Marc Marquez takes Aragon Sprint as sparks fly in podium scrap

Marquez territory? Not without a fight; it may have been lap record in qualifying but it wasn’t as straightforward as Championship leader Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) would have hoped. A blistering start from his rivals meant he may have had to work hard but eventually, the #93 took a seventh Sprint victory ahead of his brother Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) whilst a fighting third went to Alex’s teammate Fermin Aldeguer.

LIGHTS OUT: Marc and Acosta contact, Alex Marquez holeshots

The opening lap was a corker as Marc bogged down before he collided in the braking area with a fast-starting Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), pushing him back to fourth briefly. Marquez recovered and got back ahead of Acosta and was in third, but it was Alex Marquez who snatched the holeshot and broke free ahead of Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team).

Further back, there was plenty of battling was rivals Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Acosta then battled over P4, initially going the #37’s way. Behind, big drama for Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol), with the latter ran off track and then falling; Miller was issued a Long Lap Penalty, the latest in a long story of the rivalry. Further up the road and Marc had now got Franky for P2 and set off after his brother. This left Morbidelli in the clutches of Acosta, who had now got within striking distance by Lap 4. He tried up the inside at Turn 1 but was Franky retaliated, with the Italian holding firm.

ALDEGUER VS ACOSTA: rivals not giving an inch

A lap later and Acosta was back to try again but this time ran deep into Turn 1, putting him in a battle with Aldeguer once more. The #54 struck at Turn 12, holding firm until Turn 16 when Acosta went ahead again but once more wide, paving the way for Fermin to bag P4 and charge after the podium places.

RACE WINNING MOVE: Marc pounces on Alex at the halfway point

Meanwhile, another battle was brewing as Marc had closed down brother Alex for the lead and by the start of Lap 6, got the job done at Turn 1. The younger Marquez brother was still with him for half a lap but by Turn 7, Marc had got into his stride and was now the pacesetter at the front. Whilst one factory Ducati was enjoying their time at the front, another was having a nightmare as Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) dropped down early on and then made a mistake at Turn 7, dropping him to 13^th.

With just four laps to go, it was Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) vs Maverick Viñales at Turn 1, with the Spaniard passing the Frenchman but using all the track to do so; Quartararo had to sit up, allowing Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) to zip by.

PODIUM CHARGE: Aldeguer surges through, Marc uncatchable

In the final three laps, Aldeguer was ruffling more feathers; this time, it was Morbidelli who was forced to yield with a bold move at Turn 4 giving the Murcian rider P3. This left Morbidelli to fend off fourth place from Acosta on the final lap but up at the front, Marc Marquez was in dreamland in his true stomping ground, easing to Sprint success, extending his lead in the standings to 27 points and thus guaranteeing that regardless of what happens tomorrow, he’ll lead the standings to Ducati’s backyard at Mugello. Alex Marquez was a hard-fought second ahead of Aldeguer, doubling up Gresini’s Aragon success and making it a second Sprint rostrum for himself in his rookie year.

IN THE POINTS: KTM strong, Bezzecchi’s majestic recovery

Morbidelli held on ahead of Acosta despite the KTM star’s pressure in the closing stages but the #37 ended up being lucky himself, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) closing hand over fist in the final laps but running out of time, still bagging sixth from P10 on the grid. Viñales was seventh but it really was a fine comeback ride for Marco Bezzecchi, from P20 on the grid and a qualifying to forget, to two points in the Sprint, showing that the Aprilia’s pace is right there after Silverstone. The final point went to Brad Binder, his first Sprint point since Thailand. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) narrowly missed out and rounded out the top ten, whilst Pecco’s mistake left him down in 12^th, behind Quartararo.

Full results from the Tissot Sprint at Aragon!