BALATONFOKAJAR: Marc Marquez extended his dominant championship campaign with a commanding victory at the Hungarian MotoGP on Sunday.
The 32-year-old Spanish Ducati rider secured his seventh consecutive sprint race and grand prix double while closing in on his seventh world title.
Marquez finished ahead of compatriot Pedro Acosta on a KTM machine with Marco Bezzecchi taking third place aboard an Aprilia.
His performance leaves him just three victories short of matching his personal best streak of 10 consecutive MotoGP wins.
Reigning 2024 world champion Jorge Martin delivered an impressive fourth-place finish despite starting from 17th position on the grid.
Martin’s season has been ruined by injury, something Marquez knows all about having had a series of injuries, but back to full fitness he finally found some form.
Marquez now holds a commanding 175-point advantage over his younger brother Alex Marquez, who could only manage 14th position.
The race began dramatically with Marquez almost crashing after clipping Bezzecchi at the second corner following a poor start.
He recovered from dropping to third position while Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia surged from 15th to seventh after a disastrous qualifying session.
Alex Marquez saw his already slender title hopes diminish yet further as he crashed on the first lap before remounting in last place.
Italian rider Enea Bastianini suffered even worse fortune with his race ending before completion of the opening lap.
Marquez fought back to second position by passing Franco Morbidelli and closed within one second of leader Bezzecchi with 21 laps remaining.
He briefly took the lead two laps later before Bezzecchi reclaimed first position in a thrilling exchange.
The battle continued for several laps until Marquez made a decisive pass at the beginning of the 11th lap.
Acosta joined the leading group by the halfway mark while Marquez had already established a one-second advantage.
Fermin Aldeguer’s hopes of fourth place ended when he crashed at the first corner of lap 14 before continuing in last position.
Bagnaia’s difficult campaign continued when he received a long lap penalty for cutting through a chicane.
Acosta capitalised by moving into second position behind the unstoppable Marquez.
Martin’s impressive recovery drive provided a bright spot in what has been a challenging season for the former champion.
The 27-year-old has missed 10 races this term because of injury but he shone on the sun-soaked circuit on his Aprilia.
Only eight races remain in the 2025 MotoGP championship season. – AFP