MotoGP. Catalan GP: Alex Marquez wins ahead of his brother, Zarco falls
Alex Marquez (Ducati-Gresini) won the Catalan Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of his brother, Marc Marquez (Ducati), ending his winning streak. Frenchman Johann Zarco (Honda-LCR) was forced to retire after a crash.
Marc Marquez 's winning streak is over! The Ducati rider, who had 15 consecutive victories, saw his streak come to an end on home soil in Catalonia, where his brother Alex Marquez (Ducati-Gresini) won the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Starting from pole position, Alex Marquez had strong nerves and drove a superb race to hold off his older brother and prevent him from having his first "match point" next weekend at the San Marino GP in Misano.
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Marc Marquez, the six-time world champion who is on the verge of winning a seventh crown that would allow him to equal his great Italian rival Valentino Rossi , will have to wait at least until Japan at the end of the month to win the title.
The six-time world champion had made the best start, taking the lead from the first corner, followed by his brother and a third Spaniard, Pedro Acosta (KTM).
On Sunday, Alex Marquez, who started from pole position, was overtaken by Marc at the first corner, and it looked as if the older rider would pull away and race to another triumph. But the younger rider fought back and quickly overtook his brother to take the lead and never relinquish it.
The rankings
Catalan GP ranking: 1. Alex Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini) 40'14''0932. Marc Marquez (ESP/Ducati) at 1”7403. Enea Bastianini (ITA/KTM-Tech3) 5''5624. Pedro Acosta (ESP/KTM) 13''373
5. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha) 14''409...
Retirements: Marco Bezzecchi (ITA/Aprilia) in the 1st round; Brad Binder (RSA/KTM): on the 6th lap Johann Zarco (FRA/Honda-LCR) on the 11th lap; Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA/Ducati-VR46) on lap 12; Alex Rins (ESP/Yamaha) on the 14th lap; Lorenzo Savadori (ITA/Aprilia) on the 19th lap; Franco Morbidelli (ITA/Ducati-VR46) on lap 21World Championship ranking: 1. Marc Marquez (ESP/Ducati) 487 pts2. Alex Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini) 3053. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati) 2374. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA/Aprilia) 1975. Pedro Acosta (ESP/KTM) 183
... 8. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha) 129
... 10. Johann Zarco (FRA/Honda-LCR) 117..."It feels so good! I was very disappointed after my crash in the sprint and I said to myself today (Sunday) it's for me. I gave everything during the race, I'm very happy for myself and also for the team," exulted Alex Marquez.
This marked his second MotoGP victory after his victory at Jerez in April. But this time, he didn't benefit from a crash by his older brother and went on to claim victory with flying colors, displaying incredible race pace that Marc Marquez was unable to match.
"I really gave my all. At the start of the race, I managed my tire by staying behind him, but after that he was too fast for me. I made a few mistakes at the end of the race, so I'm happy to have finished second on a circuit that isn't very favorable to me. And I'm also happy for Alex," said Marc Marquez.
Italian Enea Bastiannini gave the French KTM-Tech3 team an unexpected podium finish, watched by its future Italian-American boss, Günther Steiner.
The former Haas F1 team principal, who became one of the stars of the Netflix series "Drive to Survive," announced on Friday that he had completed the acquisition of the team founded by Frenchman Hervé Poncharal, which he will take over next January.
Acosta, the only one to choose a soft rear tyre, had to settle for fourth place after being third for two-thirds of the race.
Frenchman Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) can smile after finishing fifth in Sunday's Grand Prix, the day after his surprising second place in the sprint and in qualifying.
"I'm pretty happy with my race. We knew it was going to be tough at the start of the Grand Prix. I wasn't expecting second place yesterday (Saturday) or fifth today (Sunday), so I'm happy. It was a positive weekend, we're continuing to make small steps forward," said the Nice driver.
The day's comeback was led by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati). The two-time Italian world champion, who started from 21st position after a disastrous qualifying session, managed to finish in seventh place.
The other Frenchman on the grid, Johann Zarco (Honda-LCR), crashed on lap 11 after having had a superb first half of the race. The 35-year-old MotoGP veteran could even have been in the running for the podium, as he was riding at the same pace as the leaders when he crashed.
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