Marc Márquez wins Australian MotoGP sprint as Jorge Martin breaks radius in crash

Márquez wins the sprint

Ducati rider Marc Márquez won the sprint race at the Australian Grand Prix on Phillip Island on Saturday, 24 October, the eighteenth round of the championship. Europa Press reports that he and Jorge Martin exchanged up to ten overtakes over the first seven laps before their duel was interrupted. Márquez finished ahead of his brother Alex Márquez, also on a Ducati, and Fabio Di Giannantonio, who completed the podium. Pedro Acosta (KTM) took fifth, while Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) recovered to fourth from a ninth-place start. With the win, Márquez moved to the top of the standings on 365 points, ten more than Martin's 355.

Martin's crash on lap 8

Martin was running second behind Márquez when he crashed on lap 8. According to Europa Press, he ran over the inside kerb at turn 7, lost stability entering turn 8 and went onto the gravel after several rolls. Adnkronos reports that track staff helped him up before he was carried away on a stretcher to the circuit medical centre. Aprilia said X-rays showed a radius fracture and a suspected fracture of the right ulna at its distal end, with further tests due in the following hours. Martin will not take part in Sunday's race.

Qualifying and the grid

Márquez also crashed during qualifying, coming off at turn 4 on his first flying lap after pushing too hard, according to ANSA-AFP. He returned to the pits, switched to his spare bike and set the fastest time of 1:34.203 on a wet track, his 78th career pole. His brother Alex was 1.494 seconds back, with Johann Zarco third and Martin fourth on the grid. Jack Miller and Raúl Fernández started from the second row, and Bezzecchi from ninth.

Retirements and replacements

Maverick Viñales (KTM) and Raúl Fernández (Aprilia) also failed to finish. Europa Press reports that Fernández was still in pain from a fractured right index finger he suffered at Mandalika in October. ANSA also lists Johann Zarco and Francesco Bagnaia among the riders who did not finish. Iker Lecuona, standing in for Fermín Aldeguer on Ducati, finished ninth and scored points. Alex Rins (Yamaha) was twelfth and Augusto Fernández (Yamaha) fifteenth.

Championship picture

Martin, who led the standings before the sprint, dropped to second on 355 points. ANSA-AFP had earlier noted that he held a two-point lead over Márquez with five rounds left in the season. The updated standings show Bezzecchi third on 315 points, with Acosta and Ai Ogura level on 263 each.