Marc Marquez continued his dominant form in the desert, claiming a clean sweep at the Qatar Grand Prix. After securing pole position and winning the Sprint, the Spanish superstar conquered the main race as well, clocking a time of 41'29"186 and finishing comfortably ahead of Francesco Bagnaia and Franco Morbidelli.
Initially, Maverick Vinales had crossed the line in second, but a post-race penalty for irregular tyre pressure dropped him to 14th, reshaping the podium and rewarding Morbidelli with third place.
Marquez sealed the win with a decisive overtake on Vinales with seven laps to go. "This was the most important race of the season after the mistake in Austin," Marquez said. "I stuck to the plan, but was worried about managing the front tyre."
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Bagnaia bounced back from a tough Saturday to claim second. "The problems were entirely my fault," he admitted. "I ruined qualifying, but considering the starting position, this is a good result."
Morbidelli led briefly after capitalizing on a Marquez error at the start, but couldn’t keep pace with the leaders. Behind him, Zarco and Aldeguer completed the top five. Di Giannantonio, hampered by an early clash with Alex Marquez, finished 16th. The rest of the top ten included Alex Marquez, Quartararo, Acosta, Bezzecchi and Marini.
Drama struck mid-race when Jorge Martin crashed heavily on a kerb and was struck by Di Giannantonio’s bike.
