Marc Marquez Extends Sprint Streak With Victory In Qatar

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) DOHA : Marc Marquez will take some stopping this season after the Ducati rider continued his brilliant start by winning his fourth consecutive sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix last night. The Spaniard, who has traditionally struggled at the Lusail International Circuit, was in imperious form -having earlier taken pole position with an all-time lap record - and proved too strong on the night.
His younger brother, Alex Marquez of Gresini Racing, once again had to settle for second place -the fourth time he's done so this season. VR46 Racing's Franco Morbidelli finished third, while Alex's rookie teammate, Fermin Aldeguer, delivered an impressive ride to claim fourth - his best-ever result in MotoGP.
Marc's victory catapulted him to the top of the championship standings with 98 points, two ahead of Alex. And it's increasingly looking ominous for his rivals, as the 32-year-old is now the clear favourite for tonight's 22-lap Grand Prix - and perhaps for the rest of the season.
Marc had expected Alex and teammate Francesco Bagnaia to be faster than him this weekend. But aside from a brief swapping of places with Alex, Marquez was in total control of the 11-lap sprint at Lusail.
Bagnaia, meanwhile, endured a miserable day. First, he crashed in Qualifying 2, leaving him 11th on the grid. Then, he struggled for pace in the sprint, with the double world champion only able to salvage eighth place. Bagnaia now trails Marc by 21 points in the championship.“It's an unexpected weekend, honestly speaking, because as you know I normally struggle here in Qatar,” Marc said later.“But I'm riding in a very good way, I was super consistent in the Sprint, controlling the gap. And then, in the last two laps, I slowed down, but I feel very good with the bike. Tomorrow, let's see if we can improve very small things for the race.”
Marc had a blistering start off the line, but there was a brief moment of drama at the start of lap two when Alex snuck through at Turn 1. The move didn't stick, though, as Alex ran a little wide and Marc immediately pounced to retake the lead.
Alex kept the pressure on, repeatedly shaping for a move at the same corner over the next few laps, but Marc's pace proved decisive.“I tried in that first lap, I had a little bit more. I wanted to make the gap with the riders behind me, to be more calm and then to fight with him,” Alex said.“But he was better than me. It's just that he was more brave in some parts.”
Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo got the launch he needed from the front row and slotted into third behind the Marquez brothers. But the Frenchman couldn't hold onto it for long, with Morbidelli charging through on the main straight to take over the final podium spot - and never looked back.
Lower down the order, reigning champion Jorge Martin was racing in his first sprint on the Aprilia after missing the opening three rounds due to injuries sustained in a pre-season crash.
Martin had started 14th on the grid but soon moved up to battle with Bagnaia, as rookie Ai Ogura also passed the Italian. However, Martin - still coming to terms with his new machine after switching from Pramac Racing to Aprilia - could not sustain that pace and eventually fell behind, finishing outside the points in 16th place.
Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the top six on the sister VR46 Ducati, while Trackhouse rookie Ai Ogura battled his way to seventh on his Aprilia. Marco Bezzecchi took the final point in ninth for the factory Aprilia team.
That came at the expense of KTM pair Maverick Viñales and Pedro Acosta, whose soft tyre choice saw them fade out of the points by the time the chequered flag fell. LCR Honda's Johann Zarco was the only retirement, pulling out on lap nine due to rear tyre issues. Factory Honda rider Joan Mir did not take the start due to illness. His physical condition will be assessed today before a decision is made on his participation in the Grand Prix.

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