Marquez wins Czech MotoGP, cuts Bezzecchi's title lead to 40 points after Italian's ban
Marc Marquez secured his second consecutive win at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno on Sunday, while championship leader Marco Bezzecchi served a one-race suspension for striking a marshal and saw his advantage shrink to 40 points.
Marquez claims back-to-back wins at Brno
Marc Marquez delivered a controlled performance at Autodrom Brno on Sunday, overtaking Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia on lap 16 and holding off polesitter Ai Ogura to win by 0.421 seconds. It was Marquez's second consecutive victory after the Hungarian GP two weeks ago and his 75th career MotoGP win. The seven-time MotoGP champion started from fourth on the grid, shadowed Bagnaia for much of the race, then struck decisively late in the contest.
This is a very important victory, special. I never gave up, even though in the last laps I suffered a lot, I felt empty. Those were the six longest laps of the year.
Bagnaia, who had hoped to convert Saturday's sprint win into a double, was passed by Ogura on lap 18 and held third place under pressure from Fabio Di Giannantonio. KTM's Pedro Acosta retired on the final lap with a bike problem.
Bezzecchi suspended after sprint altercation
Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi did not start the race after being suspended for slapping a track marshal in the face following a crash during Saturday's sprint. The Italian's factory Aprilia team therefore scored no points in the main race, although Bezzecchi remained top of the standings with 180 points. His teammate Jorge Martin, who had to serve two long-lap penalties for causing a multi-rider crash in Hungary, crossed the line ninth and closed to within eight points of Bezzecchi.
Championship standings tighten
- Marco Bezzecchi
- 180 points
- Jorge Martin
- 172 points
- Fabio Di Giannantonio
- 157 points
- Marc Marquez
- 140 points
- Ai Ogura
- 134 points
- Pedro Acosta
- 132 points
- Francesco Bagnaia
- 127 points
Aprilia still leads team and rider contests
Despite Bezzecchi's absence and Martin's penalty, Aprilia Racing tops the team standings with 352 points. Ducati Lenovo moved into second at 267 points, while the satellite Aprilia-Trackhouse squad sits third on 240. Honda's Joan Mir finished a strong fifth, holding off Fermin Aldeguer and Raul Fernandez. The championship now heads into the final two rounds before the summer break.
