Bezzecchi's Spectacular Maiden MotoGP Victory

The second race weekend of the 2023 season came to an end and, in a surprising turn of events, Marco Bezzecchi is now leading the championship standings. Here is the low-down on what transpired over the race weekend

- Azaman Chothia

Sprint Race

IN QUALIFYING, ALEX Márquez (Gresini Racing) qualified on pole. He was followed by Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing) in second place and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) in third place. As the lights went out for the start of the sprint race, Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha) got a phenomenal launch to briefly lead into the first corner; however, pole-sitter Alex Márquez grabbed Pr a few corners later as Morbidelli ran wide. Bagnaia lost quite a few positions at the start and was dropped down to P7. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) started the race in P15 and sliced through the field to arrive in P4 by the end of the first lap. It surely was a sensational ride from the South African.

Morbidelli was the new leader and led the race until Binder got the better of him on lap three. The top nine included Binder, Morbidelli, Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing), Alex Márquez, Bagnaia, Bezzecchi, Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing teammate Maverick Viñales, and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing). This group of nine riders was separated by just 1.6 seconds with seven laps to go.