Styrian MotoGP, Red Bull Ring, Austria - Race Results

Rookie Jorge Martin takes a brilliant debut MotoGP victory, and the first ever for Pramac Ducati, in a restarted Styrian MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring.

Following a wet warm-up, the race began on a dry track but the original race was then red-flagged on lap 3 after a fiery accident involving Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo Savadori at Turn 3, the Italian hitting the KTM wild-card's fallen bike.

Fortunately, both escaped serious injury although Savadori did not return for the restart, which began using the original grid positions, due to a fractured right malleolis. He will undergo surgery as soon as possible, miss next weekend's event and aim to be back at Silverstone.

Also not on the restart grid was Maverick Vinales, who stalled at the beginning of the warm-up lap and had to start at the end of pit lane.

Pole starter Martin held his advantage at the second start, with Jack Miller (just tenth when the initial race was halted) getting a much better getaway for an early second and Suzuki's Joan Mir again in the leading group for third, ahead of world championship leader Fabio Quartararo.

Mir, using the new Suzuki rear ride-height device for the first time, soon overtook Miller to pile the pressure on Martin for lap-after-lap, while Quartararo wrestled his way ahead of the Ducatis of Miller and Zarco for third.

Martin not only continued to lead but began to build an small advantage over Mir, while Quartararo faced growing opposition from Miller for the final podium place... Until the Australian lowsided on the entry to Turn 7 with ten laps to go. Miller's third DNF could well mean his title hopes are now over.

But Martin - who finished second in Qatar - remained wheel-perfect to claim not only his first MotoGP victory, but also the first ever win for a satellite Ducati rider, all in only his sixth race (having missed four races after being injured at Portimao).

It also continued Ducati's record of a win at the Red Bull Ring every year since it returned to the calendar in 2016.

Quartararo meanwhile extended his title lead over Zarco, who faded to sixth.

Aleix Espargaro, furious after being bumped by Marc Marquez at turn 1 of the original restart, was hit again by the Repsol Honda rider at the restart. However this time the #93 had been pushed by Fabio Quartararo on his inside.

Espargaro was left in 17th and later retired while Marquez ran wide after a failed overtake on Nakagami, again at Turn 1, and dropped to 14th.

Francesco Bagnaia, leading when the initial race was stopped, never featured near the front in the restart and received a post-race penalty for track limits, dropping him from ninth to eleventh.

Miguel Oliveira, who damaged his hand in a Friday highside, suddenly dropped to the back of the field and retired with what appeared to be a front tyre issue.

Pedrosa, who retired from MotoGP at the end of 2018, was returning to action this weekend as a wild-card entry for KTM, where he is employed as an official test rider.

Despite the earlier drama, Pedrosa - who won 31 races during his premier-class career, spent entirely with Honda - finished in an commendable tenth place, after Bagnaia's penalty.

Cal Crutchlow was also back in MotoGP, as a replacement for the injured Franco Morbidelli at Petronas Yamaha. A three time MotoGP race winner, Crutchlow signed up as Yamaha's official test rider after retiring from MotoGP at the end of last season. Finishing 17th, Crutchlow will stay on the M1 for the next two rounds.

Suzuki riders Mir and Rins received the factory's new rear ride-height device for the first time on Saturday morning, meaning all six manufacturers now have the device, which can be used for the race start and to aid hard acceleration around the rest of the lap.

Valentino Rossi announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of the 2021 season.

The back-to-back Austrian events will be the first since the start of the Covid pandemic without special restrictions in place for spectator numbers.

* Rookie