Marquez seizes championship lead with San Marino win after Bezzecchi crash

MISANO, Sept 13 : Ducati's Marc Marquez seized the MotoGP championship lead for the first time this season after winning a chaotic San Marino Grand Prix on Sunday, where Aprilia's home favourite Marco Bezzecchi crashed out on the opening lap.

Marquez claimed his fifth victory of the campaign to move level with Jorge Martin on 274 points but the seven-times champion tops the standings having won more races than the Aprilia rider, whose sole win this season came in France.

Marquez finished ahead of his brother Alex of Gresini Racing while KTM's Pedro Acosta completed the podium. Fermin Aldeguer was fourth, pushing Martin down to fifth as five Spaniards finished in the top five.

Leading the championship seemed a distant prospect earlier this season, with Marquez trailing Bezzecchi by 102 points after the Italian Grand Prix in May.

"It feels unreal but I never give up. I will push until the end. This is not done, we are there in the championship fighting against very good riders, especially Martin and Bez," Marquez said.

"But as we see today, we are riding at the limit and a small mistake can cost a lot of points."

Marquez had overtaken Bezzecchi at turn one to win Saturday's sprint but the Italian went on the defensive in the race, taking the lead as the Aprilia - sporting a special white livery at their home track - surged ahead.

BEZZECCHI CRASHES ON LAP ONE

But Bezzecchi's attempt to build an early lead backfired dramatically when he lost control at turn 12, sending his bike cartwheeling across the gravel to the utter shock of the Italian fans.

Marquez moved into the lead while his team mate Francesco Bagnaia also crashed at his home track to retire for the fourth time in five races, with Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali unable to hide his disappointment as he doubled over in disbelief.

Martin, starting fifth, had briefly seized control by overtaking Marquez on lap seven with a daring overtake on the inside at turn four.

But the Aprilia rider's dreams of victory evaporated when Marc struck back on lap 12 with a dive into turn six, before Alex also swept past.

"After Bezzecchi's mistake, I was a bit too confident and then Martin attacked me," Marquez said.

"But then I regained the confidence again. I kept the pace and I'm happy because 37 points here means a lot."

Aprilia's home race then turned into a nightmare as Acosta also overtook Martin, knocking him off the podium positions, before Aldeguer also got past.

Once Marc reclaimed the lead, there was no stopping him, despite Alex's relentless pursuit.

"With Marc, it's true that it was really difficult to attack him because the last sector from him was unbelievable," Alex said.

As the Ducati rider took the chequered flag ahead of his brother, a stone-faced Bezzecchi watched on from the Aprilia garage as he fell 33 points behind the leading pair having led the championship earlier this season.

Raul Fernandez, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Enea Bastianini, Luca Marini and Fabio Quartararo completed the top 10.