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KTM's Pedro Acosta set the fastest time in Friday's practice for the Catalan Grand Prix, the sixth of 22 rounds in the MotoGP world championship.Under threatening skies, Acosta finished 0.018sec ahead of fellow Spaniard Alex Marquez of Ducati-Gresini and 0.070sec in front of his South African teammate Brad Binder.Raul Fernandez posted the fourth-fastest time at the very end of the session, just ahead of Johann Zarco and Italian Fabio Di Giannantonio.Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi took seventh place for Aprilia, ahead of Honda's Joan Mir and Australian Jack Miller.In the absence of reigning world champion Marc Marquez, who underwent surgery on his right foot and shoulder on Sunday, Jorge Martin, winner of both the sprint and the Grand Prix at Le Mans last weekend, failed to seize his chance.The 2024 world champion, who had fallen in the morning during free practice, went down again in the afternoon and could do no better than 17th fastest.With only the top 10 going directly into Q2, Martin will need to finish in the top two of Q1 to have a chance of a decent starting place on the grid.Two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia, Marquez's teammate at Ducati, also missed out on direct qualification as he could only manage the 13th quickest time. 

Alex Marquez turned his 250th Grand Prix start into a late birthday gift by winning the Spanish Grand Prix ‌for the second straight year Sunday while watching his brother and pole ​sitter Marc crash out in ‌dramatic fashion. The Gresini Racing rider, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday, started ‌fifth on the grid but quickly moved ‌up to overtake his elder sibling before ‌stretching clear for victory. Marc’s quest for a milestone 100th Grand Prix win across all classes came to an abrupt end on lap two when he lost control at turn 11, crashing out while chasing down his younger brother and stunning the home crowd. “Not many words to describe this moment, we struggled a lot at the beginning of the year,” Alex said. “Today, for me, it was clear - go from the first lap, pushing, trying to take the lead. From that moment, I knew that the rhythm was really good until the ​end.” Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi finished second for Aprilia after failing to reel in the flying Alex over 25 laps, while VR46 Racing’s Fabio di Giannantonio completed the podium to move up to third in the ‌championship standings. Marc’s crash now leaves the reigning champion 44 ​points behind Bezzecchi in the championship hunt, as a first Jerez victory since ​2019 remains elusive. ALEX UNBEATABLE IN DRY CONDITIONSMarc had clinched his first pole of the season before winning a chaotic sprint despite a crash in rainy conditions on Saturday, but bright sunshine welcomed the riders at the Circuito de Jerez Sunday. Alex, who had been unbeatable in dry conditions at Jerez with a 2025 setup on his Ducati, made a perfect getaway from fifth on the grid. After Marc got the jump from pole and Bezzecchi slotted in behind from the second row, Alex quickly pushed the Italian down to third before taking the lead from his brother with a dive on the inside. As ‌the elder Marquez brother chased him, ‌his race unravelled spectacularly on lap two when he lost the front end and crashed at turn 11, much to the dismay of the Spanish crowd. That moved Bezzecchi up to second but the Italian had his work cut out trying to close the gap as Alex continued to stretch his advantage to more than a second. Behind the leading duo, Di Giannantonio split the two Aprilias by pushing Jorge Martin down to fourth. BOTH DUCATIS FAIL TO FINISHDucati had celebrated a one-two in Saturday’s sprint but Sunday’s race came to a premature end for the ​Italian outfit when Francesco Bagnaia retired with a technical problem. The factory Ducati team have now gone nine races without a Grand Prix podium - their longest drought since 2014. But up front, it was all about Alex as he urged the crowd to increase their volume on the final lap - just as he did last year - before crossing the finish line and heading straight to the fans to soak up their adulation.“We struggled a bit all weekend, so it wasn’t easy and we made a good performance. I’m very happy,” said Bezzecchi. 

Alex Marquez dominated the Malaysian MotoGP on Sunday to clinch his third victory of the season, romping home more than two seconds ahead of fellow Spaniard Pedro Acosta. Marquez, who confirmed his runner-up spot in the world championship this weekend behind brother Marc, won for the first time this year outside Spain following success at the Spanish and Catalan Grand Prix races. Honda’s Joan Mir was third to make it an all-Spanish podium, with Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo completing the top five. Newly crowned world champion Marc Marquez was absent because of a season-ending injury. Alex Marquez called it the “perfect race”. “It’s a really important win for us to celebrate second (in the championship),” said the younger Marquez, 29. Pole-sitter Francesco Bagnaia, who won Saturday’s sprint, started well on a hot and humid Sepang circuit to hold a slender lead in the first lap with Acosta and Marquez in hot pursuit. Marquez, who started second on the grid, made his move early in the second lap as the Ducati-Gresini star surged past Bagnaia during a sweeping corner, and maintained the lead until the finish line. “Today the plan was clear,” said Marquez. “We improved the feeling a bit on the warm-up and later on I was clever on the plan to attack Pedro in the first lap and Pecco (Bagnaia) in the second one. “Then I just tried to manage the tyre towards the end. It was a perfect race and I’m happy for that,” he said. Ducati’s Bagnaia had a tailgating Acosta behind him as the front three left the chasing pack behind. As the race reached the halfway stage, Bagnaia’s focus was to fend off intense pressure from Acosta, leaving Marquez to increase his advantage. Acosta’s pressure eventually paid off as the KTM rider found joy on the 13th lap to overtake Bagnaia into second place. Unperturbed by the battle unfolding behind him, Marquez crossed the finish line in 40 min 09.249 sec. Bagnaia’s afternoon ended with a bike issue late on that left him unable to finish the race. ‘Prayers’ after HORRIFIC crash Earlier, the Moto3 race was delayed and shortened after a nasty collision involving newly crowned world champion Jose Antonio Rueda and Noah Dettwiler during the sighting lap. Both riders were airlifted to hospital but were conscious. “My prayers and thoughts are with the Moto3 guys,” said Marquez. MotoGP organisers subsequently gave an update on social media about the 19-year-old Spaniard Rueda. It said: “Rueda is awake and alert, with a suspected hand fracture and a number of contusions.” Dettwiler’s team, CIP Green Power, said on social media several hours later that the 20-year-old Swiss “will need to undergo multiple surgeries”. “He is in good hands and we kindly ask you to respect his privacy,” the team said, adding he was taken to a hospital in Kuala Lumpur. “Noah is a true fighter and the entire CIP Green Power team is right behind him.”