Unstoppable Force

Despite the challenges of the new Balaton Park circuit in Hungary, Marc Márquez continued his winning momentum

- Gaurav Davare

THERE'S A NEW ENTRY into the MotoGP calendar: the Balaton Park circuit in Hungary.

Judging by how the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) event went off, it’s got quite the tight and twisty layout that could serve up a few surprises. Well, that didn’t exactly happen up front as the six-time premier class champion, Marc Márquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), took pole position with Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) second and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) in third position.

There were some shocks, however, as Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who looked to be Marc Márquez's closest challenger this weekend, crashed in his first run, with the two-time champion, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), starting on the fourth row of the grid after failing to get into Q2.

Sprint

IT WAS DRAMA RIGHT AT THE START as Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who started sixth, was too late on the brakes into Turn One and collided with Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), causing the former to crash out and the latter to lose places and carry on with a damaged bike. Bastianini’s race didn’t last very long after that, as a collision with Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) took both of them out of the race.

Meanwhile, up front, Marc Márquez led, with the VR46 duo of Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli in second and third position, respectively. The top three order remained until the chequered flag dropped.

Race

EVEN THOUGH THE GRAND PRIX didn’t have as chaotic a start as the Sprint, it had drama as Fabio Di Giannantonio had to start from the pit lane due to a technical issue. Bezzecchi and Marc Márquez rubbed elbows, with the former taking the early lead and Morbidelli sneaking into second position.