Marquez pulls off late overtake on Bagnaia to claim thrilling win at Czech Grand Prix

[p]Starting fourth on the ‌grid, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/marquez-marc/UPhfij2b/"]Marquez[/a] shadowed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bagnaia-francesco/nahP9n9q/"]Bagnaia[/a] for much ‌of the race before making his decisive move on lap 16. ‌[/p][p]He then pulled clear in ⁠the closing ‌stages to secure the win after a ​controlled final stint, sealing back-to-back victories after also triumphing ​in Hungary earlier this month.[/p][p]Bagnaia, who had been chasing his first double ⁠victory of ​the season after winning Saturday’s sprint, was unable to respond and was later overtaken by pole-sitter [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ogura-ai/A3AtM47b/"]Ai ‌Ogura[/a] of Trackhouse Racing on lap 18 while pushing to reel Marquez back in. Ogura finished second, 0.421 seconds behind Marquez.[/p][p]The win put the Spaniard, fourth in the Championship standings, 40 points behind championship leader [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bezzecchi-marco/EXzAZEse/"]Marco Bezzecchi[/a], who was suspended from Sunday's race after an altercation with a marshal following a crash during Saturday’s ⁠sprint race.[/p][embed guid="2d67142b-b782-4e54-aa4d-87688b375665" url="https://x.com/MotoGP/status/2068676454833942818" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"It's a very important victory. I never give up,"[/b] Marquez said.[/p][p][b]"In the last lap, I was suffering a bit, but I just tried to keep the pace. I saw that Ogura was pushing me, but it was not enough. They were the longest six laps of the year so far for me."[/b][/p][p]Bagnaia came in third, despite coming under late pressure from VR46 Racing Team’s Fabio Di Giannantonio, who finished fourth. KTM’s Pedro Acosta retired from fifth with a technical issue in the final lap, handing the position to Honda HRC's Joan Mir.[/p][p][b]"I was quite comfortable when I was leading, but the pace was not enough,"[/b] Bagnaia said.[/p][p][b]"I tried to make a comeback in the last few laps to improve my pace. But in any case, I am happy with the result."[/b][/p][p]Bezzecchi’s teammate Jorge Martin was the only rider still in mathematical contention for the championship lead, but he could manage only ninth after serving his long-lap penalties from Balaton Park and now trails Bezzecchi by eight points.[/p]