Thailand Grand Prix: Marc Márquez Wins MotoGP Championship

Spanish Ducati rider Marc Márquez, a six-time world champion, claimed first place in the MotoGP category at the season-opening race of the MotoGP World Championship at the Thailand Grand Prix in Buriram on Sunday.
Márquez finished ahead of his younger brother Álex (Ducati Gresini) and Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati).
The Spaniard also won the sprint race on Saturday, securing a perfect score of 37 points at the start of the longest season in MotoGP history, which features 22 races running until the end of November.
Márquez expressed his joy, saying: “Yesterday, I was happy. But today, I am super happy. Starting this adventure with Ducati in this way is like a dream.”
Márquez joined Ducati at the end of last season from Honda, aiming to win his first world title since 2019.
He had not won an opening race since 2014.
Starting from pole position, Márquez led the race until lap seven when his younger brother overtook him, but he regained the lead with four laps remaining to secure victory.
Japanese rider Ai Ogura finished fifth in his debut MotoGP race.
Meanwhile, last season’s world champion, Spanish rider Jorge Martín (Aprilia), was absent from the opening race after suffering multiple fractures from a crash during a training session in Spain on Monday.
The 27-year-old sustained fractures in his left hand and heel. He had already suffered several injuries during pre-season testing in Malaysia last month when he fell from his Aprilia bike.
The Aprilia team announced that Martín would also miss the second race of the season in Argentina, scheduled for mid-March, without specifying a timeline for his return to competition.