Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Marco Bezzecchi bounced back from his crash in the sprint to take Qatar Grand Prix victory, ahead of Marc Marquez who must wait until the Portuguese round to seal the MotoGP world title.
Bezzecchi used his superior pace and a strong start to lead every lap and win by 3.083s from Marquez, who at one point dropped to fourth but fought back to take second, ahead of Raul Fernandez, who completed the podium.
Unlike Saturday's sprint, Bezzecchi made a good start, holding on to the lead at the end of the main straight. Fernandez, who had started fourth, gained two places to slot in behind the Italian, ahead of Marquez who started from second on the grid.
After four laps, Pedro Acosta managed to catch Marquez and overtake him, but front tyre pressure problems forced the KTM rider to give the position back to the Ducati rider. After losing time to the two Aprilias ahead for several laps, Marquez managed to recover and fight his way back up to second place.
Ai Ogura and Enea Bastianini finished outside the podium places, having both managed to get ahead of Acosta in the closing stages. The KTM rider was still struggling with tyre pressure issues and eventually finished sixth.
With Bezzecchi taking the victory and Marquez finishing second, the Ducati rider missed his first opportunity to wrap up the championship, keeping both Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin with slim chances of fighting for the title.
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Photo by: Karim Jaafar / AFP via Getty Images
Martin started 11th and climbed to seventh in an impressive ride with his injury.
Marquez now holds a 60-point lead over Martin and a 74-point advantage over Bezzecchi. He could therefore be crowned champion on Saturday in Portimao if he wins the sprint, scoring 12 points and ensuring his lead over both riders is more than 61 points.
Di Giannantonio, who had a strong sprint on Saturday to finish second, was caught up in contact with Fernandez at the start and could only manage eighth place, ahead of Johann Zarco and Iker Lecuona, who finished in the top 10 as Alex Marquez's replacement at Gresini.
Only 16 riders started the Lusail race, making it the smallest grid of the season, and just 14 made it to the finish, with Brad Binder and Diogo Moreira retiring before the end.
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- The Autosport.com Team
Source: Autosport