Marc Marquez beats brother Alex in Argentina
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SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO: Ducati’s red-hot Marc Marquez won the Argentina Grand Prix on Sunday after trailing his brother Alex of Gresini Racing for much of the race as the pair finished in the top two yet again, while VR46 Racing’s Franco Morbidelli was third.
The six-time world champion replicated his dream season beginning in Thailand a fortnight ago, beating his younger sibling in Saturday’s sprint and the main race from pole at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.
The Spanish superstar landed the first two races of the season for the first time since 2014. This was his first visit to the circuit since his third win at the track in 2019 and it proved a happy return with his 90th career grand prix.
His stellar start to life on board the factory Ducati leaves him atop the riders’ standings on 74 points as he pursues a seventh world title which would draw him level with Italian legend Valentino Rossi.
Marc was virtually untouchable barring one error which allowed Alex to move up before the elder sibling ruthlessly snatched first place again and never looked back.
MotoGP did not have two brothers finishing first and second for 76 years but the Marquez brothers have now achieved the feat twice within a fortnight.
Victory also saw Marc record his 90th win across all classes to equal the late great Angel Nieto and the Spaniard wore a racing wreath with the words ‘Gracias Angel’, pointing up to the heavens.
“Super happy to equal Angel Nieto and this victory is for him and his family because he was an ace. Super important for the Spanish motorcycle world ... a pleasure to equal him,” Marc said.
“Today the confidence was not super good with the rear, I had a few problems there. I saw that Alex was pushing, he was controlling the race.
“I said, ‘OK, P2 today will be OK’. But in the end, I started to feel better and better... And then with the used tyre, it was better. It’s difficult to attack your brother.”
Twice champion Francisco Bagnaia finished fourth and the Italian already finds himself 31 points behind new team-mate Marc. Fabio Di Giannantonio finished fifth for VR46 Racing.
Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2025
