REPSOL Honda's Marc Márquez has cemented his leadership in the MotoGP world championship standings after sitting on a knife-edge for two weeks, neck-and-neck on points with Italy's Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati).
The Lleida-born prodigy (pictured) won back his place at the top a fortnight ago with a victory in San Marino – his fourth of the season – and his superior placing over Dovizioso's third meant Márquez was considered top of the leaderboard even though both riders were on 199 points.
Another win yesterday (Sunday) at the MotorLand circuit in Alcañiz, province of Teruel, Aragón, reaped Márquez a 16-point advantage over the Italian – thanks to his victory on home territory, the Spaniard now sits on 224 points, with Dovizioso second after finishing seventh in the race.
Surprise contender for the top spot, Maverick Viñales (Yamaha) – who burst into the spotlight this year with unexpected early victories – is third in the standings on 196 points, meaning a couple of wins combined with poor rounds by the top two could, in theory, see him clinch the world title.
Veteran Italian Valentino Rossi's fifth place at the Aragón Grand Prix was a major achievement for the nine-times world champion – seven of which at MotoGP level – given that he managed it with a broken foot.
A fall that saw Rossi, dubbed Il Dottore, crashing out of San Marino shattered his tibia, but within two weeks he was back on the track, showing he is still a force to be reckoned with despite being, in his late 30s, a senior citizen in MotoGP terms.
Rossi's team-mate, Mallorca-born Jorge Lorenzo took third place after a cracking start that robbed Viñales of his hard-fought pole in Saturday's qualifier, although he was in the running for second until three laps before the end when his compatriot and fellow Ducati rider Dani Pedrosa screeched past him to take up the middle station on the podium.
With Márquez now having consolidated his leadership, Lorenzo looks unlikely to get anywhere near to winning back his world title from 2015, the only year in the last four that the cup has not gone to the ace from Lleida – the youngest-ever rider to win the championship in his rookie year in 2013, aged 20, and current defending holder.
Spain's other riders showed mixed success, with Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) sixth – a creditable result for a competitor on a non-factory bike - Álvaro Bautista (Ducati) coming eighth, Pol Espargaró (KTM) 10th, Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) 15th, Àlex Rins (Suzuki) 17th and Héctor Barberá (Ducati) 18th.
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