Marc Marquez was gifted a dramatic MotoGP Sprint victory after his brother and title rival Alex Marquez crashed from the lead in Barcelona.
The younger Marquez led the entire race before crashing out with four laps remaining, allowing the Ducati rider to sweep through and seal a seventh-straight Sprint victory.
Alex Marquez made the best start from pole position and he was able to comfortably hold his lead down into the first corner.
The three riders behind Marquez were in hot pursuit, with Fabio Quartararo holding onto second place ahead of Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta.
The elder Marquez attempted to take second from Quartararo, with the championship leader eased through after slight contact in Turn 10.
Quartararo immediately responded and forced Marquez wide at Turn 11, which allowed Acosta to capitalise and briefly take third from his compatriot.
Going down the main straight for Lap 2, the superior straight line speed of the Ducati and KTM saw Marquez and Acosta easily pass Quartararo.
The Frenchman wasn’t going down without a fight, and as Marquez forced Acosta to sit up in Turn 1, Quartararo pounced to retake third.
Di Giannantonio also saw an opportunity to pass the Spanish rider as he claimed fourth place from a clearly rattled Acosta.
Some mistakes from Acosta allowed fellow KTM riders Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini into contention for a top-five finish, with the South African also passing the Spanish rider.
Acosta was able to respond to being passed by his team-mate and retook fifth place, while an audacious move from Bastianini promoted him ahead of Binder into sixth.
As the gaps stabilised between the rest of the top five, Johann Zarco and Marco Bezzecchi progressed into eighth and ninth after passing Luca Marini.
With the battles continuing throughout the field, Franco Morbidelli made contact with Jorge Martin as both riders exited the race at Turn 10.
Aldeguer attempted an opportunistic move on Bezzecchi for the final points position, but the Spanish rookie lost the front of the bike and took both riders out of the race.
A disastrous moment at the front of the race saw Alex Marquez crash out of a 1.3-second lead, gifting his brother and title rival the race lead.
The Gresini rider was unable to rejoin from the Turn 10 gravel trap, which allowed Marquez to claim a likely race victory with four laps remaining.
The eight-time World Champion saw out the remainder of the race as he crossed the line to take his seventh-straight Sprint victory
Quartararo claimed a surprising second place, while Di Giannantonio completed the rostrum in third.
The KTM riders came home level across the line, with Acosta beating Bastianini and Binder to fourth place.
Zarco crossed the line to take seventh ahead of Honda stablemate Luca Marini in eighth.
Ai Ogura sealed the final Sprint point in ninth and he prevailed in the battle between the Pramac Yamaha and Trackhouse riders, with Miguel Oliveira in 10th.
The second Trackhouse Raul Fernandez took the flag in 11th ahead of Jack Miller in 12th, while Joan Mir finished a distant 13th.
Francesco Bagnaia gained seven places to take 14th over the line and Alex Rins scored a 15th place over Honda wildcard Aleix Espargaro.
Maverick Vinales completed the race in 17th on his return from a shoulder injury, while rookie Somkiat Chantra rounded out the finishers in 18th.
Alex Marquez’s crash saw him join a long list of non-finishers from the Barcelona Sprint, with team-mate Aldeguer and Morbidelli joining the three factory Aprilias of Bezzecchi, Martin and Lorenzo Savadori.
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