Alex Marquez preserved his MotoGP title ambitions for another weekend after beating brother Marc Marquez to victory in Barcelona.
Polesitter Marquez responded to crashing out of the Sprint race lead on Saturday by cruising to victory by 1.740s and denying brother Marc a match point in the next round at Misano.
Marc Marquez made the best start of the riders on the front row of the grid, overtaking Fabio Quartararo before making an overtake on Alex Marquez at Turn 1.
Pedro Acosta also achieved a strong getaway from the second row of the grid, and passed Quartararo at the first corner before pressurising the younger Marquez in second.
The Frenchman faced further misery as he lost another position to the fast-charging Enea Bastianini, who gained three places on the opening lap.
Further down the field, Marco Bezzecchi had contact with Franco Morbidelli and crashed out of the race, with Fabio Di Giannantonio losing the front in sympathy at Turn 2.
Crashes for his compatriots saw Francesco Bagnaia climb a further two positions, adding to his fast start which saw him gain 12 places into ninth place.
Bagnaia earned a further position as he passed Ai Ogura for eighth, as the double World Champion joined the fight for fifth behind the hampered Fabio Quartararo.
The younger Marquez continued stalking his brother around the track searching for an opportunity to regain the lead, and was able to use the slipstream to draw level with the Ducati on the main straight.
The eight-time World Champion attempted to emulate his brother’s form one lap later, but was unable to find a way past the Gresini in front.
As the top four held their positions, a change came at the head of the second group as Johann Zarco found his way past countryman Quartararo for fifth.
Luca Marini also found his way through on Quartararo, as the Yamaha rider continued losing positions.
However, moments after passing his compatriot Zarco lost the front at Turn 5 and crashed out of the race, promoting Marini into the top five behind the leading group.
As the race continued, Bastianini’s tyre-preservation skills came to the fore as he finally found a way past Acosta for third.
Acosta’s choice of the soft rear tyre proved to be the wrong call as the Spaniard fell away from the leading trio, as Marini behind was lapping half a second faster per lap.
In the closing stages, the action was in the minor points positions as Ogura found his way past Bagnaia and Marini with just two laps remaining.
At the front, Alex Marquez claimed his second victory of the season and kept his title hopes alive for at least two more weekends.
The elder Marquez crossed the line in second place after being unable to challenge his brother for the victory.
Bastianini secured a surprise podium in third, finishing three seconds behind the Marquez brothers in front.
Acosta managed to hold on to fourth place despite his soft tyre degrading, while a late flourish from Quartararo saw him fifth over the line.
Ogura also showcased strong race pace as he took sixth ahead of double World Champion Bagnaia, who found his way past Marini on the final lap of the race in their battle for seventh.
Miguel Oliveira took the chequered flag in a solid ninth place, while reigning World Champion Jorge Martin completed the top 10.
Raul Fernandez earned 11th place over the line, with Joan Mir taking 12th place and Maverick Vinales scoring 13th to complete his comeback weekend.
Jack Miller struggled with the hot conditions and could only manage 14th ahead of Fermin Aldeguer who completed the points finishers despite serving a long lap penalty.
Somkiat Chantra completed his full-race return in 16th, with wildcard Aleix Espargaro completing the finishers in 17th.
Alex Rins and Lorenzo Savadori joined Brad Binder, Morbidelli, Di Giannantonio, Bezzecchi and Zarco as the riders who did not complete the Catalan Grand Prix.
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