Marco Bezzecchi led from start to finish to win the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, denying Marc Marquez the chance to seal his eighth MotoGP world title at Lusail International Circuit.
The Aprilia rider, starting from pole, produced a commanding performance under the lights to beat Marquez by 3.083 seconds, while Trackhouse Aprilia’s Raul Fernandez completed the podium.
Marquez, who had won Saturday’s Sprint, needed victory and for closest championship rival Jorge Martin to finish outside the points to secure the title with two rounds remaining. Instead, Martin finished seventh on the factory Aprilia, leaving Marquez with a 60-point lead.
Marquez will now have another chance to clinch the championship at the next round in Portimao. He needs to finish at least two points ahead of Martin in the Sprint there to secure a record-equalling eighth premier-class title, one more than his great rival Valentino Rossi.
Bezzecchi’s victory cut the gap to Marquez to 74 points, although the Italian conceded that his title hopes now require a miracle.
“I mean, I need a miracle, but it looks like this season there have been no miracles for me,” Bezzecchi said. “But it’s good to have an opportunity to be fighting with them. In the end, Jorge and Marc are both super, super good riders. Just to fight with them is good.”
Bezzecchi bounced back brilliantly after crashing out of Saturday’s Sprint while battling Marquez, who went on to win the race. “It was a wonderful race for me. I was very motivated after yesterday. That was a Sprint that I felt I could have fought for the victory,” Bezzecchi said. “It’s something that can happen in racing. But anyway, this gave me an extra push to try to bounce back today and make the perfect start.”
He did exactly that, making a strong getaway from pole and shutting the door when Marquez attempted to attack at Turn 1.
Fernandez then moved past Marquez at Turn 2, dropping the Ducati rider to third as Bezzecchi and Fernandez quickly opened a gap at the front.
Marquez initially chose not to take unnecessary risks, particularly with Martin down in the pack. KTM’s Pedro Acosta overtook him on lap three, but tyre pressure problems later forced the Spaniard to drop back.
Marquez regained second on lap six and gradually closed on Fernandez as the Trackhouse rider’s pace faded. The reigning champion then set the fastest lap of the race on lap 13 before making his move on Fernandez with three laps remaining, passing him on the main straight to reclaim second.
By then, however, Bezzecchi was more than three seconds clear and comfortably held on for his sixth Grand Prix victory of the season.
“I was confident in my strategy today,” Marquez said. “I told myself that in the first few laps, the key was to maintain a relaxed pace, to stay calm, even if Marco was ahead. When I overtook Pedro, I think he let me through because of his tyre pressure problems, I tried to manage my pace as best I could. I started to accelerate. With my riding style, I was damaging the front tyre too much. I was starting to suffer.”
The Spaniard admitted that he eventually decided to push for second after seeing Fernandez struggle. “Third position was OK, but I saw that Fernandez was struggling. So you never know, I attacked and got four points more,” he said.
Fernandez held on for third, 0.531 seconds behind Marquez, with team-mate Ai Ogura fourth. Enea Bastianini was fifth, while Acosta finished sixth after his tyre pressure problems.
Martin was seventh, 14.023 seconds behind the winner, keeping his title hopes alive despite returning to racing this weekend after suffering a broken right wrist.
Fabio Di Giannantonio was eighth, with Johann Zarco and Iker Lecuona completing the top 10.
