Álex Márquez breaks Marco Bezzechi's win streak at the Jerez Grand Prix
- Isha Reshmi Mohan
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Written by Isha Reshmi Mohan
Three weeks have definitely been a drag, but we are finally back to racing and the Jerez Grand Prix brought us plenty of action. This was especially true starting from Saturday, with a semi-wet FP2 session just before qualifying and a chaotic sprint session that followed.
Sprint Round Up
Marc Márquez started right from the front as the 12-lap sprint got underway. Àlex Márquez put up a fight with Johann Zarco but was eventually caught by Jorge Martin.
Martin took third place but lost it almost immediately, as he was forced down to 23rd due to bike issues.
With 10 laps to go, the white flags were waved, allowing the riders to swap their bikes if needed.
The Marquez brothers have now comfortably pulled away from the rest of the grid, while bad luck caught up to Zarco. He suddenly dropped to sixth position behind Acosta, shifting the focus onto them as Enea Bastianini also joined the battle for sixth place.
As the session went on, the rain started to creep in, followed by a yellow flag in Sector 2 after Toprak Razgatlıoğlu unfortunately took Lorenzo Savadori out of the session.
Shortly after, Marc Márquez crashed in Turn 13, but he chose to swap bikes instead of retiring from the race, joining Francesco Bagnaia, Franco Morbidelli, and the Yamaha riders in the pits.
Fermín Aldeguer remained out on track, the only rider who had not yet swapped his bike during the session at that time.
In the last four laps, Marco Bezzecchi and Brad Binder joined the list of crashes. It didn’t take long for the Ducatis to take over the front, pulling away from Fermín Aldeguer, who finally decided to switch his bike with just two laps to go.
The session ended with Márquez, Bagnaia, and Franco Morbidelli taking the podium spots.
Race Report
To kick off the Sunday session, Marquez shot forward from pole position. Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi started fourth and moved up to second by the first turn, while Jorge Martín began from 10th following a three-place grid penalty.
Meanwhile, Di Giannantonio struggled early on, dropping down to sixth.
The lead quickly turned into a three-way battle as Álex joined the fight for first, passing Bezzecchi while Martin also caught up to fourth, all within the first lap.
Álex took the lead from his brother at turn six on lap two and started to create a gap, but the battle ended abruptly when Marc crashed out in sector four just moments later.
Di Giannantonio inevitably rejoined the fight after passing Martin for third place, and Zarco was certainly not missing out as he trailed right behind them.
The KTMs were also engaged in their own battle for sixth involving Enea Bastianini and Acosta, with the Trackhouse riders close behind. There was no break in the action within the top nine spots with 20 laps to go.
And of course, on Lap 10, we once again see Fermin Aldeguer and Pedro Acosta fighting for position. This time, they are battling for tenth, with the Gresini rider momentarily snatching it away.
However, it is a nightmare for Ducati as Bagnaia suddenly drops to the back of the field due to an unexpected puncture in his front tyre. This shuffle keeps Acosta in tenth while Aldeguer moves up to ninth.
With ten laps to go, the Trackhouse riders, Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura, have moved past the KTM duo. They have firmed up their sixth and seventh spots, trailing just behind Zarco.
The Yamaha and Honda factory teams have had a quieter outing, with all their riders sitting outside the top ten. They find themselves in a similar struggle as the Pramac riders, who are also fighting to move up from the back of the pack.
Ogura finally earns the recognition he deserved after the previous round as he moved past his teammate in the closing stages to secure fifth place.
Meanwhile, Álex ultimately claimed a home victory with Bezzecchi and Di Giannantonio joining him on the podium, a result that effectively snapped the championship leader's win streak.
Be sure to catch the next race at the French Grand Prix on the 10th of May at 13:00 BST!
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