Latest news with #Bezzecchi
United News of India
2 days 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 Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Marc Marquez wins fifth straight MotoGP race at Czech GP
MARC MARQUEZ became the first Ducati rider to win five MotoGP Grand Prix in a row with victory at the Czech GP on Sunday, widening his championship lead over brother Alex Marquez, who crashed out during the second lap after contact with Honda's Joan Mir. Marc sits 120 points ahead of Gresini Racing's Alex after the 12th round, going into a break with the next Grand Prix set to take place in Austria on August 17. 'It has been a super first part of the season,' six-time champion Marc said. 'I feel better and better and I'm driving super good. 'Now it's the summer break, but still 10 races to go. Time to relax but (afterwards) I will keep the same mentality and the same intensity.' Marc's teammate and two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia could not capitalise on his first pole position of the season, losing the lead to Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi after a slip towards the end of the first lap, before settling for fourth. Bezzecchi, who beat Marc to win the British Grand Prix in May, stayed at the front until the eighth lap when the Spaniard grabbed the lead and opened up a one-second lead within three laps. Marc was untouchable for the rest of the race, comfortably keeping his lead despite a late rally from Bezzecchi to close the gap, to finish 1.753 seconds before the Italian, winning his eighth race in the 2025 campaign. 'I had so much fun in the first half of the race but unfortunately Marc passed me... I tried to attack but he was strong,' Bezzecchi said after his third podium finish of the season. The Aprilia team also celebrated when defending champion Jorge Martin, who has missed 10 rounds due to injury setbacks, marked an emotional comeback by completing his first Grand Prix of the year, finishing seventh. KTM's Pedro Acosta was third, after successfully thwarting Bagnaia's late attempts to overtake him, securing a double podium at Brno after finishing second in the Sprint. 'Last time I was on the podium was in Thailand last year... a really long journey to come back here,' said Acosta, celebrating his first top-three finish since October 2024. Bagnaia remained third in the riders' championship standings, 168 points behind Marc - REUTERS
The Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Marc Marquez dominates Czech GP to win fifth race in a row
MARC MARQUEZ became the first Ducati rider to win five MotoGP Grand Prix in a row with victory at the Czech GP on Sunday, widening his championship lead over brother Alex Marquez, who crashed out during the second lap after contact with Honda's Joan Mir. Marc sits 120 points ahead of Gresini Racing's Alex after the 12th round, going into a break with the next Grand Prix set to take place in Austria on August 17. 'It has been a super first part of the season,' six-time champion Marc said. 'I feel better and better and I'm driving super good. 'Now it's the summer break, but still 10 races to go. Time to relax but (afterwards) I will keep the same mentality and the same intensity.' Marc's teammate and two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia could not capitalise on his first pole position of the season, losing the lead to Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi after a slip towards the end of the first lap, before settling for fourth. Bezzecchi, who beat Marc to win the British Grand Prix in May, stayed at the front until the eighth lap when the Spaniard grabbed the lead and opened up a one-second lead within three laps. Marc was untouchable for the rest of the race, comfortably keeping his lead despite a late rally from Bezzecchi to close the gap, to finish 1.753 seconds before the Italian, winning his eighth race in the 2025 campaign. 'I had so much fun in the first half of the race but unfortunately Marc passed me... I tried to attack but he was strong,' Bezzecchi said after his third podium finish of the season. The Aprilia team also celebrated when defending champion Jorge Martin, who has missed 10 rounds due to injury setbacks, marked an emotional comeback by completing his first Grand Prix of the year, finishing seventh. KTM's Pedro Acosta was third, after successfully thwarting Bagnaia's late attempts to overtake him, securing a double podium at Brno after finishing second in the Sprint. 'Last time I was on the podium was in Thailand last year... a really long journey to come back here,' said Acosta, celebrating his first top-three finish since October 2024. Bagnaia remained third in the riders' championship standings, 168 points behind Marc - REUTERS
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Qatar Tribune
Marquez fends off Bezzecchi for Czech MotoGP victory
Agencies Brno (Czech Republic) The 'unstoppable' Marc Marquez emerged victorious yet again on Sunday at the Czech MotoGP 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. It was the Spaniard's eighth victory in 12 races this season and fifth in a row, extending his commanding lead in the world championship. The factory Ducati rider beat Marco Bezzecchi on an Aprilia by almost two seconds, while Pedro Acosta on a KTM came in third in his first race podium finish of the season. Marquez had a fifth straight perfect weekend, winning both the sprint on Saturday and Sunday's race. The 32-year-old Spaniard now leads the world championship with 381 points, 120 ahead of his younger brother Alex who crashed, and 168 ahead of Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia. 'It has been a super first part of the season and especially these last races,' Marquez said. 'I feel better and better and I'm riding super good,' he added. Bagnaia started from pole in bright sunshine but only retained the lead until the second lap when Bezzecchi eased past him, with Marquez following suit soon afterwards. Acosta did the same to settle down in third after getting a boost from a second-place finish in Saturday's sprint. Marquez glided past Bezzecchi in lap eight as the runaway trio kept building up their lead, and as so often this season kept widening the gap comfortably. The three stayed put until the finish line, although fourth-placed Bagnaia gave Acosta a hard time pressing from behind. 'The first lap was unbelievable,' said Bezzecchi. 'I had so much fun in the first half of the race but unfortunately when Marc passed me I immediately saw that he had something more.' 'I tried to attack but he was strong. Anyway, I made a fantastic performance, I'm very, very happy,' added the Italian. Marquez took 40min 04.628sec to complete the 21 laps on the resurfaced 5.4-kilometre Brno circuit returning to the MotoGP calendar after a five-year break due to financial woes. Bezzecchi crossed the line 1.753 seconds adrift, while Acosta trailed Marquez by 3.366sec. Almost 220,000 fans gathered in the stands for the weekend as Marquez sped to his fourth MotoGP win at Brno after 2013, 2017 and 2019. The MotoGP circus will now take a summer break and resume with the Austrian GP on August 15-17.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Perth Now
Magnificent Marc Marquez makes it five GP wins in a row
Marc Marquez has become the first Ducati rider to win five main races in a row with victory at the Czech Grand Prix, widening his championship lead over younger brother Alex Marquez, who crashed out during the second lap after contact with Honda's Joan Mir. Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi, of Italy, was second with Spain's Pedro Acosta third on the Red Bull KTM. Australia's Jack Miller benefited from a three-place penalty handed to rookie Fermin Aldeguer to move up from 11th to a top-10 finish on his Prama Yamaha. The race came five years after the elder Marquez crashed and broke his arm in Jerez, which led to three injury-hit years, and he spoke afterwards of the long road back. "Last year was a crucial year as the team gave me the opportunity to come back and I was riding in a good way and got more confidence in myself. "During this five years maybe in my professional life I lose the chance to fight for championships as I was injured but I grow in my personal life. "Never is it good to have tough moments but sometimes it helps a person to see things and change your character." Two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia could not capitalise on his first pole position of the season, losing the lead to Bezzecchi after a slip towards the end of the first lap, before settling for fourth in the 12th round of the season. Bagnaia's teammate Marc, who also won his fifth successive sprint on Saturday, took the lead from Bezzecchi during lap eight, and left the Italian 1.753 seconds behind to register a statement eighth race win in the campaign. Reigning champion Jorge Martin, who has missed 10 rounds due to injury setbacks, marked his comeback by completing his first race of the year, finishing seventh.
