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United News of India
19 hours ago
- Sport
- United News of India
Marc Marquez fends off Bezzecchi to make Ducati history
Brno (Czech Republic), July 20 (UNI) Sometimes, you just have to sit back and admire greatness. Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) emerged victorious on Sunday at the Tissot Grand Prix of Czechia to become the first Ducati rider to win five Grands Prix on the spin, but he was made to work for it in the first half of the battle. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) put up a good fight to collect P2, 1.7s away from the win, as Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) held off a late Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) comeback to pick up his first Sunday rostrum of the season. Bagnaia punched off the line well and got the holeshot but like yesterday, Marc Marquez was through at Turn 3. Not for long though. On the cutback through Turn 4, Pecco led again and then Bezzecchi carved his way past the #93 at Turn 5. That's how it was over the line but Pecco was wide at the penultimate corner, costing him time, so that allowed Bezzecchi to make a move at Turn 1 on Lap 2. Marc Marquez, like he did on Lap 1, passed Pecco at Turn 3 and this time there was no way back for Pecco. PASSES AND DRAMA: Bez leads, Alex Marquez crashes and then so does Bastianini Meanwhile, Alex Marquez's (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) disastrous weekend continued. The rider second in the championship was down at Turn 12 after an audacious move up the inside of Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) didn't pay off. The luckless Mir was taken out, and the Honda rider, along with Alex Marquez, were out of the Grand Prix from P5 and P6, so that was zero points in Czechia for the #73. A hammer blow for the Gresini star's title hopes. Further up the order, it was Acosta's turn to pass Pecco at Turn 3 on Lap 3, as Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and then Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) carved their way past Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). Next up behind Quartararo: Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing). On Lap 5, Bastianini's charge continued. The Italian was through on his former teammate Bagnaia, with 'The Beast' now 1.4s behind his KTM stablemate Acosta. But then, Bastianini was in the gravel. Turn 3 saw the #23 lose the front end and it was Grand Prix over for Bastianini, a shame after his best weekend in orange. THE WINNING MOVE: Marquez pounces Lap 8 saw a change for the lead. Marc Marquez, at Turn 3, pounced on Bezzecchi. And the #93 got his elbows out through Turn 4 to keep Bezzecchi behind him, so what did the championship leader have in his pocket? Acosta was right with the top two now, while Bagnaia sat 1.7s adrift of the podium fight. A 1:54.184 played a 1:54.4 for Bezzecchi and a 1:54.5 for Acosta, seeing Marquez go 0.5s clear at the front at the start of Lap 10. A lap later, the gap was up to 0.8s, and then with a fastest lap of the Grand Prix, Marquez's lead grew to 1.2s on Lap 12 of 21. Bezzecchi was giving this a good go. Bezzecchi dipped into the 1:53s for the first time, a 1:53.999, but on the same lap, Lap 14, Marquez found a 1:53.787. And on the following lap, Marquez went even quicker. A 1:53.691, coupled with a 1:54.085 from Bezzecchi, saw the lead climb to 1.9s. With Marquez giving no one a chance of fighting for the win, attention turned to the rostrum fight. Pecco was gathering some late race momentum and from just under two seconds away, with three laps left, the Italian was 0.5s behind Acosta. That was then 0.4s with two laps to go, as Bezzecchi continued on his way to P2, 0.9s ahead. And on the last lap, Pecco was within attacking distance - just. Marquez was 1.6s clear of Bezzecchi and controlling things at the front, with the latter safe from being pounced on from behind. Could Bagnaia muster something up to grab P3? The answer - fortunately for KTM, unfortunately for Ducati - was no. The answer was also no to could anyone beat Marquez in Brno? The #93 took the chequered flag 1.7s ahead of Bezzecchi to become the first Ducati rider ever to win five Grands Prix in a row. Simply put: chapeau. Fair play to Bezzecchi as well, that's another Sunday podium for the #72, as Acosta held off Pecco to clinch his first Sunday podium of the season. Ducati, Aprilia and KTM on the Brno rostrum. UNI RKM
The Star
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Star
Motorcycling-Emotional Martin happy to be back competing after injury setbacks
MotoGP - Qatar Grand Prix - Lusail International Circuit, Doha, Qatar - April 13, 2025 Aprilia Racing's Jorge Martin in action REUTERS/Ibraheem Al Omari/File Photo (Reuters) -Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin said he was glad to be back on the race track at the Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix after missing 10 of the 11 rounds because of injuries. Wrist and ankle injuries suffered in a pre-season crash ruled the 27-year-old Spaniard out of the first three rounds before another crash in his first race on board the Aprilia bike in Qatar in April led to a collapsed lung and bruised ribs. He marked his comeback with an impressive fifth place finish at the Czech MotoGP practice in Brno on Friday. "I miss this feeling a lot and just focused," Martin told reporters. "It was a really demanding day, having all these conditions on track. We had to be always really focused. "The dry line was really narrow in some corners so it was difficult to be consistent. I missed the consistency by being out for a lot of months. "It was really emotional after finishing in the top five, not because of the result itself, but because I am back. I did a great job today. I am really happy." Friday's practice session was Martin's first time on the Aprilia in the rain. Martin won his first MotoGP title last season with Pramac Racing before moving to Aprilia. "I cannot be really optimistic when I go into the corners because I don't know what is going to happen," he said. "So I need to start feeling the things, but as soon as I put on some more tyres, I was always in the top four, top five." The Czech MotoGP qualifying takes place later on Saturday, with the race happening on Sunday. Six-times MotoGP champion Marc Marquez leads the riders' championship table with 344 points, with his younger brother Alex second on 261. (Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Goa; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
The Star
4 days ago
- Automotive
- The Star
Motorcycling-MotoGP champion Martin to remain with Aprilia for 2026 season
MotoGP - Qatar Grand Prix - Lusail International Circuit, Doha, Qatar - April 13, 2025 Aprilia Racing's Jorge Martin in action REUTERS/Ibraheem Al Omari/File Photo (Reuters) -MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin will remain with Aprilia for the 2026 season, the Spaniard said on Thursday, having previously announced his intention to leave the Italian team before next season. Martin won his first MotoGP title last season with Pramac Racing before moving to Aprilia on a two-year contract, but in May the 27-year-old said he had exercised his right to release himself for the 2026 season. Aprilia reacted to Martin's announcement by saying they were prepared to take the matter to court, but ahead of his long-awaited return to action in Saturday's Czech Grand Prix, the Spaniard put an end to the controversy. "I'm really happy to be here again. It was a really difficult sixor sevenmonths suffering a lot with a lot of injuries butI'm happy to be here and to be back in MotoGP," Martin told reporters. "Finally, I'm happy to say that I'll continue with Aprilia for 2026." Martin has raced just once this season after a pre-season crash ruled him out of the first three rounds and a crash in his first race in Qatar led to a collapsed lung and bruised ribs. (Reporting by Trevor StynesEditing by Christian Radnedge)
The Star
6 days ago
- Automotive
- The Star
Motorcycling-German Grand Prix to stay on MotoGP calendar until 2031
FILE PHOTO: MotoGP - German Grand Prix - Sachsenring, Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany - July 13, 2025 Ducati Lenovo Team's Marc Marquez, BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP's Alex Marquez and Aprilia Racing's Marco Bezzecchi in action with riders during the race REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo (Reuters) -The German Grand Prix will remain on the MotoGP calendar until 2031 after a new five-year contract was signed to continue holding races at the iconic Sachsenring, rights holder Dorna Sports said on Tuesday. The new deal will see MotoGP celebrate the Sachsenring's 100th anniversary in 2027 as motorcycle racing's premier class capitalises on the growing interest in the sport, which had over 250,000 fans attend the Grand Prix over the weekend. "Saxony is motor racing country... The new record attendance at the weekend showed once again how much we love motor racing in Saxony," Michael Kretschmer, Prime Minister of Saxony, said in a statement. Ducati's Marc Marquez won the German Grand Prix on Sunday to extend his world championship lead to 83 points, proving once again why he is known as the 'King of Sachsenring' after claiming his ninth MotoGP victory at the circuit. (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Attritional German GP matches record for fewest finishers in MotoGP era
When only 10 riders made it to the chequered flag in the MotoGP German Grand Prix, it equalled the record for the lowest number of finishers in a premier class race since the end of the 500cc era. Since the MotoGP era began in 2002, only the 2011 Australian Grand Prix has ended with as few finishers as Sunday's race at the Sachsenring. Advertisement But the 2025 German GP, with its 18 starters, was more attritional in percentage terms than Australia 2011. A mere 14 riders started that race at Phillip Island, after an already slim entry of 17 lost three further competitors. Jorge Lorenzo, Damian Cudlin and Ben Spies all withdrew from the grand prix due to accidents earlier in the weekend. Before the advent of MotoGP in 2002, however, there were multiple examples of fewer finishers to a race in the premier class of the motorcycle world championship. Only four riders completed the 500cc West German Grand Prix in 1974. That race, held in April on the Nurburgring Nordschleife, featured only seven starters – and presumably some lengthy silent spells for spectators – as home rider Edmund Czihak took the win for Yamaha. Lorenzo Savadori, Aprilia Racing Crash Lorenzo Savadori, Aprilia Racing Crash Most of the eight retirees at this year's German GP fell victim to the Sachsenring's notorious first corner, in a flurry of accidents late in the race. However, Pedro Acosta's low-side crash came at Turn 2 early in the contest – and Miguel Oliveira also crashed elsewhere on the track. Advertisement Among the mitigating circumstances for today's low number of finishers was the fact that Joan Mir didn't make a riding mistake of his own on his way to the Turn 1 gravel trap. Rather, he was collected by the Trackhouse Aprilia of Ai Ogura, making it a case of two falls from one error. Read Also: MotoGP German GP: Marc Marquez dominates for victory in crash-strewn race Another factor was that this race featured the lowest number of starters in 2025. While the regular number of contenders in a MotoGP race this year stands at 22, there were four absentees by the time Sunday came around in Germany. Somkiat Chantra (training accident) and Enea Bastianini (appendicitis) withdrew before the weekend. Then, on a wet Saturday, both Maverick Vinales and Franco Morbidelli were injured in accidents and were forced to pull out of the rest of the event. To read more articles visit our website.
