MOTO GP

Bezzechi leads Aprilia one-two and wins Americas GP

Marco Bezzecchi recovered from his crash in the sprint race to get the holeshot, take the lead on the first lap and win the MotoGP US GP with authority this Sunday (29). The Aprilia rider started from fourth position after being penalized, but, even before the end of the first lap, he climbed through the pack, attacked Pedro Acosta and controlled the race from start to finish in Austin.

Acosta had a great start and took the lead in the first few meters, as did Bezzechi, who gained two positions. Starting from pole, Fabio DiGiannatonio was fifth and Marc Márquez also moved into the top 4.

Shortly after, Bezzechi went after Acosta and took the lead. Right behind, Márquez pressured Martín, who also had a good start and went from seventh to third.

DiGiannantonio managed to overtake Márquez and reached fourth place. Sixth-placed Bagnaia also joined the fight. Meanwhile, a quick yellow flag was waved in sector two because Johann Zarco crashed and abandoned the race.

On lap three, Bezzechi, Acosta, Martín, DiGiannantonio, and Bagnaia were the top five. Márquez was seventh, having also been overtaken by Joan Mir. Having started 14th, Diogo Moreira maintained his position.

On lap four, Márquez served the long lap penalty he earned from the incident with DiGiannantonio in the sprint and returned to the track in 11th place. Two laps later, Joan Mir went off track in sector two and another yellow flag was waved. The Spaniard also abandoned the race.

In the leading positions, Bezzechi maintained his lead with a 1-second advantage, followed by Acosta and Martín. DiGianantonio, Bagnaia, Álex Márquez, Ogura, Bastianini, Marc Márquez, and Fernández completed the top 10. Diogo Moreira was 12th.

Halfway through the race, Ogura overtook Álex Márquez for sixth place, and Moreira lost a position to Aldeguer. At the front, Bezzechi maintained a little over 1 second advantage over Acosta, who was being chased by Martín.

Having started from tenth place, Ogura continued to climb through the field and overtook Bagnaia, reaching P5. The Japanese rider continued to pressure and, two laps later, overtook DiGiannantonio. Just ahead, Martín overtook Acosta and took second place.

With six laps to go, Marc Márquez overtook his younger brother and Bastianini, reaching sixth place. Further ahead, Ogura lost pace, was overtaken by DiGiannantonio and ended up abandoning the race.

Márquez continued to pressure and stayed very close to his teammate, Bagnaia, in the fight for fifth position. Right behind, Bastianini also stayed close to the seven-time champion and managed to overtake the Spaniard from Ducati.

Given this scenario, Bezzechi, Martín, Acosta, DiGiannantonio and Bagnaia were the top five with four laps to go. Right behind, Márquez managed to overtake Bastianini, but the KTM rider didn't let go at any point.

On the next lap, Márquez overtook Bagnaia, who was also overtaken by the Italian from KTM. In the fight to stay in the points zone, Moreira overtook Morbidelli and reached 13th place.

Jorge Martín completed the 1-2 for the Noale team and crossed the finish line in second place, with Acosta rounding out the podium in Texas. Penalized with a long lap for the accident in the sprint race, Marc Márquez had to serve a long lap, made a recovery race and finished the GP in fifth.

Diogo Moreira started from 14th position, managed to impose a good pace and finished the race within the points zone again, once more in 13th place.

The top-10 of the US GP was as follows: Bezzecchi, Martín, Acosta, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Marc Márquez, Enea Bastianini, Álex Márquez, Raúl Fernández, Luca Marini and Francesco Bagnaia.

Having led the podium in the last two races of last season, this was the fifth consecutive victory for the 27-year-old rider, who also set a new MotoGP record for consecutive laps with 121 – beating the previous record of 103, set by Jorge Lorenzo in 2015.

“I’m happy. I’m very happy,” said Bezzecchi, who won on Sunday after retiring from Saturday’s sprint race. “Yesterday I made a mistake, so it was very important to have a good race today.”

Bezzecchi’s teammate, Jorge Martin, finished second and Pedro Acosta third, while reigning champion Marc Márquez was fifth.

Bezzecchi leads the MotoGP standings with 81 points, four ahead of second-placed Martin.

The next round of the MotoGP season will take place in Jerez, Spain, from April 24-26.

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