Dominant Marquez cruises to Czech MotoGP win / Photo: Michal Cizek - AFP
Dominant Marquez cruises to Czech MotoGP win
Marc Marquez won the Czech MotoGP on Sunday for his eighth victory in 12 races this season and fifth in a row, extending his commanding lead in the world championship.
The factory Ducati rider beat Marco Bezzecchi on an Aprilia by almost two seconds, while Pedro Acosta on a KTM came in third in his first race podium finish of the season.
Marquez had a fifth straight perfect weekend, winning both the sprint on Saturday and Sunday's race.
The 32-year-old Spaniard now leads the world championship with 381 points, 120 ahead of his younger brother Alex who crashed, and 168 ahead of Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia.
Bagnaia started from pole on a sunny Sunday at Brno but only retained the lead until the second lap when Bezzecchi eased past him, with Marquez following suit soon afterwards.
Acosta did the same to settle down in third after getting a boost from a third-place finish in Saturday's sprint.
Marquez glided past Bezzecchi in lap eight as the runaway trio kept building up their lead, and as so often this season kept widening the gap comfortably.
The three stayed put until the finish line, although fourth-placed Bagnaia gave Acosta a hard time pressing from behind.
Reigning world champion Jorge Martin collected his first points after finishing seventh in the first race he has completed this year.
Martin sat out the first three races following two pre-season crashes, and when he returned at Qatar in April, he crashed heavily again during the race and missed the next seven.
Alex Marquez retired after crashing in lap two to leave Brno without a point following a disappointing 17th spot in the sprint race.
He took out Joan Mir who also walked away from the gravel safety area, just like Enea Bastianini a lap later.
The MotoGP circus will now take a summer break and resume with the Austrian GP on August 15-17.
M.Banerjee--MT
