Marc Márquez Leaves No Room for Surprises in Texas Sprint

Infallible. This is how Marc Márquez's season has begun, with five out of five victories on both Saturdays and Sundays. It was expected, on a Circuit of the Americas that suits him perfectly, where he had already secured pole position, although it could have been very different if he hadn't saved a near-certain fall at turn 17 on the first lap. "It was very close. The conditions had changed a lot from morning to afternoon, and the grip had worsened," acknowledged the Spanish Ducati rider. That was a critical moment where he lost two positions to his brother Álex and Pecco Bagnaia, but he recovered and regained the lead on the second lap, maintaining it until the end.

The first lap was a tribute to motorcycling, with Bagnaia determined to challenge the Márquez brothers from the start. The Italian started sixth, after a Q2 mishap, but he was on the good side, the inside, and reached the first corner's braking point first. In the endless twists from turns 2 to 11, the two official Ducati team riders had their first battles of the season, with the Italian being much more aggressive than usual and Álex Márquez watching from third position. Before the end of that first lap, Marc had a scare and immediately recovered, leaving no doubt about who is the 'sheriff' of Texas.

When he could set his pace, he opened a psychological gap of more than a second, which he managed until the end of the race. He could have pushed harder, as he had room, but for Marc, it was enough after the first lap's scare. After ten laps, Márquez crossed triumphantly, achieving a full house of victories and making the extraordinary routine. "I am very aware that the day will come when this streak ends because it's impossible to be first in all poles, sprints, and races. And it was evident today, as a thousandth of a second can bring you down. Let it come as late as possible, because it will mean we've done everything perfectly until then," commented the MotoGP leader, who currently has a full score of 86 points, leading his brother by 19 and Bagnaia by 36.

Almost as perfect as his older brother's start is Álex Márquez's season, securing his fifth second place of the season. A position that Álex himself considered a triumph, given Marc's superiority. "Being second in Texas behind Marc is like a victory because here he is on another level." The younger Márquez latched onto Marc's red Ducati in the early laps and distanced himself from Bagnaia, who pressed in the final laps but couldn't catch him. After a grand prix start with doubts, being tenth on Friday and sixth in Q2, Bagnaia made a step forward in the sprint, thanks mainly to a great start. But he showed good pace in the final stretch, and Sunday's long race could benefit him.

Ducati once again dominated the top five positions in the sprint at a circuit that suits the powerful Italian bikes. The first of the rest was Fabio Quartararo, who made another great start like Bagnaia and battled throughout the race with VR46 riders Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli, who eventually prevailed. The Frenchman finished sixth, a symbolic victory for Yamaha against other brands, as other teams also scored: seventh Pedro Acosta with KTM, eighth Luca Marini with Honda, and ninth Ai Ogura with Aprilia. A shame for Joan Mir's fall and Maverick Viñales' mechanical problems, as both were fighting in that second points group.

It was a Saturday of qualifications in the smaller categories, where British rider Jake Dixon took the Moto2 pole, ahead of championship leader Manu González, who achieved the goal of starting from the front row. And from the second row will start Arón Canet, fifth, and David Alonso, sixth, in what is the best grid position for the Spanish-Colombian rider in his first year in Moto2. In Moto3, Seville's David Muñoz snatched pole from Máximo Quiles at the last moment. The Murcian, just 17 years old, is another standout name of the weekend, in his first World Championship race, securing a magnificent second position on the grid.