Category: Moto GP

• Oil spill forces race to be restarted at Silverstone

• Fabio Quartararo forced to retire while leading race

Marco Bezzecchi won a chaotic British Grand Prix for Aprilia’s first victory of the season in a race that was initially red flagged for an oil spill and riders crashed or retired while in the lead, including Fabio Quartararo.

The victory was a first for Aprilia since the Grand Prix of the Americas last April. LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco came second and Ducati’s Marc Márquez pipped Franco Morbidelli to finish third and extend his lead in the world championship. Both Alex Márquez and his brother Marc crashed while leading before the race was restarted for an oil spill while polesitter Quartararo took the lead at the second time of asking before being forced to retire due to an issue with his bike.

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• French rider triumphs in chaotic race at Le Mans
• Zarco is first home winner of French GP since 1954

Johann Zarco became the first home rider in 71 years to win the French Grand Prix, delighting a sellout crowd of more than 120,000 fans at Le Mans.

The LCR Honda rider’s decision to start with wet tyres paid off handsomely on Sunday as Zarco triumphed in a chaotic, rain-hit race. He won by a huge margin of nearly 20 seconds from Ducati’s Marc Márquez, while Gresini Racing’s Fermín Aldeguer came third for his first MotoGP podium place.

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• Álex leads Marc Márquez in title race after Jerez win
• Fabio Quartararo second, Francesco Bagnaia third

Gresini Racing’s Álex Márquez claimed his first MotoGP race victory at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, taking the championship lead from his elder brother Marc, who crashed early in the race and finished 12th.

After seven second-place finishes in sprints and races this season, Álex secured a dream race win on home turf in front of over 100,000 fans, with the Spaniard imploring them to increase the volume as he took the last few corners on the final lap in Jerez.

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• Ducati rider’s first win at Lusail circuit since 2014
• Maverick Viñales in second, Francesco Bagnaia third

Ducati’s Marc Márquez returned to the top step of the podium with victory at the Qatar Grand Prix despite damaging his bike in a collision with his brother Alex on the first lap. Marc, who had taken his fourth successive pole with a lap record as well as a fourth sprint victor on Saturday, won at the Lusail International Circuit for the first time since 2014.

Red Bull KTM’s Maverick Viñales was second, pending an investigation for tyre-pressure infringements, while Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia came third ahead of VR46 Racing’s Franco Morbidelli, who briefly led the race early on. Victory moved Marc Márquez up to 123 points at the top of the rider’s standings, 17 points ahead of Gresini Racing’s Alex, while Bagnaia is third on 97 points.

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• Marquez crashes while leading race
• Álex Márquez tops riders’ championship

Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia won a chaotic Americas Grand Prix ahead of Gresini Racing’s Álex Márquez on Sunday after Marc Márquez crashed halfway through the race while leading, losing for the first time this season.

Marc Márquez had clinched pole position in qualifying as well as a third straight sprint victory on Saturday, but after a first crash on the red Ducati, the six-times MotoGP champion opted to retire due to extensive damage on his bike.

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• ‘Alex is the main opponent for championship’
• Brothers finished first and second again

Marc Márquez expects his younger brother, Alex, to be his main rival as he chases a seventh MotoGP world championship crown and is convinced it is just a matter of time before the Gresini Racing rider wins his first race in the premier class.

Alex, at 28, is four years younger than Marc, has won the Moto2 plus Moto3 world championship and has seven MotoGP podiums to his name. He came close to winning his first MotoGP race at the season-opening Thailand Grand Prix and in Argentina on Sunday, but was denied by his in-form brother on both occasions.

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• Six-time champion makes perfect start at factory Ducati
• He overtakes brother Alex with three laps left in Thailand

Marc Márquez continued his perfect start to life with factory Ducati as the six-time MotoGP champion completed a weekend double at the season-opening Thailand Grand Prix on Sunday, finishing ahead of his younger brother, Alex Márquez.

Marc Márquez, who won the sprint race on Saturday, got off to an electric start on pole in hot and humid conditions at the Buriram International Circuit but Alex, who had qualified second on the grid, managed to break free to take the lead in the seventh lap of the 26-lap race.

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• Aprilia rider hit the track face first as his helmet shattered
• Spaniard has three weeks to recover before season starts

Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin fractured his hand and his foot which will both require surgeries after a nasty crash in pre-season testing in Sepang, Malaysia, on Wednesday, casting doubts on his title defence this season.

Martin, who made the switch from Pramac Racing to Aprilia after winning the 2024 MotoGP championship, lost control of his bike on turn two where a highside launched the 27-year-old into the air before he landed hard on the tarmac.

The Spaniard also hit the track face first as his helmet shattered and the session was briefly halted with red flags. He was taken to the medical centre by ambulance before being moved to the hospital for further checks.

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• Spaniard wins by 10 points after third-place finish
• Francesco Bagnaia earns victory in Solidarity Grand Prix

Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martín was crowned the 2024 MotoGP world champion after he finished third at Sunday’s season-ending Solidarity Grand Prix, which was won by his title rival Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati.

Martín led by 19 points heading into the final race of the season and the Spaniard needed to finish in the top nine to clinch the title if the polesitter and double champion Bagnaia won the race. Gresini Racing’s Marc Márquez finished second in Barcelona. The original venue was Valencia, but it was changed after the recent floods.

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• ‘I ran over his legs and I was worried for him,’ says Joan Mir
• Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia goes on to win race at Sepang

Jack Miller believes he is lucky to have walked away from a horror crash on the opening lap of MotoGP’s Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit.

The Australian motorcycle star was left thanking his lucky stars after his early crash on Sunday as his racing helmet struck the rear tyre of Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha before Joan Mir’s Honda then ran over his legs.

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• Márquez, Martín and Bagnaia ask for change in venue
• Valencia v Real Madrid La Liga fixture postponed

MotoGP riders on Thursday said it would be unethical to stage the season’s final race in Valencia, with the six-times champion Marc Márquez saying funds needed to go to people devastated by floods instead of being spent on repairs for the event. At least 140 people have been killed in the flooding.

“Ethically speaking, I don’t think it should be held,” Gresini Racing’s Márquez said of the race scheduled for 17 November. “Now [the organisers] have to meet and decide, but [if it were up to me] I would have already decided.

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• Ducati rider makes most of treacherous conditions
• Title race tightens with two races of season to go

Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia put in a sure-footed display at a rain-drenched Buriram International Circuit as he romped to victory in the Thailand Grand Prix on Sunday and slashed his gap to Jorge Martín, the championship leader, down to 17 points.

Bagnaia, the defending MotoGP champion, took advantage of errors by Pramac Racing’s Martín and Marc Márquez of Gresini Racing to take the chequered flag and clinch his ninth win of the season. Martín finished second while the GasGas Tech3 rookie Pedro Acosta was third.

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• Six-time champion Márquez fought back from 13th to win fifth title
• Jorge Martín finishes second as Ducati secure top five places

Spain’s Marc Márquez has recovered from a nightmare start in which a mosquito infiltrated his visor to claim a sensational fifth Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix victory. Having fallen back to 13th after wheel-spinning off the start line, the six-time world MotoGP champion produced a flawless ride and finally overtook his countryman Jorge Martín with four laps to go at Phillip Island on Sunday.

Martín fought back in a tense sprint to the finish line but the experienced Márquez held him off to close the gap on Martín and the Italian Francesco Bagnaia at the top of the world championship standings.

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• Italian seals sprint race and grand prix double in Motegi
• Martín’s overall lead just 10 points with four races to go

Francesco Bagnaia won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday to complete a weekend double and cut his gap to Jorge Martín down to 10 points at the top of the world championship standings.

The Ducati rider qualified in second after dominating practice and winning Saturday’s sprint race. Bagnaia quickly overtook the pole sitter, Pedro Acosta (Tech3-KTM), who crashed out while trying to reclaim the race lead on the third lap in Motegi.

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• Spaniard seals redemptive victory after accident last year
• Bagnaia 21 points behind Martín after finishing third

Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martín led a crash-hit Indonesian Grand Prix in Mandalika from start to finish, to win his third race of the season and extend his lead over the reigning champion, Francesco Bagnaia, to 21 points in the MotoGP standings.

Martín started on pole in hot and humid conditions at the Mandalika International Street Circuit and stayed in front throughout the race, despite having his fellow Spaniard Pedro Acosta breathing down his neck.

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