Alex Marquez wins Catalunya MotoGP sprint thriller amid Aprilia nightmare
Alex Marquez fended off Pedro Acosta by just 0.041s in the Barcelona MotoGP sprint
Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez beat Pedro Acosta in a thrilling MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix sprint, as the factory Aprilia riders suffered a nightmare.
Scoring a first pole since 2024, Pedro Acosta led the early stages of the 12-lap sprint on Saturday afternoon at Barcelona.
Alex Marquez took over at the start of lap four and looked to pull away, before Acosta rallied in the closing laps to pile massive pressure on the Gresini Ducati rider.
The pair were split by just 0.041s at the chequered flag, as Marquez scored a first sprint win of the season.
Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the rostrum on the VR46 Ducati, after getting the best of Trackhouse Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez late on.
That was the best result for Aprilia on Saturday afternoon, after Jorge Martin crashed while running in sixth.
Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi snatched a point in ninth after a difficult sprint, with his lead in the standings only growing to two after his team-mate’s crash.
Acosta grabbed the holeshot from pole, as second-place starter Franco Morbidelli ran through the first two corners and dropped down the order.
At the same time, VR46 team-mate Di Giannantonio had a touch with KTM’s Brad Binder, which led to the South African crashing and sliding into a helpless Joan Mir on the factory Honda.
The stewards elected to take no further action on this incident after a review.
At the front, LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco was briefly up to second, though Marquez didn’t let that last for long.
Acosta couldn’t break away at the front, with Marquez easing by into Turn 1 at the start of lap four.
At one stage, Marquez’s lead was above six tenths, with Acosta passed by Fernandez at one stage before rallying over the final laps to get back on the Gresini rider’s tail.
Marquez shut down Acosta’s first overtaking opportunity at Turn 5, and did so again at Turn 10, leaving the KTM rider with no options for retaliation to the chequered flag.
Split by just 0.041s, Marquez prevailed in the closest sprint finish ever.
Di Giannantonio battled with Raul Fernandez in the final laps to get third, while Zarco completed the top five.
Pecco Bagnaia came from 13th on the grid to sixth on the factory team Ducati, with Morbidelli seventh after his early run-off.
Ai Ogura was eighth after starting 18th on the sister Trackhouse Aprilia, while Bezzecchi overhauled Tech3’s Enea Bastianini on the final lap to snatch a point back from a tough sprint.
Maverick Vinales pulled out on lap seven with a technical issue on his Tech3 KTM.
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