Marc Marquez beats brother Alex to win Thailand GP
BURIRAM: Six-times MotoGP champion Marc Marquez continued his perfect start with factory Ducati as he completed a weekend double at the season-opening Thailand Grand Prix on Sunday, finishing ahead of his younger brother Alex.
Pole-sitter and sprint winner Marc Marquez made an electric start in hot and humid conditions at the Buriram International Circuit but Alex, who had qualified second on the grid, took the lead on the seventh of the 26 laps.
Marc snatched back the lead with three laps remaining, however, to win the opening race of the MotoGP season for the first time since 2014.
Twice MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia, Marquez's new team-mate, came in third to complete an all-Ducati podium.
"Yesterday, I was happy. Today, I'm super happy," Marquez told reporters. "I mean, this is a dream! It's a dream start my new journey with Ducati like this in Thailand where I won my last four championships, to be here with my brother - incredible."
Marquez had looked dominant all weekend and it seemed only a matter of time that he would overtake Alex, who is four years his junior, as he finished 1.732 seconds ahead.
Marc Marquez celebrates after winning. — Reuters
The 32-year-old Spaniard extended his lead at the top of the MotoGP world championship with 37 points, eight more than second-placed Alex and 14 ahead of Italian Bagnaia.
Marquez now has 112 MotoGP podiums, equalling compatriot Dani Pedrosa.
"I thought he (Marquez) was trying not to use a lot of rear tyre. I was using everything, I was using all the energy because when you don't have it, literally, you need to push a bit more, and you cannot really save tyre," Alex said.
"But in the end second was our maximum target today. So, to keep Pecco (Bagnaia) behind it's not easy, he's a world champion, and you have another experience."
Bagnaia, who lost last year's championship to the now injured Jorge Martin by 10 points, battled with Alex for second place.
"I gave my all and I could not be too close to Alex to try and attend. Marc was playing with us all the way. So, my maximum ambition was to finish in P2 but we finished in P3," Bagnaia said.
"I tried my best, but I was slower and I was losing more time in some part of the track."
Franco Morbidelli made up two places to finish fourth, while Trackhouse's Japanese rookie Ai Ogura continued his remarkable start to MotoGP as he came fifth.
— Reuters
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