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Marc Márquez is on the verge of winning his seventh MotoGP world title after triumphing in Sunday’s San Marino Grand Prix.
The Ducati rider is 182 points ahead of his brother Álex, who finished third, with six race weekends remaining and will have a chance to draw level with Valentino Rossi at the Japan MotoGP later this month.
The 32-year-old claimed the 99th GP win of his career across MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 after starting fourth on the grid and then winning a thrilling battle with Marco Bezzecchi. “I gave everything I had, the mistake from yesterday gave me extra concentration, extra power, extra energy,” said Marc Márquez.
“I was just there following him, trying to push him, always super close, because I say it’s impossible to do 27 laps without any mistake, and in the end he did a small mistake. Super important for Ducati. I felt the pressure this weekend that for them it was super important to win both the Italian GPs, in Mugello and here. We did it so happy for all the Ducatisti [fans].”
Just as during Saturday’s sprint race, Marc Márquez charged past Fabio Quartararo and his brother at the green light to nestle in behind Bezzecchi. But unlike on Saturday, when the Spaniard slid off the track after overtaking Bezzecchi, he made no such mistake once he snuck into the race lead during lap 12. He pounced on a slip from Bezzecchi who went wide on a corner during lap 12 and from there rode expertly to seal his 11th GP win of a phenomenal season in which he has also won 14 of 16 sprints.
It was a shame for Bezzecchi who previously rode for Rossi’s VR46 team and was hunting a second win of the season, but he is closing in on third place in the championship standings after Marc Márquez’s teammate Francesco Bagnaia crashed out.
“I think that besides the victory this is maybe the best race of my life because I was super competitive all the weekend with the pole position, the sprint, second place but close to Marc who is at the moment the strongest of the grid,” said Bezzecchi. “I gave my all. I’m destroyed to try to give the fans the best show that I could.”
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It was a bad weekend for Bagnaia, who started in eighth, his lowest-ever placing on the grid at Misano, and then slid off the track during the 10th lap. Joan Mir, who missed all of Saturday’s action due to a neck injury suffered on Friday, crashed out in the first lap alongside France’s Johann Zarco.
