MotoGP Japanese GP Sprint Race: Marc Marquez Claims Victory After Early Chaos at Motegi

Marc Marquez closed the gap to world championship leader Jorge Martin by claiming victory in the sprint race at Motegi on Saturday.

Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini crossed the line second and third but were both demoted a place after the finish for exceeding track limits, giving Moreira his best MotoGP finish.

KTM’s Pedro Acosta was taken out of the race by Marc’s brother Alex on the first lap.

The start proved decisive as Marc got away well from the middle of the front row, getting his nose ahead of Martin into the first corner. Martin tried to battle it out around the outside, but eventually had to slot back into line.

From that point on, pole man Martin would never seriously threaten Marquez, whose win allowed him to close the gap to Martin to seven points going into tomorrow’s grand prix.

Another major moment in the race came just seconds after Marquez had made the early lead his own. As the field braked for Turn 3, Alex Marquez lost control of his Gresini Ducati and took out both Fabio Di Giannantonio and Acosta.

That misfortune for KTM’s young hero Acosta meant a rare chance for one of the other Austrian bikes to shine. Tech3’s Bastianini made the most of the opportunity after a fast start from seventh had got him ahead of the chaos that took out his factory colleague.

In third at that point was Marco Bezzecchi, but the factory Aprilia wouldn’t hang onto that spot for long. The Italian was the only front-runner to opt for the medium rear tyre in the sprint, and was battling for speed throughout most of the race. He was picked off by Bastianini on lap three, then Moreira and Ai Ogura on lap five.

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

In the end, Bezzecchi did well to salvage a handful of points for sixth place, helped to some degree by Johann Zarco and Raul Fernandez battling each other hard behind him for much of the race.

There was little threat of a serious battle inside the top six once it had settled – until the final lap, that is. Suddenly things closed up between Martin, Bastianini and Moreira, with the KTM almost pulling alongside the Aprilia at the finish line.

Although the order on the circuit didn’t actually change before the chequered flag, track limits penalties for Martin and Bastianini were announced in the immediate aftermath, promoting Moreira to second.

Martin and Bastianini were thus classified third and fourth, ahead of Ogura, who salvaged a reasonable home result from 11th on the grid, on what has been a tricky weekend thus far for the Trackhouse Aprilia man.

Source link