in a fine performance to work his way up the order in his first start since 2018 to grab a top ten finish.

That came at the expense of an out-of-sorts Pecco Bagnaia, who was leading from second on the grid before the red flag came out. At the restart though his pace deserted him and he steadily slipped back to 11th to harm his title aspirations.

Enea Bastianini, Valentino Rossi, Luca Marini and Iker Lecuona rounded out the points, with Cal Crutchlow 17th on his return to MotoGP action.

2021 Styria MotoGP | Red Bull Ring | RACE Results