The Japan Times - Marc Marquez nears seventh MotoGP title after San Marino triumph

Ducati rider Marc Marquez is on a whopping 512 points with six race weekends remaining and needs to earn three more than his brother Alex Marquez, who finished third, at the Japan MotoGP later this month to draw level with his great rival and motorcycling icon Valentino Rossi.

It would be his first championship victory since 2019 and crown a comeback from an injury nightmare which began when he broke his right arm at the start of the 2020 season.

He claimed a career 99th GP win across MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 from fourth on the starting grid, winning a brilliant battle with Aprilia's pole sitter Marco Bezzecchi who won Saturday's sprint after Marc Marquez crashed while in the lead.

"I gave everything I had, the mistake from yesterday gave me extra concentration, extra power, extra energy," said Marc Marquez.

"I was just there following him, trying to push him, always super close, because I say it's impossible to do 27 laps without any mistake, and in the end he did a small mistake.

"Super important for Ducati. I felt the pressure this weekend that for them it was super important to win both the Italian GPs, in Mugello and here. We did it so happy for all the Ducatisti (fans)."

Just as during Saturday's sprint race Marc Marquez charged past Fabio Quartararo and his brother Alex Marquez at the green light to nestle in behind Italian Bezzecchi.

- Marquez dominance -

But unlike on Saturday, when the Spaniard slid off the track after overtaking Bezzecchi, he made no such mistake once he snuck into the race lead during lap 12.

He pounced on a slip from Bezzecchi who went wide on a corner during lap 12 and from there rode expertly to seal his 11th GP win of a phenomenal season in which he has also won 14 of 16 sprints.

It was a shame for Bezzecchi who previously rode for Rossi's VR46 team and was hunting a second win of the season, but he is closing in on third place in the championship standings after Marc Marquez's teammate Francesco Bagnaia crashed out.

"I think that besides the victory this is maybe the best race of my life because I was super competitive all the weekend with the pole position, the sprint, second place but close to Mark who is at the moment the strongest of the grid," said Bezzecchi.

"I gave my all. I'm destroyed to try to give the fans the best show that I could."

It was another disastrous weekend for two-time MotoGP champion Bagnaia who started in eighth, his lowest placing ever on the grid at Misano, and then slid off the track during the 10th lap.

He is now only eight points ahead of Bezzecchi after not collecting a single point on the circuit he, like some many Italian riders, calls home.

Joan Mir, who missed all of Saturday's action due to a neck injury suffered on Friday, crashed out in the first lap.

T.Shimizu--JT