Marc Marquez wins sprint despite tyre pressure issues  

Marc Marquez recovered from tyre pressure problems to win the sprint race at MotoGP’s Czech Grand Prix, ahead of KTM’s Pedro Acosta.

Francesco Bagnaia started on pole and got away well, leading on the run down to the first corner. But Marquez wasn’t waiting around, and the Spaniard took the lead coming into Turn 3 in a neat and decisive move. 

In the early stages, Marquez was the fastest rider on track as he aimed to break Bagnaia’s spirit. Bagnaia then dropped back from second on lap five, deliberately letting Acosta past due to tyre pressure issues.  

Unfortunately for the Italian, he also lost out to both Enea Bastianini and Fabio Quartararo. 

Marquez looked set for an easy victory with more than a three-second lead, but also backed off to let Acosta past to ensure he wasn’t below the minimum tyre pressure. However, with a lap and a half to go, the championship leader slotted past Acosta and took his 11th sprint win of the year. 

Acosta took second, marking his first sprint race podium of the year, while Bastianini pulled off his most convincing KTM performance yet to complete the podium. Marco Bezzecchi revelled in the pace of his Aprilia, being the fastest bike at the end of the race and securing fourth place. 

Quartararo could only manage fifth on his Yamaha, while sixth place fell to Raul Fernandez, who had a spirited battle with Bezzecchi but ultimately lost out. Seventh was Bagnaia, who continued to fall through the field following his tyre pressure problems and lost sixth at the last corner on the final lap. 

Eighth was Johann Zarco on the LCR Honda, with Pol Espargaro and Brad Binder rounding out the top 10. Jorge Martin delivered a great drive to finish 11th on his sprint race return to the MotoGP paddock. 

The retirement list comprised of Augusto Fernandez and Takaaki Nakagami. The Yamaha rider got his braking wrong into Turn 3 and took the Japanese rider out of the running. Fabio Di Giannantonio also went down and retired from the race.