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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Marc Marquez wins Czech MotoGP sprint race
Marc Marquez overtook fellow Spaniard Pedro Acosta on the penultimate lap to win the Czech MotoGP sprint race on Saturday and stretch his championship lead. Spanish factory Ducati rider Marquez won the 11th sprint out of 12 this season to raise his tally in the championship standings to 356 points. The 32-year-old leads his younger brother Alex by 95 points and third-placed Italian teammate Francesco Bagnaia by 156. Factory KTM rider Acosta, 21, came home second ahead of Italian Enea Bastianini on a KTM-Tech3. Starting from second spot on the grid, Marquez quickly eased past polesitter Bagnaia, still in the opening lap. Acosta shot ahead from the third row at the start, passing Bagnaia half way through the race to get just behind Marquez. He glided into the lead moments later as Marquez slowed down in uncertainty over tyre pressure. "I saw that the pressure was not enough. I tried to push some laps on the brakes, but I saw that was too much risk. I decided to wait," said Marquez. It took the six-time MotoGP champion a while to warm the tyres up and take the lead back with a swift overtake early into the last but one lap. "When I saw that the pressure was inside the rules, then I pushed the last laps," Marquez said. Battling a forearm injury earlier in the season, Acosta relished his podium finish. "It was the darkest beginning of the season of my life, and being in the podium again is super nice," Acosta said. Bastianini was equally happy with third, a week after sitting out the German GP over food poisoning. "It's incredible to be here. Now we are here to enjoy that podium, my first one with the KTM," he said. Reigning world champion Jorge Martin returned to the sport with an 11th spot. Martin sat out the first three races following two pre-season crashes and when he returned at Qatar in April, he crashed heavily again and missed the next seven races. Marquez won the last four grand prix, taking the honours in both the sprint and the main race each time, and he will be looking to add another perfect weekend at Brno. He is eyeing his seventh MotoGP world title -- and first since 2019 -- that would put him level with the legendary Valentino Rossi. frj/ea
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
MotoGP German GP: Marc Marquez snatches sprint glory from Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez overtook Marco Bezzecchi on the final lap of a damp and dramatic sprint race to win at the Sachsenring on Saturday. It was Marc's 10th sprint win out of a possible 11 in 2025, having missed out only at the British Grand Prix in May. Advertisement While Marquez stretched his championship lead over brother Alex (riding with a hand injury) with yet another sprint victory, his team-mate Francesco Bagnaia could not add to his tally after finishing a lowly 12th. Factory Ducati rider Marquez made an outstanding start from pole position, only to throw it all away by braking too late for the first corner. That put him back to fifth place – but the mistake served only to set the stage for a perfectly timed recovery ride. Racing on a wet but drying circuit on which leaving the tried-and-trusted line was particularly perilous, not even Marquez was able to shoot back from the early mistake in his usual fast and emphatic fashion. The Spaniard needed every one of the 15 laps to fight his way past first Johann Zarco (LCR Honda), then Fabio di Giannantonio's VR46 Ducati and the Yamaha of Fabio Quartararo, before finally getting a good look at Bezzecchi's Aprilia on the last tour. Marquez made his move under braking for Turn 1. Although he struggled to get the bike stopped, giving Bezzecchi hope that the move would not stick, he managed to get it back onto the racing line in time for Turn 2. From there, it was game over as the Sachsenring maestro built up a small lead that would see him through the rest of the lap. Advertisement While it was heartache for the resurgent Bezzecchi in Germany, this was his third consecutive top-three finish following his pair of third places last time out in the Netherlands. Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing Quartararo also managed his afternoon well to see off a late threat from di Giannantonio, who had to make do with fourth place. Di Giannantonio's VR46 Ducati team-mate Franco Morbidelli ran second behind Bezzecchi for the first two laps of the race before crashing out in frightening fashion at Turn 8 on lap three. Damp-weather fan Jack Miller came through to finish fifth for Pramac Yamaha, with Brad Binder scoring an encouraging sixth for KTM. Advertisement Zarco dropped back down the field following his decision to run the same medium rear compound that had earned him a front-row grid spot earlier in the day. The pace came to him too late in the race, bringing about a mild recovery to seventh place. Injured Alex Marquez stayed out of trouble to finish eighth ahead of Pedro Acosta, who recovered to snatch the last point after running off the road when placed fourth midway through the race. Alex's two points mean that he achieved his goal of stretching his advantage over Bagnaia in the points race, in which he lies second. After failing to score thanks to his humiliating 12th place, Bagnaia is now 60 points behind Alex in third. Marc, meanwhile, continues his serene progress at the top of the table, and will head into Sunday 78 points clear of his brother. MotoGP German GP - Sprint results To read more articles visit our website.
