Marco Bezzecchi’s bid for victory in the Qatar MotoGP Sprint ended on lap four of ten. At Turn 1, he tried to use Marc Marquez’s slight move away from the ideal line, but the two riders made contact. Marquez’s airbag deployed in the impact, yet the championship leader stayed on his Ducati. Bezzecchi slid off the circuit and lost his chance to fight for the win.

Bezzecchi said he had been trying to hold his line and that, once the contact occurred, there was effectively no way for him to avoid it. He accepted that he was the rider who crashed, while setting his focus on a response in Sunday’s Grand Prix. The FIM Stewards reviewed the incident and decided that no further action was required, so the clash brought no sporting penalty.

A costly restart

The collision came after a disrupted start to the Sprint. The first launch was stopped by a red flag following Pecco Bagnaia’s opening-lap crash, with Bezzecchi ahead of Marquez at that stage. Bezzecchi then made a small wheelie at the restart, lost some acceleration and surrendered the position to Marquez. He said his pace was strong enough to challenge for victory, but that he had needed to take risks to secure the result he wanted.

Marquez went on to win the Sprint. Fabio di Giannantonio took second from Jorge Martin on the final lap, while Bezzecchi was left 79 points behind Marquez in the championship. Remaining in title contention now requires him to reduce that deficit in Sunday’s Grand Prix. Up to 74 points remain available at Portimao and Valencia.