Marc Marquez emerged victorious from a MotoGP sprint race in Qatar after a controversial clash with Marco Bezzecchi which took the Italian out of the title fight.
Jorge Martin put in a spectacular effort to ride to third place despite a broken wrist, but could not prevent Marquez from lining up a shot at sealing the crown on Sunday.
The factory Ducati rider will need to win the Qatar GP on Sunday, with Martin failing to score, in order to wrap up the championship.
Marco Bezzecchi was mathematically eliminated from championship contention after a controversial clash with Marquez saw him crash out as the pair battled for the lead.
That now makes the title battle an official two-horse affair between Marquez and Martin.
When the red lights went out for the first time at 7pm Doha time, Bezzecchi managed to stay ahead of Marquez to take an early lead. But the initial race wasn’t to last long.
Francesco Bagnaia was in fifth place when he was torpedoed by Fermin Aldeguer at the end of lap two. The Gresini Ducati man appeared on Bagnaia’s inside in out-of-control fashion, sending the factory Ducati rider flying.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Bagnaia was thankfully conscious after landing heavily on his back, but needed to be removed from the scene cautiously. With that in mind, the race was stopped. A fresh race was then scheduled, to run 10 laps instead of the original 11.
The stewards needed little time to apportion blame to Aldeguer, and he was served up a double long lap penalty to be taken during the new race. Bagnaia, of course, was absent from his spot on the second row of the grid following the nasty accident, making it a thin 17-bike grid in the absence of the four Yamahas.
This time around, Marquez got the edge at the lights and slotted into a clean lead ahead of Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio.
The factory Aprilias of Bezzecchi and Martin emerged as fast bikes early in the race, with Martin already up to fourth place by the end of the second lap. Bezzecchi was putting heavy pressure on Marquez, almost making a move on him stick towards the end of the same tour.
After a breather on lap three, Bezzecchi saw an opportunity heading into Turn 1 on lap four. Marquez was on the defensive and ran a little wide, while Bezzecchi hugged the inside. The contact that occurred as Marquez came back onto the racing line will be debated long into the night at Lusail, but the record books will show that Bezzecchi fell and Marquez was not penalised.
Martin positioned himself perfectly in the brief moment of chaos, not only getting past Di Giannantonio but then rubbing shoulders with his title rival as they briefly disputed the lead. Both riders were on the soft rear tyre, a choice that set them apart from the rest of the field – but Martin was, of course, riding with a broken wrist.
There was a sense of inevitability about what happened next, as Marquez set fastest laps on lap five and seven to break the back of any challenge from Martin, stretching his lead to over a second in the process.
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Photo by: Karim Jaafar / AFP via Getty Images
Martin’s main concern in the final laps was to hold off a late challenge from Di Giannantonio. Had he been able to do so, he would have ruled out any chance of Marquez sealing the title on Sunday. But the VR46 Ducati rider passed him on the final lap, giving Marquez his shot in the grand prix.
Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia) won a battle with LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco for fourth, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta finishing sixth after also being a part of that fight until the latter stages of the race.
Ai Ogura, Enea Bastianini and Iker Lecuona rounded out the points-scorers in this remarkable sprint.
MotoGP Qatar GP – Sprint race results
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Team
