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Seven-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez will seek to narrow the gap on championship leader Marco Bezzecchi at Brno this weekend with a boost from a mighty comeback to racing.The 33-year-old Spaniard on a Ducati sat out two Grand Prix in May with a broken foot, but he returned in style with a race-spint double at the Balaton Park circuit in Hungary in early June.He capitalised on an early crash as championship runner-up Jorge Martin on an Aprilia had taken out his teammate Bezzecchi and three other riders in the first corner.Both Martin and Bezzecchi withdrew and Martin will serve a double long-lap penalty at Brno as a result - a penalty Aprilia Racing head Massimo Rivola said could have been even "stronger and harsher".Ahead of the Czech MotoGP, Bezzecchi sits atop the overall rankings with 180 points from eight of the season's 22 races of which he has won four, while Martin in second has managed 160.Third-placed Fabio Di Giannantonio with 138 points was also involved in the crash, but he rejoined the race and finished 12th.Marquez in fifth overall has collected 108 points after his 100th MotoGP win in Hungary, which was also the 100th top-class win for Ducati."I'm a believer, I try to do my 100 percent and I need to try. I feel I'm still far from my performance, the way I want to ride, but I'm still fast," Marquez told MotoGP after his first win of the season.But he admitted the latest injury - on the heels of recurrent problems with a broken arm that plagued him for years - did not allow him to race the way he wants."The comeback is still not finished," Marquez said."It depends a lot (on) Brno and Assen and then on the summer break. I still need to reach my new 100 percent... but of course, you know me: if I'm here, it's to fight -- every race, every practice." 'Close the chapter'Bezzecchi made it clear his motivation had grown following the Balaton Park crash from which he emerged with bruises."What a shame," the 27-year-old Italian wrote in his blog "Simply the Bez"."I watched the race about ten times - I didn't remember much of it because of the adrenaline, so I had to go back and watch everything from the start. Nice to do, but then you close the chapter and move on.""Fortunately nobody was seriously hurt, just a few bruises. We'll make up for it at Brno," Bezzecchi added.Last year, Marquez took a double at Brno, the Czech Republic's second largest city after Prague, beating Bezzecchi in the race for his fourth MotoGP victory there.Marquez's younger brother Alex, ninth overall, is planning a return at Brno after missing two Grand Prix with a broken collarbone and a "marginal" vertebra fracture following a crash in the Catalan GP in May.Brno returned to the MotoGP calendar last year after a five-year break due to financial woes and following a revamp of the track that made it much faster.The MotoGP circus has three races to go before the summer break.  

Reigning world champion Marc Marquez won on a Sunday for the first time this season as he held off young Spanish compatriot Pedro Acosta to take the Hungarian MotoGP.Francesco Bagnaia finished a distant third while the top two in the standings, Aprilia pair Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin, crashed out on the first corner.In a battle of the generations, 33-year-old Marquez, who also won Saturday's sprint, and Acosta, 22, exchanged the lead a couple of times before the veteran pulled away in the closing laps.Marquez beat Acosta by just over 1.343 seconds. It was the veteran's 100th victory across all categories, and Ducati's 100th win in the sport."I'm super happy," said Marquez who rushed back after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder and a broken foot after a crash at the French Grand Prix in early May."The price was expensive, but happy to have another comeback."The 4.8km Balaton Park circuit, which hosted its first MotoGP last year, is narrow, twisty, and not conducive to overtaking. Most riders do not like it, but Marc Marquez feels right at home. Last year, the Spaniard swept the board taking pole position, sprint race, fastest lap, and overall victory.An additional advantage for Marquez is that Balaton Park is one of the six circuits this season that run counter-clockwise. The Spaniard has always prefered left-hand corners but they was even more helpful this weekend because he was nursing his right shoulder."I don't know if I'll have chances like this again in the upcoming races. I wasn't feeling great on Friday, but I made a good step forward on Saturday," he said.Bagnaia finished 11.632 seconds behind Marquez on a matching factory Ducati, a ride that Acosta, who is with KTM, is widely expected to take over next season.At the start, bikes tumbled like bowling pins going into at the first corner.Martin, who is second in the standings, locked up coming out of the short starting straight, lost control and he, and his bike, flew into the tightly-bunched pack hitting Bezzecchi. Fermin Aldeguer of Ducati Gresini, Raul Fernandez of Trackhouse and Fabio di Giannantonio on a VR46 Ducati also went down.Bagnaia said he saw Martin coming out of the corner of his eye."When I started to break, I just saw something arriving so fast, and it was Martin arriving at double speed.""Maybe he was too inside and locked the front, because the new tarmac on corner one was very slippery."'Rrally good battle' Di Giannantonio remounted and collected four points as he trailed in 12th.Marquez had sped off from pole position and was already clear of the chaos behind him. Only Acosta, who narrowly outpaced the wave of crashing bikes, was able to give chase and quickly closed and shot past.By halfway, the leading pair had pulled six seconds clear of BagnaiaMarquez overtook on lap 14 and held off 22-year-old Acosta's instant counter-attack pulling clear before relaxing in the fnal lap."We tried everything, it was a really good battle, I hope that everyone at home in enjoyed it," said Acosta who is still chasing his first MotoGP victory. "The pace was good. qualifying again was good. Back-to-back podiums, I'm quite happy."Ai Ogura on a Trackhouse was fourth and Luca Marini fifth for Honda.Bezzcchi, Martin and Di Gianntonio stayed in the first three places in the standings. Acosta jumped to fourth and Marquez into fifth.  

Marc Marquez delivered a masterclass performance to win Saturday’s MotoGP sprint at the Hungarian Grand Prix, leading from start to finish at Balaton Park despite telling fans just days earlier to 'forget' about him even ⁠fighting for a podium. The Ducati rider, who recently recovered from double surgery on his shoulder and foot last month, controlled the ⁠race from pole position to finish 1.548 seconds clear of KTM's Pedro Acosta. The victory also saw Marquez tie Jorge Martin's record of 18 sprint victories in MotoGP, capping a remarkable turnaround from his modest pre-race expectations on Thursday. "If you're starting on the front row, it's a big help and then the strategy was to push in the beginning. That is when I'm feeling fresh and I survived in the end," Marquez said after his third sprint victory of the season. "So the strategy works in a better way. Tomorrow will be a longer ⁠race, let's see how we can manage." Aprilia's championship leader Marco Bezzecchi finished third after starting sixth on the grid while Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez came in fourth. MARQUEZ STORMS INTO LEAD When the lights went out, Marquez shot away from pole to lead into turn one ahead of Acosta, while Bezzecchi made a superb start to jump from sixth on the grid to third. Marquez wasted no time implementing an aggressive strategy, streaking away to build more than a second's advantage in just two laps. "It was amazing, the pace that he put from the beginning," Acosta said. "I take like some laps to be ready for the push but ⁠anyway, we have to be happy ... We have to just try to ⁠improve for (the race) tomorrow." Behind the ⁠leading duo, Bezzecchi was fighting to hang on to third as Gresini Racing's Fermin Aldeguer stayed glued to his rear tyre. But Bezzecchi was able to breathe a sigh of relief when Aldeguer nearly lost control on a chicane before he regained balance and rejoined in fifth place behind Fernandez. With Marquez in cruise control up front and Acosta unable to mount a challenge as he cut his losses, Bezzecchi secured the final podium spot despite struggling with grip and tyre issues. "It was a very tough sprint. Very, very difficult because the track was pretty strange, the grip at the beginning especially was very low," Bezzecchi said. "So it was difficult for me to find the rhythm. Fortunately the start was good ... I started to really have troubles with the rear (tyre), so very happy with this result. It came with a lot of tough moments." 

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. 

Marco Bezzecchi won the MotoGP season-opening Grand Prix in Thailand from pole position Sunday as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel. Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third. Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equalling eighth world title this season but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go. The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide and the jolt to his bike dislodged the rear tyre and badly damaged his wheel. Bezzecchi returned to winning form after crashing out of Saturday’s sprint race on the second lap. “Yesterday was a small mistake with a big consequence so it was important today to try to bounce back,” said the Italian. “My pace was good with the medium, we worked it super-well all weekend, so I knew that I could be fast if I was in front. “I tried my all to make a good start and the bike was perfect,” he added. Bezzecchi was fastest in all three practice sessions in Thailand and set a new track record in qualifying. It was also his third straight Grand Prix win stretching back to last season. “It’s just the first race so we must stay calm, we must stay focused, keep our head down and try to work always in the best way possible,” said Bezzecchi. “Because we know that we will struggle at some point.” Marquez dominated last year’s championship but he said earlier this week that he was still feeling the lingering effects of a shoulder injury that forced him to miss the final four races of the season. The 33-year-old was picked off by a succession of riders as the race got underway but recovered to put himself back into podium contention. He was priming himself for an attack on Acosta and Fernandez when he ran wide and did well not to be thrown from his bike, even though it did spell the end of his race. The 33-year-old got off his bike and slapped his hands together in frustration before trudging off the track. His departure left Acosta to reel in Fernandez to secure second place and wrap up a successful weekend for the 21-year-old Spaniard. Acosta won the sprint after Marquez was forced to let him pass on the final lap because of a penalty. “We have to be happy that things are working super-good,” said Acosta, who leads the championship standings ahead of Bezzecchi after the first round. “Thanks to everyone who supported me, because last year the start was not the dreaming one.” Fernandez looked like he had second place locked up until a late problem with his bike allowed Acosta to go past him. “It was quite difficult, especially the last five, six laps,” said Fernandez. “I tried to make my maximum but I had destroyed the rear tyre.” Jorge Martin, the 2024 world champion, finished fourth after seeing the defence of his title wrecked by injury last season. Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura was fifth, followed by VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio and KTM’s Brad Binder. Alex Marquez, last season’s championship runner-up, did not finish the race after a late crash. Francesco Bagnaia, the 2022 and 2023 world champion, finished ninth after starting from 13th on the grid. 

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.”

Ducati’s MotoGP champion Marc Marquez suffered a collarbone injury as a result of a collision with Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi on the opening lap of the Indonesian Grand Prix Sunday, his team said.Bezzecchi collided with the rear of Marquez’s Ducati and the pair both hurtled into the gravel at high speed, with Marquez appearing to be in significant discomfort after tumbling head over heels.The Spaniard, who won his seventh MotoGP championship at last week’s Japanese Grand Prix, was hunched over on the side of the track for a couple of minutes before staggering to his feet and lurching away while clutching his shoulder.EVIDENCE OF FRACTUREMarquez was later seen with his arm in a sling, with members of Ducati team saying on the race’s broadcast that there was evidence of a fracture after initial scans.“As a result of today’s crash at Indonesian GP, Marc Marquez has suffered an injury to his right collarbone,” Ducati said in a statement on social media.“The Spanish rider will travel tonight to Madrid (Spain) for further medical tests and to decide on the treatment to follow.”The injury was on the shoulder of the arm Marquez fractured in the 2020 July season-opening Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, which ruled him out for an extended period and required several surgeries.“Not the best way to celebrate the championship,” Marquez told reporters after the race.“In the end, Marco Bezzecchi already came to me and said sorry. This happens. It’s something that sometimes I will do, sometimes somebody else will do, but it was not on purpose. So, Marco accepts it was his fault.“We will fly to Madrid and try to understand with the doctors exactly what is wrong and try to come back as soon as possible.”BEZZECCHI ESCAPES MAJOR INJURYAprilia said Bezzecchi was taken to hospital to undergo a more comprehensive examination following the crash where he was given the all-clear.“After the medical examinations, no fractures have been found for Marco Bezzecchi,” Aprilia said in a statement.Marquez’s Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia, Joan Mir (Honda HRC) and Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) also crashed out of Sunday’s race, won by Gresini Racing rookie Fermin Aldeguer.Ducati-Gresini rider Aldeguer pulled away and cruised to a maiden victory.Aldeguer finished more than six seconds ahead of KTM’s Pedro Acosta in second and nearly eight seconds in front of teammate Alex Marquez in third.“I don’t believe it. I am super happy. To be a rookie, we are doing incredible work. We have to continue like this,” said Aldeguer, 20, who secured his first MotoGP win Sunday.While Marquez can afford to miss the last four rounds of the season having already sealed the title, Bezzecchi still has the opportunity to finish third overall ahead of Francesco Bagnaia and possibly fight with Alex Marquez for second.Alex sits on 362 points while Bagnaia (274) is third, just 20 points ahead of Bezzecchi in the standings.The next race is the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks.

Ducati's Marc Marquez clinched his seventh MotoGP championship at the Japanese Grand Prix Sunday and his first since 2019 after he took an unassailable lead in the world championship with five rounds to spare.Marquez needed to outscore his brother and title contender Alex of Gresini Racing by three or more points by the end of the weekend, and finished second behind his teammate Francesco Bagnaia in Sunday's race to clinch the title.Honda's Joan Mir was third, while Alex finished sixth, giving Marc a 201-point lead over his brother. Alex was the first to approach Marc and congratulate him, giving him a warm embrace when they came to a stop.Marc had his head in his hands after he crossed the line and when the magnitude of the accomplishment hit him, the Spaniard let out a scream.Marquez then came to a stop in front of a big screen and, with tears in his eyes, watched a montage of his struggles over the past six years, which included more than 100 crashes and four operations, as he reclaimed the title after 2,184 days.The coronation was complete when he added his name etched on a silver plaque to the cylindrical MotoGP trophy known as the 'Tower of Champions'."It's impossible even to speak... I just want to enjoy the moment, but it's true that it was difficult, it was super difficult, but now I'm at peace with myself," Marquez said as he fought back tears."I did a big mistake in my career, to come back too early (from surgery) and then I fight, fight, fight - and I won again! So I'm at peace."Ducati's pole sitter and Saturday's sprint winnerBagnaia had a strong start and two laps later he was more than a second clear of KTM's Pedro Acosta while Marquez slotted in behind his Spanish compatriot in third place.By lap seven, Bagnaia was comfortably in control in the lead but Marquez seemed to be struggling to match Acosta's pace, giving Mir the opportunity to close in and challenge him for third place.Marquez eventually found a way past Acosta when he tucked into his slipstream and overtook him on lap 11, but he was staring at a gap of four seconds to his teammate Bagnaia, who was streaking away to his second victory of the season.With 11 laps left, Acosta was clearly struggling for grip and Mir pounced to move up to third as the 2020 champion chased a rare podium finish having retired from 10 races this season.The Ducati paddock had a few heart-stopping moments in the second half of the race when Bagnaia's bike began emitting smoke as Marquez began to close in rapidly, but the Italian was eventually able to nurse his bike to the chequered flag."I don't want to take the spotlight from Marc, he deserves the spotlight today," said Bagnaia, who has been MotoGP champion twice."But in any case, I'm happy. It's just a little shame that it arrived now (so late in the season)... I hope that from now on I will continue in this way, because like this I can fight."

Spanish coach Bartolome Marquez Lopez of Qatar SC did not hide the difficulty of his team's task in facing Al Ahli on Saturday, at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, as part of the third round of the Doha Bank Stars League.The Qatar coach added in a statement during the pre-match press conference: "We will face a strong competitor who performed well last season, but this season they haven't achieved a single point after the first two rounds. However, we have great respect for them. I told the players about the importance of complete focus on this match and performing at their best. We hope to be successful.""We have prepared well for the Al Ahli match and have trained as required over the past period. "We know this match will be difficult, and we hope to perform as well as possible to secure the three points," he added.For his part, Croatian coach Igor Biscan of Al Ahli confirmed : "My team will play one of our toughest matches this season against Qatar SC, one of the league's most prominent teams. "We need to focus on achieving victory and kick-start the team's journey this season, following two losses to Al Shamal and Al Sadd.""The team is in dire need of a win to overcome the difficulties. We did not perform at the required level against Al Shamal but performed well against Al Sadd. "However, we lacked some of the elements that would have enabled us to win," he stressed.Qatar SC ranks third in the Qatari league standings with 6 points, behind Al Shamal, Al Sadd, Al Rayyan, and Al Gharafa on goal difference, while Al Ahli sits in twelfth place with no points.