Marc Marquez has shot at eighth MotoGP title after Qatar sprint win
Marc Marquez will have the chance to win his eighth MotoGP title on Sunday after storming to victory in a thrilling sprint race in Qatar. Starting from second on the grid, Ducati's Marquez needed to finish Saturday's sprint with five more points than closest rival Jorge Martin in order to have his first shot at retaining his title, and he did exactly that.
Marc Marquez won a sprint race in Qatar, moving him into a position to potentially secure his eighth MotoGP title on Sunday. After starting second on the grid, the Ducati rider achieved the necessary point margin over Jorge Martin to have his first opportunity to retain the championship. According to Motorsport.com, Marquez's victory followed a controversial clash with Marco Bezzecchi, which resulted in Bezzecchi crashing out and being mathematically eliminated from title contention.
Marco Bezzecchi had previously secured pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix with a track-record time of 1 minute 50.028 seconds. Free Malaysia Today reports that Bezzecchi, who sits third in the standings, will attempt to delay Marquez's title clinch this weekend. Jorge Martin, who is second in the standings, qualified 11th following a return from a broken right wrist. Motorsport.com notes that Martin finished the sprint in third place despite his injury.
Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, Motorsport.com, Free Malaysia Today — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 2 other outlets
- Marc Marquez has shot at eighth MotoGP title after Qatar sprint win al-monitor.com
- Marquez keeps Aprilia at bay to win Qatar sprint and inch closer to title channelnewsasia.com
