Race report

MotoGP Czech GP: Marc Marquez wins sprint despite tyre pressure issues

The Ducati rider extends his lead at the top of the standings, despite running into tyre pressure issues at MotoGP's Czech Grand Prix

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.

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

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 ride 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.

MotoGP Czech GP - Sprint results

1 - 2
Cla	Rider	#	Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Retirement	Points
1	M. Marquez Ducati Team	93	Ducati	10	19'05.883		169.7		12
2	P. Acosta Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	37	KTM	10	+0.798 19'06.681	0.798	169.6		9
3	E. Bastianini Tech 3	23	KTM	10	+1.324 19'07.207	0.526	169.5		7
4	M. Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing Team	72	Aprilia	10	+1.409 19'07.292	0.085	169.5		6
5	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20	Yamaha	10	+2.292 19'08.175	0.883	169.4		5
6	R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team	25	Aprilia	10	+3.358 19'09.241	1.066	169.2		4
7	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	63	Ducati	10	+3.648 19'09.531	0.290	169.2		3
8	J. Zarco Team LCR	5	Honda	10	+3.920 19'09.803	0.272	169.1		2
9	P. Espargaro Tech 3	44	KTM	10	+4.748 19'10.631	0.828	169.0		1
10	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33	KTM	10	+5.902 19'11.785	1.154	168.8
11	J. Martin Aprilia Racing Team	1	Aprilia	10	+6.000 19'11.883	0.098	168.8
12	J. Miller Pramac Racing	43	Yamaha	10	+6.379 19'12.262	0.379	168.8
13	M. Oliveira Pramac Racing	88	Yamaha	10	+7.081 19'12.964	0.702	168.7
14	F. Aldeguer Gresini Racing	54	Ducati	10	+7.612 19'13.495	0.531	168.6
15	L. Marini Honda HRC	10	Honda	10	+8.681 19'14.564	1.069	168.4
16	A. Ogura Trackhouse Racing Team	79	Aprilia	10	+8.992 19'14.875	0.311	168.4
17	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73	Ducati	10	+9.404 19'15.287	0.412	168.3
18	A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing	42	Yamaha	10	+9.871 19'15.754	0.467	168.2
19	J. Mir Honda HRC	36	Honda	10	+11.487 19'17.370	1.616	168.0
dnf	F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46	49	Ducati	4	+6 Laps 7'47.171	6 Laps	166.5	Accident
dnf	T. Nakagami Team LCR	30	Honda	1	+9 Laps 2'02.448	3 Laps	158.8	Accident
dnf	A. Fernandez Yamaha Factory Racing	7	Yamaha	1	+9 Laps 2'02.814	0.366	158.3	Accident
View full results