Marc Márquez wins the San Marino Grand Prix ahead of his brother Álex Márquez in second and Pedro Acosta taking third. Championship contenders Marco Bezzecchi crashed out, and Jorge Martín finished fifth. With a record-breaking crowd, the atmosphere was amazing ahead of the race.
This race saw two teams running special liverys. BK8 Gresini Racing ran a Marco Simoncelli inspired bike. A beautiful touch at the circuit named after the late Italian rider.
There was also a special livery for the Aprilia Racing bike who were celebrating 80 years of Vespa.
Race Start
As the lights went out, Pole sitter Bezzecchi got a great start and managed to keep the lead ahead of M. Márquez. However the lead was short lived, at turn 11 of the first lap crashed out of the race. He lost the front handing the lead over to M. Márquez.
With Bezzecchi crashing, the rest of the podium was taken up by Martín and Acosta, the Gresini pair just behind. Two more crashes at the beginning of the race, Jack Miller and Diogo Moreira.
With a battle for the final position on the podium between Acosta Á. Márquez and Fermín Aldeguer, it allowed the front two to create a gap to the rest of the field.
Francesco Bagnaia also crashed out, continuing his tough season.
Battle for the Lead
With the fast pace of Á. Márquez set the fastest laps of the race, forcing Martín to push harder and overtake M. Márquez. The weakest rider of the top three looked to be M. Márquez, who was 0.3 seconds slower than the other two.
M. Márquez found the pace back and closed the gap between himself and Martín and eventually got past him. For a track that is hard to pass on, the move was very clean.
While M. Márquez started pulling a gap, Á. Márquez struggled to get past Martín and eventually did so in the same way his brother had done a lap earlier. The battles at the front brought Acosta back into the front battle, trying to get the final position on the podium from Martín. Acosta eventually got past on lap 16.
The pressure on Martín was not over with Aldeguer putting pressure on the Spanish rider. Aldeguer’s pace usually quickens as the race goes on, with the pass coming with seven laps to go. With Martín going down to fifth in the race, it would mean M. Márquez would leave the race as the championship leader.
Last Five Laps
M. Márquez could not just sit and conserve the lead with Á. Márquez was closing the gap quickly, and Acosta was closing the gap on them both.
There was a late crash in the race for Johann Zarco with three laps to go. He thankfully walked away, still riding with an injury after the crash at the Catalan Grand Prix.
M. Márquez managed to respond well to the challenge from his brother to keep the lead and cross the line to win the San Marino Grand Prix. Á. Márquez finished an impressive second after starting ninth on the grid. Acosta took the final place on the podium a good result for the KTM rider.
The result means that M. Márquez is the new championship leader. While he has the same amount of points as Martín, he has won more races putting him in the lead.
Race Top 10
The next race is next weekend at the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix (18-20 September)