VIENNA — Six-times MotoGP champion Marc Marquez marked the 1,000th premier class race in history by winning the Austrian Grand Prix for the first time in his career.
It was his ninth win of the season and stretches his lead at the top of the championship standings.
The Ducati rider, who started fourth on the grid, swept past pole-sitter Marco Bezzecchi on lap 20, and pulled away for his sixth successive victory.
Rookie Fermin Aldeguer closed on him in the final laps but had to settle for second, the best result of his fledgling career, with Bezzecchi completing the podium.
“Yes, super, super happy to finally take the first victory here in Austria, I’m wearing the red bike (Ducati) and it was working super good,” said Marquez according to AFP.
Victory in the 1000th MotoGP race completed a perfect weekend for the Spaniard who, after a poor qualifying that saw him slide off the track, also won his 12th sprint of the season.
It also moves the 32-year-old one step closer to a seventh world title, his first since 2019.
After 13 rounds of the 22-race season, Marquez is now 142 points clear of his brother Alex Marquez (Ducati-Gresini) in the standings.
Marc Marquez made an excellent start, passing his brother on the first turn and sweeping past teammate Francesco Bagnaia, unbeaten here since 2022, on the second lap.
That then set up a cat-and-mouse battle with Bezzecchi (Aprilia). Marquez had to wait until eight laps from the end before he could make the decisive move.
Bezzecchi was then caught by the flying Aldeguer who briefly threatened to press Marquez for the chequered flag. In the end the 20-year-old dropped off to secure second. “In the first part he (Bezzecchi) was super strong but then I just waited,” said Marquez.
“I tried in the beginning but it was too risky, I preferred to wait and attack near the end.
“But a new outsider arrived and it was Aldeguer this time and he was arriving super-fast. But yes, I’m very happy for six victories in a row.”
In spite of starting second, Alex Marquez was always an outsider for the race win as he needed to serve a long-lap penalty for wiping out Honda’s Joan Mir in an accident last time at the Czech MotoGP.
He took it on lap three which saw him drop from fourth to 11th and he never recovered, finishing 10th.
Reigning champion Jorge Martin’s nightmare season continued when he crashed out in last place on turn 7 on lap 15.
The Spaniard, who has said he will stay at Aprilia next season, sat out the first three races following two pre-season crashes.
When he returned at Qatar in April, he crashed heavily again and missed the next seven races, only returning to the track in the last round in Brno.
The next round of the championship takes place in Hungary next weekend.
