Marquez wins Japanese MotoGP to cut Martin’s lead

MOTEGI (Agencies): Ducati’s Marc Marquez won his fourth Japanese Grand Prix to complete a sprint-race double at the Motegi Circuit on Sunday ​and cut title rival Jorge Martin’s championship lead to two points. After ‌several riders experienced extreme degradation of their soft rear tyres during Saturday’s sprint, the entire grid opted for hard rear tyres and the first few laps of the race were ​a cagey affair. Polesitter Martin managed to hold on to his advantage ​off the line and appeared comfortable in the opening eight laps ⁠as Marquez waited for the perfect moment to pounce. That opportunity came on ​the 11th lap when Martin left a sliver of space on his inside, ​which Marquez exploited to take the lead. The reigning champion then controlled the race to the chequered flag, finishing ahead of Aprilia’s Martin and Marco Bezzecchi. “The race was tough, especially when I ​was behind Jorge, but I knew that if I was able to ​lead the race, my pace was good,” Marquez said. “Jorge tried to attack, but then I just ‌increased ⁠a bit more the pace and it was enough to do the last two laps more relaxed.” Martin is on 333 points, ahead of Marquez on 331, with six rounds remaining in the season. “I wanted to win but I think ​today it was ​really difficult to ⁠beat Marc,” Martin said. “I rode almost perfectly. I was really smooth, really confident and even then I couldn’t win.” Martin’s teammate ​Bezzecchi also kept his slim title hopes alive, fending off ​a late ⁠charge by Tech3’s Enea Bastianini to finish third. LCR Honda’s Diogo Moreira, who clinched his first-ever podium on Saturday , crashed out, as did Gresini’s Alex Marquez after serving a ⁠double ​long lap penalty for his role in a ​three-rider collision during the sprint. Japan’s Ai Ogura (Trackhouse) finished sixth after a thrilling battle with teammate Raul Fernandez ​and KTM’s Pedro Acosta.