Francesco Bagnaia produced a commanding performance to win Saturday's sprint at the Barcelona MotoGP, ensuring that the battle for the world championship title would go to the last race of the season.

In a tense and tactical qualifying session Francesco Bagnaia claimed pole position, with his title rival Jorge Martin starting from fourth.

For the second season running, MotoGP is serving up a nail-biting finale as Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia head into the last race of the season this weekend battling it out for the world championship title.

Francesco Bagnaia took his third successive pole position, his sixth of the season, as he booked his place on Saturday at the head of the grid for this weekend's Barcelona MotoGP. The Italian, who goes into the final weekend of the season 24 points behind championship leader Jorge Martin,

Jorge Martin is poised to claim his first MotoGP championship, leading Francesco Bagnaia by 24 points before the final race in Barcelona. Martin feels relaxed and confident, focusing on himself and his performance.

Barcelona will host the final race of the MotoGP season next week in place of flood-hit Valencia, organisers Dorna announced on Tuesday.

Miguel Oliveira will make his final appearance for the Trackhouse Aprilia team at this weekend’s MotoGP finale in Barcelona

Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia extended the MotoGP title race into the final day of the season when the reigning champion won the sprint at the Solidarity Grand Prix on Saturday while championship leader Jorge Martin finished third.

Bagnaia takes victory in the Barcelona sprint but still faces a 19-point deficit to Martin in Sunday’s decider

Factory Ducati MotoGP rider Francesco Bagnaia claimed a crucial pole position for the Barcelona Grand Prix, while championship leader Jorge Martin could only qualify fourth. Bagnaia set a time of 1m38.