<p>After winning a Japan MotoGP that was cut short by rain on Sunday, Jorge Martin closed the deficit on championship leader Francesco Bagnaia to just three points with six races remaining.</p>
<p>With his third consecutive sprint win and fifth of the season on Saturday, the Spaniard, who started from pole, had already reduced the distance between himself and Italy’s Bagnaia to just eight points.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-214441″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/theindiaprint.com-an-indian-air-force-helicopter-safely-makes-an-emergency-landing-close-to-bhopal-d.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com an indian air force helicopter safely makes an emergency landing close to bhopal d” width=”1330″ height=”745″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/theindiaprint.com-an-indian-air-force-helicopter-safely-makes-an-emergency-landing-close-to-bhopal-d.jpg 300w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/theindiaprint.com-an-indian-air-force-helicopter-safely-makes-an-emergency-landing-close-to-bhopal-d-150×84.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1330px) 100vw, 1330px” title=”MotoGP: Jorge Martin wins the Japan Grand Prix and is now three points behind Bagnaia in the standings 3″></p>
<p>Second-place finisher Bagnaia of Ducati earned the reigning world champion 319 points, compared to Martin of Ducati satellite team Pramac’s 316. Marquez finished third.</p>
<p>Once the 24-lap race got off in the hilly Motegi, the cloudy sky and mild rain swiftly turned into a downpour.</p>
<p>The majority of riders entered the pits early to replace tyres due to the hazardous circumstances created by the sea of spray and slick corners.</p>
<p>With 12 circuits remaining, the race was called off by the officials as Martin and Bagnaia made their way back to the front of the pack.</p>
<p>They tried to resume, but the red flags appeared fast once again, and the riders were given full points based on where they were when the halt occurred.</p>
<p>Martin later said, “I was dedicated to producing a terrific outcome today.</p>
<p>“I felt really good with the rear grip, and I was able to overtake all of them (after the pit stop) and make this gap to win today,” the driver continued.</p>
<p>“I’m overjoyed. Fortunately, everyone has left, but continuing was too risky, he continued.</p>
<p>Bagnaia said he believed he might have passed Martin but still seemed content.</p>
<p>I’m thrilled because I’m doing the podium for the first time on wet, so I’m quite happy, he remarked.</p>
<p>“Jorge scored a few more. But I’m quite content,” he said.</p>
<p>“Unfortunately, we had a chance to win. In any event, I’m content with my job.</p>
<p>At the Japanese company’s home track, six-time world champion Marquez riding Honda earned his first podium result of the year.</p>
<p>The Spaniard began in the third row but sensed an opportunity to sprint to the podium as rain forced other riders to run wide or even into the gravel.</p>
<p>“I had fun with it. I was really composed at the start of the race and simply tried to comprehend the tyres, according to Marquez.</p>
<p>“I began to attack and I was increasing the pace step by step,” he added. “When I noticed that there was water on the track, I did.</p>
<p>Last weekend at Greater Noida, India, Martin had already trimmed the gap to 13 points.</p>
<p>This came after Bagnaia dramatically fell out of the race little over halfway through it in hot and muggy circumstances.</p>
<p>Martin had established a new lap record at a dry Motegi in qualifying on Saturday. Bagnaia came in 0.171 seconds behind Martin and Jack Miller on a KTM was third, taking 0.353 seconds.</p>
