The Japan Times - Leader Marc Marquez claims Spanish MotoGP sprint victory

The six-time premier class world champion took 12 points on his factory Ducati to reach 135 in total, ahead of his brother Alex Marquez, who came in second, 1.001sec behind, and is also second overall, 20 points behind the leader.

Francesco Bagnaia, third overall, also finished third in the sprint to reach 104 points.

French rider Fabio Quartararo started in pole position after setting a Jerez course record on his Yamaha earlier in qualifying but he fell on turn six of the second lap, allowing Marc Marquez to claim the lead, which he held on to.

"Today it wasn't easy because of these very high temperatures," said Marc Marquez under the sizzling Andalucian sun.

"I struggled a bit at the end but I was controlling (it)."

Marc Marquez, is undefeated in the sprint races this season after winning just one last season, the former Honda rider looking ever more comfortable on his factory Ducati.

He opened up a 1.4 second gap on Alex Marquez, in second at the halfway point, with the top six all riding Ducatis in the sprint -- Maverick Vinales came in seventh on his KTM.

Alex Marquez started the race fourth, but was able to edge ahead of Bagnaia right at the start and moved up to second when Quartararo lost the front and crashed out.

Quartararo held off Marc Marquez at the start of the sprint and despite his early exit was pleased with his day's work.

"It was very good for me on a mental level, and after that I was pushing the limit a lot... when Marc came alongside me, my bike moved a lot and I could not stop it," said the Frenchman.

"It would have been better to finish differently -- but we can be happy."

Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin was not involved as he recovers from various injuries after a brutal crash in the previous race in Qatar, and he stands virtually no chance of defending his title.

T.Kobayashi--JT