Marc Marquez will have to wait to secure a record-equalling eighth MotoGP world championship after finishing second to Marco Bezzecchi in the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday. The 33-year-old Spaniard won Saturday's sprint race and would have clinched the title with a round to spare had championship rival Jorge Martin finished outside the points.
Martin, the 2024 champion, returned from a fractured wrist that forced him to withdraw from the previous race and finished seventh, keeping the title race alive. Marquez, riding for Ducati, now holds a 60-point lead over Aprilia's Martin with 74 points remaining over the final two rounds. Bezzecchi's victory, his sixth of the season, leaves him mathematically in contention, 74 points behind Marquez. Raul Fernandez completed the podium in third for Trackhouse Aprilia. The next opportunity for Marquez to seal the championship comes in two weeks at the Portuguese Grand Prix in Portimao.
