Alex Marquez cruises to Catalunya MotoGP victory

AFP | Montmeló

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Alex Marquez comfortably held off his brother Marc to claim the Catalunya MotoGP yesterday, snapping his older sibling’s winning streak of seven straight victories.

The 29-year-old’s triumph on his home circuit, meant standings leader Marc Marquez, who finished second by 1.740s, cannot seal a seventh world title next weekend at Misano.

Ducati rider Marc Marquez leads the overall standings on 487 points, with Alex trailing by 182 after his second career victory and the second of this season.

Enea Bastianini came in a further 5.562s behind on his KTM to finish third.

“I’m very happy, very pleased, but to be honest I still had a thorn in my side from yesterday,” said Alex Marquez, who crashed from the lead during the Sprint on his Gresini Ducati.

“Today I had to pull that thorn out -- maybe without that mistake yesterday, I would have had it today, so maybe it served for something.

“It was a race of self-control. I had more but I didn’t want to destroy the tyres.”

Even though he will have to wait longer to complete his title charge, Marc Marquez was content with the day’s racing.

“I gave everything. I had the perfect race. I led on the first laps,” he said. “On the last laps I was on the limit, it was hard for me.”