Marc Marquez dominates MotorLand to secure seventh victory, Alex Marquez and Bagnaia complete podium
Marc Marquez topped every session at MotorLand to claim his seventh victory, showcasing supreme dominance. Brother Alex Marquez finished second, with Francesco Bagnaia returning to form in third. The race saw multiple crashes and intense battles among top riders.
Hyderabad: Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), for the first time since 2015,
topped every session in a Grand Prix weekend to clinch a dominant seventh victory at MotorLand, simply put chapeaux.
On home turf, brother and title rival Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) took P2 ahead of an improving Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – the Italian looking somewhat back to the Champion we know and love on Sunday in Aragon (Spain).
Unlike the Sprint, Marc Marquez got a great launch and the holeshot belonged to the polesitter, with Alex Marquez and Bagnaia slotting into P2 and P3. Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) lost out at the start, the Italian was shuffled down to P7 on Lap 1 from the front row.
The two Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machines of Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder got away well though, they were shadowing Bagnaia in P3 as Acosta showed a wheel at Turn 1 on Lap 2 – but the Italian regained P3 at Turn 2. However, at Turn 12, the #37 did make a move stick on the #63 – but not for long! Bagnaia bit back at the penultimate corner to reclaim P3. This was great viewing for us, but it was costing the duelling duo, plus Binder and Morbidelli time to Marc and Alex Marquez.
A mistake from Sprint podium finisher Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) meant the Spanish rookie was 1.2s behind the fight for P3, as his teammate Alex Marquez shadowed Marc Marquez. The gap was hovering around the half-second mark in the opening exchanges.
PODIUM FIGHT: Factory KTMs chase the Ducatis
Heading onto Lap 7 of 23, the top five were split by 1.4s as both factory KTMs – Acosta and then Binder – set fastest laps of the Grand Prix. But on the next lap, was it time for Marc Marquez to put the
hammer down? A 1:47.275 was set as the title race and Grand Prix leader stretched his lead to 0.8s. That lap was a good two tenths – plus a bit more – quicker than Alex Marquez, Bagnaia, Acosta and
Binder.
Another fastest lap of the GP, a 1:47.180, saw Marquez’s advantage climb to 1.3s. His chief title rival, Alex Marquez, was the slowest of the top five and the #73 had trouble brewing. And speaking of trouble,
back-to-back podium finisher Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) crashed out at Turn 12. An unfortunate end to a great run of form for the Frenchman.
THE RACE TO THE FINISH
On Lap 12 of 23, a podium fight of four became three as Binder’s promising Grand Prix came to a premature end at Turn 2, and then Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) crashed out too. El Diablo slipped out of contention at Turn 1, as his Aragon woes continue.
With nine laps to go, Marc Marquez’s lead was now just under two seconds as Alex Marquez continued to keep Bagnaia at bay by 0.5s. Acosta had dropped to 1.6s off the podium, but the KTM rider had three
seconds of fresh air behind him to the Morbidelli-Aldeguer fight for P5. And what a battle it was between the yellow and blue Ducatis.
While chasing Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) for P7, Maverick Viñales’ (Red Bull KTM Tech3) Aragon pursuit ended at Turn 12 in the closing stages, as Marc Marquez demonstrated his dominance by setting the fastest lap of the Grand Prix. Fair play.
Alex Marquez and Bagnaia’s late pace also saw them get into the 1:46s, but neither of them was a match for Marc Marquez at MotorLand as the home hero becomes the first rider to lead every session of a Grand Prix weekend since… Marc Marquez at the 2015 German GP. Supremacy.
Alex Marquez limited the damage and Bagnaia returned to the podium in what must be a massive injection of confidence for the double MotoGP World Champion.
