Francesco Bagnaia profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint on Saturday and close the gap on overall championship leader Jorge Martin.
READ Acosta takes Japan MotoGP pole, Martin crashes out and SA's Binder takes 5th
Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez.
Spain's Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. South Africa's Brad Binder also didn't finish the sprint after seemingly picking up a technical problem.
Pramac rider Martin is looking to win his first MotoGP championship after finishing second behind Ducati's Bagnaia last year.
