Marco Bezzecchi won the MotoGP race at Lusail on Sunday, leading from the early laps to take his sixth victory of the season, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Marc Márquez finished second and Jorge Martín came home seventh, which means the championship was not settled in Qatar and will be decided at the next round in Portugal.
La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Márquez could have sealed a tenth world title in Qatar only by winning the race while Martín finished outside the top fifteen. Neither condition was met, a scenario the Spaniard had himself predicted the day before.
Why it matters
The result keeps the title race alive for at least one more weekend, though the arithmetic still favours Márquez heavily. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Martín must outscore the Ducati rider by 24 points in Portugal to keep the fight going. The same report notes that a Saturday win for Márquez there, or simply scoring two points more than Martín, would be enough to make him champion.
For Bezzecchi, the win is a return to the form that marked the opening races of the year. La Gazzetta dello Sport describes it as his best version resurfacing, and the victory was his twelfth in the premier class. The Italian had never previously finished on the podium at Lusail, and the outlet notes he remains mathematically in contention for the championship.
A depleted grid and a fast start
The race was run with sixteen riders after a series of withdrawals. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Yamaha lost four riders — Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins from the factory team, plus Jack Miller and Augusto Fernández from Pramac. Pecco Bagnaia returned to Italy after fracturing his right foot in Saturday's Sprint, and Luca Marini was withdrawn by Honda because of fatigue. Joan Mir was already absent and had been replaced by Jake Dixon.
Bezzecchi launched strongly from the grid and built a rhythm nobody could match, according to the outlet's account. Raul Fernández, riding with a fractured right index finger, slotted in behind him and briefly surprised Márquez, who ran third ahead of Pedro Acosta.
Acosta passed Márquez early on, then slowed sharply on lap six and allowed him back through, apparently because of a tyre pressure problem. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the young Spaniard seemed to believe he could catch Márquez again, but the Ducati rider began lapping at a fierce pace instead.
Record lap and a late pass
Márquez's charge was built on a lap of 1'52.558 on lap thirteen, which La Gazzetta dello Sport identifies as a new race record. That speed carried him past Raul Fernández with three laps remaining, sealing second place behind Bezzecchi.
Behind the leading pair, Ogura finished fourth, meaning three Aprilias filled the top four positions. Enea Bastianini was fifth and Acosta sixth, still struggling with his tyre issue. Martín, riding with a fractured arm, took seventh.
La Gazzetta dello Sport notes that Spanish riders filled eight of the nine podium steps across Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP at Lusail, matching a record Spain had already set three times in 2013.
Márquez said he had been confident in a strategy that involved saving himself over the opening laps. Bezzecchi said the performance was what his team and everyone at Aprilia, including the staff at Noale, deserved, and that he was looking forward to resting before returning to the attack in Portugal.
The next round at Portimão will determine whether Márquez collects his tenth crown or Martín forces the fight to continue.
