Marc Marquez continued his winning streak in MotoGP after his brother Alex Marquez crashed out of the lead of the Catalan Grand Prix sprint with four laps to go.
Alex Marquez had been leading the race comfortably from pole position and was on course for his second sprint win of the year when he tucked the front of his Gresini Ducati at Turn 10.
The incident allowed factory Ducati rider Marquez to claim his 15th consecutive victory of 2025 and inch closer to his seventh premier-class title.
At the start of the race, Alex Marquez got the holeshot from pole position on the Gresini Ducati, with Fabio Quartararo repassing Marc Marquez for second after initially dropping behind with a slower getaway.
Quartararo and Marc Marquez continued to battle for the remainder of the lap and even traded paint at Turn 8, allowing KTM’s Pedro Acosta to move up to third ahead of the Ducati.
However, the championship leader quickly fought back, passing both Acosta and Quartararo on the run down to Turn 1 on the following lap to reclaim second.
At this point, the gap between the two Marquez brothers was about half a second, with the championship leader poised to unleash his usual second-half of the race speed and take the lead.
Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
However, the Gresini rider remained firm at the front and gradually increased his advantage to 1.2s on lap 8 of 12, seemingly putting him on course for a first sprint win since the British Grand Prix in May.
But the 29-year-old threw it all away on lap 9 when he crashed his GP24 in Turn 10, gifting his elder brother an easy victory.
Marc Marquez eventually took the chequered flag with a comfortable margin of over a second, with Quartararo finishing a solid second on the factory Yamaha.
Completing the podium spots was the sole-surviving VR46 Ducati of Fabio di Giannantonio, who passed Acosta on lap six to grab third.
Acosta later prevailed in an all-KTM battle with team-mate Brad Binder and Tech3’s Enea Bastianini to secure fourth, with Bastianini edging out Binder for fifth.
LCR’s Johann Zarco was the top Honda finisher in seventh, beating the factory bike of Luca Marini, despite running wide and nearly wiping out Acosta early in the race.
Ai Ogura took the final point in ninth for Trackhouse, while 10th place went to Pramac rider Miguel Oliveira.
Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing crash
Photo by: Lluis Gene / AFP via Getty Images
Neither factory Aprilia made it to the finish, with reigning champion Jorge Martin being taken out by Franco Morbidelli on lap 7 and Marco Bezzecchi sent to the ground by an out-of-control Fermin Aldeguer.
Two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia made little progress after qualifying in 21st, as he finished a long way outside of the points in 14th.
However, there were still reasons for celebration in the factory Ducati garage, as the Borgo Panigale marque wrapped up the manufacturers’ championship with seven rounds remaining.
MotoGP Catalan GP – Sprint race results:
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