Alex Marquez cruises to Catalunya MotoGP victory / Photo: Josep LAGO - AFP
Alex Marquez cruises to Catalunya MotoGP victory
Alex Marquez comfortably held off his brother Marc to claim the Catalunya MotoGP on Sunday, snapping his older sibling's winning streak of seven straight victories.
The 29-year-old's triumph on his home circuit, meant standings leader Marc Marquez, who finished second, cannot seal a seventh world title next weekend at Misano.
Ducati rider Marc Marquez leads the overall standings on 487 points, with Alex trailing by 182.
Polesitter Alex Marquez crashed out from the lead in the sprint on Saturday on his Gresini Ducati. Marc Marquez capitalised to claim victory.
This time the 32-year-old nosed ahead of Alex into the first turn of the race from third on the grid.
However Alex battled back to retake the lead on turn one of lap four before shutting out his brother on the second turn to open up a lead which he never relinquished.
Alex Marquez held off his brother well, growing out the gap to 0.6 seconds.
Every rider used medium/medium tyres apart from Pedro Acosta on medium/soft, and perhaps that began to tell as he fell 2.6 seconds behind third-place Enea Bastianini at the finish.
The two Marquez brothers outstripped their competition by far, with Marc Marquez over four seconds ahead of third-place Bastianini during the final lap.
The two brothers celebrated together with abandon in front of delighted fans at a packed Circuit de Barcelona in Montmelo.
E.Brwon--EWJ
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