Alex Marquez took his career first win in MotoGP in Spanish GP after Marc Marquez’s slip, as Fabio Quartararo defended P2 from Francesco Bagnaia.
It was a fighting start from Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo to lead MotoGP race in Spanish GP at Jerez. There was mayhem behind between the two Ducati riders Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez along with Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez. The former two went back and forth for second.
Bagnaia made the bold start to take second after a slow getaway for M Marquez. The Spaniard came back on him even had a shoulder brush, but the Italian retained second. A Marquez tried to come through both but went deep to drop behind Tech 3 KTM’s Maverick Vinales in fifth.
He quickly retook fourth as teammate Fermin Aldeguer cleared Vinales for fifth. VR46 Ducati’s Fabio di Giannantonio was sixth from LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco, Honda’s Joan Mir and KTM’s Brad Binder in the Top 10. Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi dropped out of the Top 10 after a wide moment on the gravel.
Not long, M Marquez slipped onto the gravel in a gentle crash going in the left-hander. He rejoined at the back of the grid as did Aldeguer, who dropped it a couple of laps later. Quartararo maintained his lead but Bagnaia and A Marquez closed in on them to be second and third.
Vinales was up to fourth after Aldeguer’s off. Di Giannantonio was fifth from Mir who gained couple of places, as VR46’s Franco Morbidelli recovered to seventh at the halfway stage after a bad start. Binder was eighth from teammate Pedro Acosta, as Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller moved up to 10th.
The other points places at the halfway mark was Trackhouse Aprilia’s Ai Ogura in 11th from Honda’s Luca Marini, Tech 3’s Enea Bastianini, Zarco and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez in the Top 10. M Marquez and Bezzecchi, meanwhile, started to recover places at the back of the field.
LCR’s Somkiat Chantara retired in the pits. At the front, A Marquez made his move at Turn 1 to take the Spanish GP lead on Lap 11. He created a good gap as Quartararo resisted Bagnaia for second, with Vinales not far off in fourth and di Giannantonio slowly catching up too.
Miller was forced to retire as well after losing out to Ogura, as Mir crashed out from seventh after losing out to Morbidelli. The Italian crashed out himself a lap later. Aldeguer retired with five laps remaining. M Marquez, though, made it inside the Top 15 points places.
A Marquez had it under control to register his first MotoGP win in Spanish GP and become the new points leader, as Quartararo resisted pressure from Bagnaia to finish second, with Vinales and di Giannantonio having to content with fourth and fifth, as Binder was sixth from Acosta.
Ogura, Bastianini and Marini rounded the Top 10. It was a late move from Bastianini on Marini to recover to ninth after low-key qualifying. Zarco was 11th from M Marquez, who passed Rins on the final lap for 12th. Honda wildcard Aleix Espargaro was 14th on his MotoGP return since retirement.
Bezzecchi recovered to take the final point in 15th after passing Trackhouse Raul Fernandez, as Pramac’s Augusto Fernandez and Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori rounded the 18 runners. With Alex’s win, the Marquez brothers became the first brothers in the history to win MotoGP race.
Result: https://x.com/MsportXtra/status/1916473685298352493
Here’s how MotoGP sprint panned out in Spanish GP
