Motegi, Oct 4 (IANS) Marc Marquez doubled up at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan with a strong race win on Sunday to slash the championship lead from rival Jorge Martin, who finished second.
Marquez got all 37 maximum points in Japan to move to 331 points, just two short of Martin as the championship battle heats up with six more rounds left now.
Marquez led Martin to the chequered flag in his Ducati Lenovo Team, 1.363 seconds ahead of Martin in his Aprilia Racing for his fourth Japanese GP win. Marco Bezzecchi in the other Aprilia finished third after fending off compatriot Enea Bastianini with a gap of 0.078 secs.
Marquez started the Sunday race from P2 behind Martin but pounced on to a move after 11 laps to take the lead of the race and steadily built on from there for a much-needed win.
“It was very important to be close to 37 points (for a sprint/Grand Prix double), and we achieved it, so very happy,” Marquez said after the race.
“The race was tough, especially when I was behind Jorge, but I knew that if I was able to lead the race, the pace was good. Jorge tried to attack, but then I increased the pace a bit more, and it was enough to do the last two laps more relaxed,” he added.
Meanwhile, Trackhouse MotoGP Team riders Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura took fifth and sixth places. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pedro Acosta was seventh ahead of Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia, BK8 Gresini Racing’s Fermin Aldeguer and Honda HRC Castrol’s Luca Marini wrapped up the top 10.
There was more joy for Honda HRC Castrol as Somkiat Chantra took 13th for a double-point finish in 13th ahead of Maverick Vinales and Franco Morbidelli, both of whom were the last point scorers in the race.
–IANS
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