Marc Márquez wins the MotoGP sprint race in Brazil. After a delayed start to the race due to a sinkhole on the start and finish straight, the rest of the day’s racing was nearly sunk.
M. Márquez won by just two-tenths of a second over polesitter Fabio Di Giannantonio, with Jorge Martín taking the last spot on the podium.
Race Start
At lights out, there was a scary moment for Fermín Aldeguer, who slid across the track; everyone managed to avoid him. Aldeguer is coming back from injury and is still walking around the paddock with a crutch after breaking his femur in January.
Di Giannantonio had a brilliant start leading into turn one, followed by M. Márquez and Fabio Quartararo in a battle, with Marco Bezzecchi falling to 4th.
Even with a brilliant start, Quartararo kept falling down the field on the underpowered V4 Yamaha. He had battles with Bezzecchi, Martín, and Ai Ogura; he eventually finished in sixth place.
Battle for the win
Di Giantonio started trying to build a gap to M. Márquez, which at one point reached one second. As the sprint went on, M. Márquez got stronger. With three laps to go, Di Giannantonio made a mistake, allowing M. Márquez to pass. Di Giannantonio tried to get past him, but he had no answer for the reigning world champion.
After the race, Di Giannantonio said, “We can be proud.”
M. Márquez said: “Super important victory, I already feel a step.”
There was a short battle between both Aprilias before Martín pressured Bezzecchi into a mistake to get past. This is Martín’s first podium since he won his world championship in 2024.
Further down the field
There were also good battles for seventh between Álex Márquez and Francesco Bagnaia. Two top runners in last year’s championship seem to be struggling to fight this year.
Another strong showing for home favourite and rookie Diogo Moreira, who finished just outside the points in 10th. He battled with the current championship leader, Pedro Acosta, for the whole race.
Going into the race tomorrow, M. Márquez is the man to beat, but with mixed conditions expected, anything can happen.