Oct 24 (Reuters) - Ducati's Marc Marquez emerged victorious in an electrifying battle with championship rival Jorge Martin before going on to win the Australian Grand Prix sprint from pole position on Saturday and reclaim the MotoGP championship lead.
Victory moved seven-times MotoGP champion Marquez up to 365 points in the championship standings, 10 points ahead of Martin, who did not finish the sprint after suffering a gruesome crash in the eighth lap.
The reigning champion can further extend that
lead in Sunday's race, with Martin declared unfit after breaking his wrist in the crash.
After a couple of wet qualifying sessions earlier in the day, the sprint began on a dry track at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, with dark clouds looming overhead.
Pole-sitter Marquez shot off the line and held on to his lead, though his start was matched by title rival Martin, who barrelled past Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco into second place from fourth.
Without the rain to hinder him, Martin squeezed every ounce of pace he could out of his Aprilia on the circuit's swooping corners and stole the lead from Marquez three times, only to overplay his hand and quickly give it away on every occasion.
The 2024 champion continued to push, and his overzealousness proved to be his undoing in the eighth lap, as his bike slid out from under him and he went hurtling into the gravel at high speed.
"It was a title battle. Of course I gave everything. I was aggressive and he was faster than me, but I tried to defend in the best way possible," Marquez said after his win.
"There were nice overtakes, limit overtakes. And in the end, both of us were riding on the limit. Both of us deserved the victory because we are pushing a lot. But, you know, racing is like it is.
"Today, it was on my side, but, this (season) is super long, so, keep calm, keep going, and yeah, happy for today."
MARTIN TO MISS RACE
Martin was carried away from the site of the crash on a stretcher as Aprilia confirmed that he had been taken to the medical centre for evaluation.
The Spaniard was later pictured walking out of the medical centre with his arm in a sling and his wrist wrapped up tightly.
"Jorge Martin has been declared unfit to race after suffering a fracture to his right wrist! Wishing Jorge a speedy recovery," MotoGP said in a statement on social media.
Martin will also be a doubt for next week's Malaysian Grand Prix.
Trackhouse Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez, who won the Australian Grand Prix in 2025, was also ruled out of Sunday's race due to inflammation of tissue around a finger fracture that he sustained at the Indonesian Grand Prix this month.
"It’s not how I wanted to say goodbye to Phillip Island, but my finger has said it’s enough. I need to take a break and recover so I can come back at 100%," Fernandez said on social media.
Marquez's brother Alex of Gresini Racing finished second, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Racing) completing the podium.
"It was quite dramatic. For me, I had the best seat, sitting in the third place (behind Marc Marquez and Martin)," Alex said.
Martin's teammate Marco Bezzecchi finished in fourth place, keeping his outside shot at winning the title alive.
Home hero Jack Miller of Pramac Racing was eighth in the final sprint at Phillip Island, with the Australian Grand Prix moving to the streets of Adelaide next year.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard and Stephen Coates)
