Marc Marquez wins dramatic Qatar MotoGP sprint after Marco Bezzecchi clash
Marc Marquez can win the championship on Sunday after scoring sprint victory in Qatar
Marc Marquez survived a clash with Marco Bezzecchi to win a dramatic MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix sprint to set up his first title match point on Sunday.
The Ducati rider needed to outscore Jorge Martin by at least five points to open up the opportunity to win an eighth MotoGP title on Sunday in the Qatar Grand Prix.
He did just that in a dramatic sprint that was red-flagged on the second lap due to a big crash for Marquez’s Ducati team-mate Pecco Bagnaia.
At the restart, Marquez was involved in a tense duel with Bezzecchi that resulted in a collision between the pair and the Italian crashing out of title contention.
Martin almost denied Marquez his match point with a second-place finish, but was overtaken by Fabio Di Giannantonio late on.
Marquez can win the championship tomorrow if he wins the grand prix and Martin doesn’t score.
Bezzecchi and Marquez diverged on tyre choice for the start of the sprint, with the former going for the medium option.
The Aprilia rider led from pole on the opening lap, before a violent collision between Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer and Bagnaia at the final corner brought out the red flag.
Bagnaia was declared conscious by the medical team, but his condition remains unknown at the time of publication.
At the 10-lap restart, Marquez got a better launch than Bezzecchi and seized the lead into Turn 1, while Martin immediately went from 11th to seventh.
Bezzecchi tried to overtake Marquez for the lead at Turn 15 on the second lap, though the Ducati rider clung on around the outside into the last corner to retake the position.
At the start of lap four, Bezzecchi tried a move on Marquez into Turn 1 as the Ducati rider ran slightly wide.
Bezzecchi forced his Aprilia into the gap that was opened, but the pair collided as Marquez came back towards the racing line.
The Italian went down, while Marquez held the lead. The stewards investigated the incident, but declared no further action.
Martin was now into the podium places and soon was Marquez’s nearest rival in second, a result that would have denied the Ducati rider his Sunday match point. He challenged Marquez for the lead at Turn 6, but lost out at the following corner.
Marquez eventually broke away from the chasing pack, while a struggling Martin could do nothing to stop Di Giannantonio coming through to second in the closing stages.
The gap between Marquez and Martin is now 49 points. Bezzecchi is 79 points behind Marquez now, with his hopes all but over.
Raul Fernandez was fourth on the Trackhouse Aprilia ahead of LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco and KTM’s Pedro Acosta.
The final points went to Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura, Tech3’s Enea Bastianini and Gresini’s Iker Lecuona.
Aldeguer was 11th after serving two long lap penalties.
