Marc Marquez bags second win at Czech MotoGP after late charge in Brno

Marc Marquez extended his winning run in MotoGP with another controlled ride on Sunday, taking the Czech Grand Prix in Brno after a late move on factory Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia. The seven-time world champion followed up his Hungary victory from two weeks earlier and now heads into the summer stretch with momentum on his side.

Fast start at Brno

The race began with Aprilia pole-sitter Ai Ogura leading the opening lap in hot conditions at the Brno circuit. Bagnaia and Marquez stayed close behind, waiting for an opening rather than forcing an early mistake.

Bagnaia made his move on lap two, and Marquez followed soon after. That left the two Ducati riders at the front, with Ogura back in third and still in touch.

Marquez waits, then strikes

Marquez did not rush his attack. He stayed just behind Bagnaia for several laps and gradually cut the gap to a tenth of a second by lap 11 of 21. His decisive moment came on lap 16, when he passed Bagnaia and immediately pulled clear.

From there, the race moved in his favour. Ogura edged closer in the closing stages, but Marquez kept enough in reserve to secure his fifth Brno victory.

Bagnaia later slipped under pressure from Ogura, while Di Giannantonio finished fourth after pushing hard in the final laps. The top three from Sunday repeated the same order from Saturday’s sprint, which Bagnaia had won ahead of Ogura and Marquez.

Title race and penalties

Marquez said, "A super important victory," and added, “Super happy."

The result also came in a race marked by notable absences and penalties. Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi missed the Grand Prix because of a ban after slapping a track steward in the face following a crash in Saturday’s sprint. Even so, the Aprilia rider still leads the standings on 180 points.

His teammate Jorge Martin is second with 172 points, followed by Fabio Di Giannantonio on 157 and Marquez on 140.

Marquez, who had returned to racing in Hungary after missing two Grands Prix with a broken foot, admitted he was not fully fit yet. "You know that I never give up, in the last laps I was suffering a lot. The bike was there, but I was empty, and then I just tried to keep the pace," he said. "I saw that Ogura was pushing, but not enough to catch me. They were the longest six laps of the year," he added.

Ogura called it "a really tough one", while Bagnaia said he had to back off after being passed. The MotoGP season now heads to the Netherlands next weekend, with two races left before the summer break.

(With inputs from AFP)

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