Marc Marquez regained the championship lead after a dramatic Australian MotoGP sprint race in which title rival Jorge Martin crashed out of second place.
Marquez took command from pole before battling with Martin throughout the race, until the Aprilia rider crashed out of second place and left the track via a stretcher.
The nine-time world champion made the best start from pole position and retained the lead going into the first corner, while Martin moved from fourth to second.
Alex Marquez passed Martin and looked to have pace to challenge for the race victory, but the Aprilia rider got him back at the start of the second lap and set his sights on Marquez in the race lead.
Martin passed Marquez at Turn 4 on the third lap, before the Ducati rider sat him up on the exit of the corner to hold onto the lead.
The Aprilia rider tried his luck at Turn 9 corner and this time made the move stuck to get in front for the first time in the race.
Just behind, Acosta passed Alex Marquez at the same corner to move into third after his quick start to the race, although the Gresini rider did manage to get back in front.
Martin ran wide at Turn 2 to give the lead back to Marquez, but the Aprilia rider knew he would have the pace to get in front at the start/finish straight on the run down to the first corner.
Once again, he got in front but another error saw him drop back behind the nine-time world champion, with their duel continuing throughout the first half of the race.
The decisive moments came on Lap 8, when Martin tried again to get past Marquez, before the Ducati rider cut back across at Turn 2.
Martin got back in front at Turn 4 by sitting up the Ducati rider, who forced him wide to hold onto the lead once again.
Later in the lap while chasing and looking faster than Marquez, Martin crashed out of second place after getting on the curb at Turn 8 and was stretchered away by the medical team.
After the incident Alex Marquez, who got back ahead of Acosta and had closed in on the top two, moved into second but never looked close to challenging his brother in the lead.
It meant Marquez was able to cross the line to notch up his ninth sprint victory of the campaign and return to the top of the championship standings by 10 points.
It was a Marquez 1-2 as Alex Marquez held onto second place, while Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the podium in third.
Marco Bezzecchi finished fourth and was the top Aprilia rider, as Acosta faded after a strong start but still completed the top five.
Ai Ogura was sixth at the chequered flag ahead of a battle that saw Brad Binder beat Jack Miller to seventh. Meanwhile, Diogo Moreira stole the final point over the line in ninth from Iker Lecuona in 10th.
Fabio Quartararo was 11th and led 12th-placed Enea Bastianini and 13th-placed Alex Rins over the line, with Franco Morbidelli 14th and Augusto Fernandez rounding out the finishers in a distant 15th.
Johann Zarco retired with a technical problem while running in the top five and joined Francesco Bagnaia and Maverick Vinales with bike issues.
Raul Fernandez also failed to finish the race, with Martin the sole crasher.








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