Raul Fernandez soars to Dutch Grand Prix sprint victory as Trackhouse dominate

Raul Fernandez in action
Raul Fernandez in actionMTB-Photo / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez produced ⁠a dominant display to win Saturday’s sprint at the ‌Dutch Grand Prix, overtaking pole-sitter Jorge ‌Martin in the opening ‌laps to claim his second ‌sprint victory of the season. ‌The contest also marked the first sprint run under MotoGP’s ‌new rules banning front ⁠start devices.

Martin ‌launched well from pole to lead ​early on, but was quickly passed by Fernandez, ​along with VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio and Brno pole ⁠sitter Ai ​Ogura. The Spaniard was then drawn into a scrap with teammate Marco Bezzecchi for ‌fourth place.

Ogura underlined Trackhouse’s strong pace by finishing second, 0.362 seconds behind Fernandez, sealing the team’s first-ever sprint 1-2. Di Giannantonio completed the podium in third, followed by Bezzecchi, who had dominated Friday’s ‌sessions, while Martin faded to ​fifth.

Marc Marquez finished sixth, ‌just ahead of teammate Francesco Bagnaia, who was penalised a position for touching the green in the final ⁠lap.