Alex Marquez edges to Catalan Grand Prix sprint victory in closest MotoGP finish ever

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/marquez-alex/6uLgHlWF/"]Marquez[/a]'s redemption arc played out perfectly at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where he crashed out ‌of a commanding lead in last year's sprint, allowing brother Marc ‌to take the chequered flag.[/p][p]This time, however, Alex Marquez held his nerve in ‌a nail-biting duel with pole sitter [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/acosta-pedro/KrGeaHq5/"]Acosta[/a] to claim his first ‌sprint victory of the season.[/p][p]"I was trying to concentrate on myself, trying to be really on the pace," Marquez said.[/p][p]"[b]I struggled a little bit with the front ‌tyre in the end, maybe I pushed a little ⁠bit too much in the ‌beginning[/b].[/p][p]"[b]So I need to improve for tomorrow in the management of the front tyre. ​But in the end, a victory today is also important[/b]."[/p][embed guid="122369e1-2b8d-4533-8995-ad181ec070cb" url="https://x.com/MotoGP/status/2055643837603750110" social-type="twitter" /][p]At the start, Acosta shot into the lead and defended his position ​well while LCR Honda's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zarco-johann/xrzbVGsc/"]Johann Zarco[/a], who has never finished on the podium in a sprint, carved his way through to move up ⁠from fourth to second.[/p][p]But Marquez ​was the early pace-setter, finding his way past veteran Zarco before using his compatriot Acosta's slipstream to seize the lead on lap four.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martin-jorge/zBBka6dR/"]Jorge Martin[/a]'s bid to seize the championship lead ended in the gravel after a costly ‌mistake when the Aprilia rider crashed out at turn 10 -- his fourth fall of the weekend -- with marshals urging the desperate Spaniard not to rejoin the sprint.[/p][p]Acosta appeared to be fading as even Trackhouse's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandez-raul/dIyisVJD/"]Raul Fernandez[/a] swept past the 21-year-old KTM rider, leaving him scrambling to defend the final podium spot against a charging [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/di-giannantonio-fabio/pI4o388M/"]Di Giannantonio[/a].[/p][p]But the youngster found a second wind with four laps remaining, reclaiming second from Fernandez.[/p][p]Two laps later, Di Giannantonio moved up to third to put two Ducati bikes ‌in podium places but he kept a safe distance behind Marquez and ​Acosta as the two Spaniards battled it out for the lead ‌until the finish line.[/p][embed guid="645b354a-b020-4722-81b8-a879de868a50" url="https://x.com/MotoGP/status/2055640423893262849" social-type="twitter" /][p]"We know that, at the moment, we are not in the level of Ducati," Acosta said.[/p][p][b]"We were, at the end of the race, finally battling with them. For this we have to be happy[/b]."[/p][p]Championship leader [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bezzecchi-marco/EXzAZEse/"]Marco Bezzecchi[/a] finished ninth to take ⁠only one point while Martin now ⁠sits two points behind his ‌Aprilia teammate going into Sunday's race.[/p]