Alex Marquez of Gresini Racing won his first MotoGP race at the Spanish Grand Prix to take the title from his older brother Marc, who crashed early and finished 12th overall.
After claiming a dream race victory on home soil on Sunday in front of more than 100,000 spectators with the Spaniard urging them to increase the volume even with only a few corners left in the closing lap. Alex won in both sprints and races this year with seven second-place finishes in the categories of racing.
Yamaha won the podium for the first time since the 2023 Indonesian Grand Prix, led by Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati, who came in third.
As the two Spaniards became the first brothers to win MotoGP, Marc made his way through the crowd to congratulate Alex in the winner’s circle.
However, the Gresini rider had the honor of taking the chequered flag, which was waved by Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, who was leading his older sibling by one point in the standings.
“Amazing birthday gift, the best.” Alex, who turned 29 on Wednesday, described the first one as “something amazing” in Jerez.
I have no desire to request more. I was very clever throughout the entire race.
Quartararo, polesitter, took the lead into turn one with a perfect start off the line, while Marc, the weekend’s sprint champion, finished in fourth place.
By threading the needle between his two bikes, Alex attempted to overtake three riders in front of him early on, but he braked too late and fell behind as Marc and Bagnaia collided while they were battling for position.
Marc Marquez crashes
As thousands of fans around the circuit collectively groan as Marc runs in third and tries to overtake his teammate, the Spaniard then crashes at turn seven and rejoins in 22nd place with a damaged bike.
However, Bagnaia was at a loss for time when Alex elbowed the Italian to move up to second and target Quartararo.
The Yamaha rider made an effort to keep Alex at bay, but on lap 11 he overtook Quartararo, who had roared from the Marquez grandstand.
As Bagnaia couldn’t catch up with Alex, who was in the clear, he started to fade into the distance and fought valiantly to overtake Quartararo, who obstinately held onto second place.
“Unbelievable.” The podium position is extremely special, especially with Alex and keeping Pecco [Bagnaia] in the lead, according to Quartararo, the 2021 MotoGP champion.
“I’ve been away for a long time, but I’m thrilled to be back on the podium in Jerez.”
Source: Aljazeera
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