Marco Bezzecchi yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening grand prix in Thailand from pole position as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel.
Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third.
Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equaling eighth world title this season, but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go.
Photo: AP
The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide, with the jolt to his bike dislodging the rear tire, badly damaging his wheel.
Bezzecchi returned to winning form after crashing out of Saturday’s sprint race on the second lap.
The Italian was fastest in all three practice sessions and set a new track record in qualifying.
“Yesterday was a small mistake with a big consequence, so it was important today to try to bounce back,” Bezzecchi said. “My pace was good with the medium, we worked it super-well all weekend, so I knew that I could be fast if I was in front.”
“I tried my all to make a good start and the bike was perfect,” he added.
The victory made Bezzecchi the first Aprilia rider to win three consecutive Grands Prix, stretching back to last season, while teammate Jorge Martin, the 2024 world champion, and Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura completed the top five to cap a red-letter day for Aprilia bikes. Martin’s defense of his title was wrecked last season by injury.
Marquez’s misfortune proved costly for Ducati, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that one of their bikes failed to finish on the podium.
The Spaniard started second on the grid, but struggled to match the race pace and was forced to retire on lap 21 when his rear tire punctured at 176kph on a turn, heavily damaging the rim as the rubber nearly came off.
Adding insult to injury for the Marquez family, brother Alex Marquez, crashed on the very next lap, giving the two siblings who fought for the title last year a day to forget.
The drama unfolded early as Bezzecchi seized the initiative into turn one. Fernandez later slipped past Marc Marquez before Martin attacked on lap four to put three Aprilia bikes in podium positions.
Marquez last week said that he was still feeling the lingering effects of a shoulder injury that forced him to miss the final four races of last season.
Acosta beat Fernandez to second place to wrap up a successful weekend for the 21-year-old Spaniard.
Acosta won the sprint after Marquez was forced to let him pass on the final lap because of a penalty.
“Remember how much we struggled last year here even to take points and this year we make back-to-back podiums. For this, we have to be super happy,” a beaming said Acosta, , who leads the championship standings with 33 points ahead of Bezzecchi, with 25 points, after the first round. “Thanks to KTM... Last year the start was not the one I dreamed of and we survived to make it this.”
Fernandez looked like he had second place locked up until a late problem with his bike allowed Acosta to go past him.
“It was quite difficult, especially the last five, six laps,” Fernandez said. “I tried to make my maximum, but I had destroyed the rear tire.”
dditional reporting by AFP
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Shahzad Khan was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
OBJECTIVE REACHED: ’Now for us, it’s about getting healthy, making sure everybody is ready to go, and we can ramp up,’ the Atlanta Hawks’ C.J. McCollum said after the game The Atlanta Hawks on Friday secured an NBA playoff berth with a 124-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Boston Celtics locked up the Eastern Conference second seed with a lopsided win of their own. C.J. McCollum scored a game-high 29 points for the Hawks, who came into the contest at sixth in the East and still in danger of falling into the play-in tournament that would see the seventh-through 10th-placed teams battle for the last two playoff berths in each conference. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jalen Johnson scored 18 points apiece, and Dyson Daniels added a triple-double of 13
RSS