Márquez returns to winning ways at Misano

The Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider extended his 125cc Championship lead to nine points over Nico Terol by leading his title rival across the line in the Gran Premio Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini.

Marc Márquez (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) took his sixth win of the season – his first since Sachsenring – at Misano on Sunday as he opened up a nine-point advantage over Nico Terol in the 125cc title race, with the Bancaja Aspar rider crossing the line in second position.

A poor start off the front row for Terol saw the Spaniard drop down to 12th as the race got underway, but he soon regained ground and within a few laps had recovered to slot into second behind early race leader Márquez.

Pol Espargaró had made a good start and led for a short while at the front, with Tuenti Racing team-mate Efrén Vázquez aiding his cause by getting in front of Márquez. However, by only the third lap it was Márquez and Terol who were the leading two and they swapped first position for much of the 23-lap contest.

Espargaró, who had trailed Márquez by just five points going into this race, looked to be keeping up in third but the leading pair upped the pace midway through the race with Terol and then Márquez setting new lap records as they pulled away. Meanwhile Espargaró began to drop down the order.

With four laps remaining Márquez had opened up over a second on Terol and he maintained a healthy distance until crossing the finish line in first, 2.185s ahead of the Bancaja Aspar rider. A fine scrap for the final podium spot was won by Vázquez for his first top-three result since the opening round in Qatar.

Missing out on the podium having been involved in that battle were pole holder Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar) who came in fourth, Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo) in fifth and Espargaró, who eventually crossed the line sixth as his title hopes were dealt a significant blow.

Márquez now has 197 points at the top of the standings with Terol on 188 and Espargaró 20 off the leader on 177.

Riders failing to finish the race were Khairuddin Zulfahmi (AirAsia - Sepang International Circuit Team), Luis Salom (Stipa-Molenaar Racing), Alexis Masbou (Team Ongetta), Giovanni Bonati (Junior GP FMI), Lorenzo Savadori (Matteoni C.P. Racing), Sturla Fagerhaug (AirAsia - Sepang International Circuit Team) and Luca Marconi (Team Ongetta).