Marc Marquez celebrates after winning the sprint.
Doha, Qatar: Marc Marquez moved closer to his eighth MotoGP world title after winning a dramatic sprint at Lusail International Circuit yesterday, surviving a collision with pole-sitter Marco Bezzecchi to take victory.
The race was red-flagged on the second lap after a heavy crash involving Marquez’s Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia and Fermin Aldeguer at the final corner.
The Ducati rider and Bezzecchi fought for the lead after the restart, but their battle ended on the fourth lap when the Aprilia rider attempted an overtake at Turn 1. The two made contact as Marquez moved back towards the racing line, sending Bezzecchi crashing out.
The stewards investigated the incident but decided to take no further action, allowing Marquez to continue towards victory.
With Bezzecchi out of title contention, closest title rival Jorge Martin emerged as Marquez’s main challenger. Returning after suffering a broken right wrist, Martin produced an impressive recovery from 11th on the grid to challenge the championship leader.
Martin put pressure on Marquez but could not find a way past the Ducati rider. He eventually lost second place to Fabio Di Giannantonio on the final lap to finish third.
A second-place finish for Martin would have denied Marquez a chance to clinch the title in Qatar. Instead, the victory extended Marquez’s championship lead to 49 points, leaving Martin as his only remaining challenger.
“It was a strange sprint race, especially with the red flag. I was super concentrated. When I opened a gap, I tried to control the race and 12 points are very important,” Marquez said.
Marquez can seal the championship today if he wins the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar and Martin fails to score. Martin, however, needs to finish 15th or higher to keep the title race alive, with two rounds remaining after Qatar.
“I’m really proud of the work I’m doing. When I was fighting with Marc it was really nice. Finally, I didn’t have the power to keep pushing, but to be here on the podium is incredible. For me, it’s already a victory,” Martin said.
Bezzecchi was disappointed to crash out after his clash with Marquez, saying he had little chance of avoiding the contact.
“Not the sprint I wanted, of course, after a very good qualifying, a very good weekend,” Bezzecchi told TNT Sports.
“You saw already the images. At the end, I tried to keep my line, and the contact happened, so at the end I couldn't really do anything to avoid it.
“At the end, the one that crashed was me, but it’s like this. So we move forward, and we try to bounce back tomorrow.”
A Ducati statement, quoting MotoGP Medical Director Angel Charte, said initial medical examinations at the Lusail International Circuit Medical Centre had revealed two fractures in Bagnaia’s right foot, involving the fourth and fifth metatarsals. The Italian was ruled out of the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar.
Raul Fernandez finished fourth, ahead of Johann Zarco and Pedro Acosta, while Ai Ogura, Enea Bastianini and Iker Lecuona completed the points-scoring positions. Aldeguer finished 11th after serving two long-lap penalties.
Earlier, Bezzecchi claimed pole position with a record-breaking lap of 1:50.028, beating Marquez by 0.266 seconds. Di Giannantonio, riding for Ducati’s VR46 team, was third, 0.299 seconds off the pace.
Martin, Bezzecchi’s Aprilia team-mate, qualified 11th on his return from injury but produced an impressive recovery to finish third in the sprint.
