Marc Márquez remains unstoppable and can't help but overtake his brother at Montmeló.
A crash by Alex while leading the sprint race at the Catalan Grand Prix gives the victory to the World Championship leader.
BarcelonaMarc Márquez publicly explained on Thursday that he didn't want to gain another 10 points in the World Championship standings over his brother at this Catalan Grand Prix because that would mean Àlex hadn't had a good weekend at home. However, these 10 points would give Marc a match point at the San Marino Grand Prix. to mathematically become Moto GP world championMarc's wish seemed to have come true when Alex took the lead alone in the sprint race, but the younger Márquez brother crashed at Turn 10 with just three laps remaining. Thus, Marc took the win, extending his lead at the top of the standings to 12 points. If Alex doesn't do better than Marc in the long race tomorrow, Sunday, it'll be a game-changer for the next race.
Àlex hadn't started from pole position on the grid since the 2023 Argentine Grand Prix. He made a perfect start and took advantage of the brutal battle that raged in the opening laps between Marc, Fabio Quartararo, and Pedro Acosta. The three swapped positions, with some contact jeopardizing their stability on the bikes. But little by little, the situation calmed down as Marc consolidated his second position. Àlex now had a lead of a second and a half.
This time, Marc, wearing a special helmet with a Barcelona flag, was unable to show his usual overwhelming dominance of the current season and was never close enough to his brother to consider an overtake. On the contrary, after Marc momentarily closed to within half a second, Àlex again increased the gap to over two. Thus, the World Championship leader was already settling for a second place finish, breaking his streak of seven consecutive weekends winning both the sprint race and Sunday's race. Until the unexpected happened, and Àlex crashed. "I had thrown in the towel, and maybe that's why he relaxed. But Àlex will have another chance tomorrow because he's the fastest this weekend," Marc declared after the victory.
The six-time MotoGP World Champion crossed the finish line under the checkered flag waved by Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia, and now holds a 187-point lead over Àlex in the World Championship standings. The Cervariense native didn't celebrate the victory enthusiastically despite it being his home Grand Prix. His glory was a consequence of his brother's grief. Frenchman Fabio Quartararo and Italian Fabio Di Giannantonio finished second and third, and Ducati mathematically secured its title in the Constructors' World Championship.