MOTO GP

Marc Márquez defeats Álex Márquez to take Ángel Nieto's crown

Spaniard Marc Márquez equaled Ángel Nieto's 90 world championship victories after winning the Argentine MotoGP Grand Prix, with his brother Álex Márquez again in second place and Italian Franco Morbidelli completing the podium. With this victory, Márquez extends his lead in the standings and moves into third place in the all-time win ranking behind Italians Giacomo Agostini (122) and Valentino Rossi (115).

Without Miguel Oliveira and Lorenzo Savadori, injured, the race started with Marc Márquez and Álex Márquez defending their positions well, with Pecco Bagnaia taking third ahead of Johann Zarco, while behind him Marco Bezzecchi crashed out and nearly took out Fabio Quartararo, who dropped to last place.

Bagnaia got his bike in front of Álex Márquez, but couldn't consolidate the overtake and had to defend against Zarco, who also couldn't gain a position on the Italian. Behind the Frenchman were Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli, who were riding soft rear tires unlike the rest of the front three rows of the grid. Enea Bastianini fell behind him, running 13th.

Zarco continued to try to get at Bagnaia, allowing the Márquez brothers to open a gap on the second lap. The Italian's respite came when Morbidelli, who had aggressively passed Di Giannantonio—causing Brad Binder to also overtake him—released his brakes and snatched fourth place from the Frenchman.

On the fourth lap, Álex Márquez took advantage of a slide by Marc Márquez to take the lead, and moments later it was Morbidelli who knocked Bagnaia off the podium. Behind Di Giannantonio, Ai Ogura overtook Joan Mir and Pedro Acosta, who were having their own personal battle for ninth place.

Probably taking advantage of his soft tires, Morbidelli began to close in on the Márquezes while releasing Bagnaia, who still had Zarco glued to him. Behind him, Di Giannantonio closed in on Binder, while Acosta shook off Mir first and then Ogura.

With eleven laps to go, Marc Márquez had a tremendous scare that he masterfully avoided, getting back close to Álex to attempt an overtake with seven laps remaining. However, he was too far back, and the Gresini rider recovered well to protect his lead.

After completing the fastest lap with seven laps remaining, Marc Márquez managed to overtake Álex Márquez with five laps remaining and quickly opened up a gap of just half a second to try to repeat what he had done in Thailand. With the track clear, Marc Márquez managed to open a gap to enjoy a smooth finish and a victorious finish at the finish line. Looking back, he saw Álex Márquez secure another one-two, with Franco Morbidelli returning to the podium four years later.

Pecco Bagnaia tried everything to catch his compatriot, but had to settle for fourth place, while behind him, Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the Ducati top five after executing a beautiful last-lap pass on Johann Zarco.

Brad Binder managed to hold off Ai Ogura to take seventh, and Pedro Acosta did the same on the Hondas of Joan Mir and Luca Marini, with Álex Rins taking twelfth as the best Yamaha, followed by Maverick Viñales.

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