Alex Márquez plants his first MotoGP flag
He takes advantage of his brother Marc's fall to win for the first time in the premier class and regain the lead.
BarcelonaIt's a toss-up for the Márquez brothers in Jerez. While Marc crashes at the start of the race, Álex capitalizes on the mistake to win the Spanish Grand Prix. A very special victory, given that it's his first in MotoGP. But it also allows him to regain first place in the World Championship, with one more point than his brother. The Cervera brothers are passing the buck, although, if not for Marc's mistakes, the championship would have clearly gone in favor of the eight-time world champion.
Unlike the sprint, Sunday's long race looked very close. At the start, Quartararo held onto the lead, while Bagnaia didn't break away. Marc Márquez, who was battling head-to-head with his teammate, was in third place, chasing them. He didn't seem entirely comfortable, acting somewhat hastily and crashing on a left-hand bend while trying to keep up with the leaders. He was able to return to the track, although his Ducati was badly damaged by the impacts on the asphalt. His goal wasn't victory, which was totally impossible, but rather to score as many points as possible. And yet, he overtook Rins at the last minute and climbed to 12th place.
At the front, Quartararo held onto the lead, while Bagnaia was overtaken by Àlex. Knowing Marc was out of the fight, Bagnaia preferred not to take risks and opted to score as many points as possible. However, Álex, with his sword between his teeth, launched a relentless effort to take the lead at the halfway point.
Quartaro's resistance was short-lived, as Àlex not only overtook him, but also closed in on him by more than two seconds. A very comfortable advantage that he managed marvelously. And he took a victory that allowed him to regain the championship lead after the first five races. Behind him, Quartaro held off Bagnaia's final charge and climbed to the second step of the podium. Thus, Pecco finished third.
The World Championship is once again led by Álex Márquez, who has 140 points, while Marc Márquez has 139. Pecco Bagnaia is third, with 120. The next race is the weekend of May 11 in France.