Marc Marquez dominates Japanese MotoGP sprint, Alex causes three-rider pile-up

As the lights went out, MotoGP series leader Jorge Martin made a good launch from pole, although title rival Marc Marquez quickly took the lead after a late-braking effort at turn one.

Marquez held Martin at bay through turns two and three, but behind the leading pair, Alex Marquez got his braking all wrong as he collided into the rear of Pedro Acosta at turn three.

Marquez and Acosta crashed as a result, as did VR46 rider Fabio di Giannantonio, who was an innocent bystander on the outside of Marquez. 

Up to third place following a good start, Marco Bezzecchi’s medium rear tyre gamble seemed to be holding the Italian back.

The former championship leader was then passed by Tech3 KTM’s Enea Bastianini at turn five on lap three.

At the front, Marquez was setting a pace that Martin was struggling to match, with the Spaniard receiving an early track limits warning. 

Bezzecchi’s Japanese sprint then got worse on lap five when the fast-charging Honda of Diogo Moreira came through at turn three.

Fifth then became sixth place to fellow Aprilia rider Ai Ogura, with Bezzecchi seemingly struggling both under the braking and on corner exit. 

Just to reinforce his advantage at the front of the field, Marquez then set a new fastest lap at mid-race distance.

As a result, the gap between Marquez and Martin grew from just over six tenths to nearly a full second at the start of lap seven. 

After trying to respond on lap eight, Martin was then pushed outside the one second barrier on lap nine, with Marquez extending his lead to 1.2 seconds.

Marquez took a comfortable victory although Martin came under late pressure from Bastianini on the final lap, who himself was being caught by Moreira.

No positions changed hands on-track, however, Martin and Bastianini were both demoted one position for exceeding track limits on the final lap, which elevated Moreira to second place.