
Marc Marquez wins Aragon Grand Prix to complete perfect weekend
Marquez's brother Alex finished second for Gresini Racing while Marc's teammate Francesco Bagnaia came third as Ducati bikes swept the podium.
Marc had completed the perfect weekend last year to win his first race in 1,043 days at the same circuit and he repeated his feat as the polesitter and sprint winner claimed a record-extending seventh MotoGP victory at the track.
Such was Marc's dominance this weekend that he became the first rider in 10 years to lead every session -- including warmups, practice and qualifying -- since he did it himself at the German Grand Prix in 2015.
"It was an amazing weekend. Leading all the practices, full focus, just full concentration," said Marquez, who now leads Alex by 32 points in the championship.
"As I expected, the others got closer and closer every session. In the race, the pace of Alex and Pecco (Bagnaia) was super fast, but it was consistent. (I was) just controlling the race distance.
"And the celebration together with my brother was amazing. The best way to come back with full Ducatis in the top."
The two Marquez brothers also danced arm-in-arm in front of the home fans sitting in a special stand dedicated to Spain's fastest brothers on two wheels.
Heading into the race weekend, the Marquez brothers had also been involved in social media banter over who their mother would support and Marc had the last laugh when he handed her a red Ducati shirt at the winners' circle in the paddock.
Marc had broken the lap record to take his 99th career pole before claiming a seventh sprint victory of the season on Saturday despite a poor start, but this time he shot off the line with a perfect launch to lead into turn one.
Alex stayed in second place but behind them it was KTM's Pedro Acosta who sparred with Bagnaia for third as they constantly swapped positions, using each other's slipstream to overtake, but the more-experienced Bagnaia held on.
Up front, Marc continued to set fastest laps as he streaked away with Alex unable to match his pace, as his brother slowly but surely extended his advantage at one of his favourite circuits which has a corner named after him.
The younger Marquez sibling was soon looking over his shoulder to see Bagnaia eating up the distance between them while KTM's Brad Binder crashed in fifth place, leaving the crew chief of the struggling team fuming in the pit lane.
But Alex quickly found his rhythm to stay in second while Bagnaia fended off Acosta to prevent an all-Spanish podium. Bagnaia, who is third in the championship, now sits 93 points behind Marc.
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