Motegi:Marc Marquez secured victory in the Japanese MotoGP Sprint, reducing Jorge Martin's championship lead to seven points after Martin had earlier claimed pole position at the Mobility Resort Motegi.

According to Anadolu Agency, Jorge Martin set a new lap record of 1 minute, 42.371 seconds to take pole, narrowly beating Marquez by 0.110 seconds. Pedro Acosta qualified third, completing the front row ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez.

In the Sprint race, Marc Marquez took the holeshot from Martin and maintained control to cross the finish line in 20 minutes, 50.376 seconds. This marked his seventh Sprint victory of the season. Martin initially finished second but was penalized for exceeding track limits on the final lap, which relegated him to third place.

The penalty elevated rookie Diogo Moreira to second position, marking his first MotoGP Sprint podium finish. Enea Bastianini also received a one-position penalty for track limits and finished fourth. Marquez's victory earned him 12 points, while Martin collected seven, trimming the championship leader's advantage ahead of the Grand Prix.

Ai Ogura finished fifth, with Marco Bezzecchi, Johann Zarco, and Raul Fernandez following closely. Fabio Quartararo took the final point in ninth place. A first-lap collision at Turn 3 resulted in retirements for Alex Marquez, Pedro Acosta, and Fabio Di Giannantonio.

The 24-lap Japanese Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 1400 local time (0500 GMT) on Sunday.