Marquez wins Qatar sprint, sets up title chance

Marc Marquez won the restarted Qatar MotoGP sprint on Saturday, finishing ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio and Jorge Martin to set up a chance to clinch the championship in Sunday’s Grand Prix. Marquez leads Martin by 49 points after the sprint, but can secure the title in Qatar only if he wins the Grand Prix and Martin scores no points.

The sprint was restarted over 10 laps after a red flag for a crash involving Marquez’s Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia and Fermin Aldeguer. Bagnaia did not take part in the restart. Aldeguer received a double long-lap penalty and finished 11th.

On lap four of the restarted race, Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi made contact as Bezzecchi tried to pass at Turn 1. Bezzecchi crashed out, while Marquez continued and ultimately won by 0.862 seconds. Stewards investigated the incident and took no further action.

The ruling drew visible displeasure from Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola, who was shown applauding sarcastically and shaking his head after the decision was announced. The contact and the no-penalty decision were central points of debate after the race; the stewards’ decision left Marquez’s victory intact.

Martin, Marquez’s closest title rival,...