Marc Marquez holds off brother Alex to win Aragon sprint
Marc Marquez (Ducati) claimed victory in the Aragon MotoGP sprint ahead of brother Alex Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi, while championship leader Jorge Martin struggled in the fight for fourth.
Marquez brothers dominate at Aragon
The MotoGP title battle took another twist at Aragon on Saturday, as Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) won the Tissot Sprint at the venue for the third time, according to motogp.com.
Polesitter Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) led briefly off the start, but Marc Marquez forced his way past with an aggressive move into Turn 1. His brother Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing) then took advantage of the space on the outside to move into second. The trio remained tightly bunched for the rest of the race, but no one behind could find a way past — Marc crossed the line roughly a second clear of Alex, with Bezzecchi just holding on for third.
The Race described the Marquez brothers' 1-2 finish as a callback to last season and relatively straightforward once the early move was made — Marc has reportedly already said he plans to repeat the same Turn 1 move in Sunday's Grand Prix.
Fight for fourth and a tough day for the points leader
Behind the podium battle, a close fight developed for fourth between championship leader Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse) and Pedro Acosta (KTM). Acosta took control of that group but had a scrappy build-up to the race, overshooting his grid slot and having to reverse his bike before the start. Despite that, he finished fourth, ahead of Martin, who lost a position after a mistake at the final corner on lap five and ended the sprint fifth.
As a result of the sprint, the gap between Bezzecchi and Martin at the top of the standings grew to 29 points, motogp.com reports.
Other results
Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini) finished sixth after passing Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda) on the final lap, while Fernandez came home eighth. Returning rider Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) finished ninth, narrowly holding off Jack Miller (Yamaha). The Race noted that LCR Honda's Zarco and Moreira comfortably outperformed Honda's factory team this weekend — Luca Marini crashed out on the first lap as a result of another rider's incident, while Joan Mir dropped down the order after contact with Enea Bastianini.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) had a difficult sprint, finishing 11th outside the points, which The Race attributed to a lack of rear grip. Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46) crashed out mid-race but was unhurt.
