Winning the Aragon GP was “mandatory” claims Marc Marquez

Marc Marquez dubbed his victory in Aragon as ‘mandatory’ for him and the team after a perfect weekend at his home track.

Marquez led every session, and took victory in both the sprint and Grand Prix to give him a 32 point lead over his brother Alex Marquez, and team-mate Francesco Bagnaia, who finished second and third in the race respectively.

“It was a perfect weekend. We led all the sessions, and I felt comfortable in every condition,” the championship leader said post-race, continuing, “…the feeling in the race was fantastic. I felt super good from the beginning, and then especially after five laps, I started to feel even better and better.”

This marks Marquez’s fourth GP win of the season, after two consecutive podium finishes in France and Great Britain.

But while he sits at the top of the standings, his younger brother is not far behind, taking the reins as the closest championship challenger to the eight-time world champion.

“This victory was mandatory in our garage, and in myself,” Marc said.

“Okay, I’m leading, I have an advantage against Alex, I have an advantage against Pecco [Bagnaia], but in two good circuits for me, that were Austin and Jerez, I lost 50 points.

“If we want to fight for the championship, we cannot repeat mistakes. Especially as Austin.

“Austin was a big mistake, and today was very focused.”

Avoiding mistakes

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team retires from the race

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

At the Americas GP, Marc crashed out of the lead of the race on lap nine, and team-mate Bagnaia was able to take his first victory of the season. And in Jerez, the elder Marquez was unable to join his brother on the podium as Alex took his first MotoGP victory, recovering only to 12th after crashing out.

But this time, the pair were united on the podium at their home race, mere miles from their native Cervera.

After crossing beneath the chequered flag, the brothers went to the grandstand at turn 13 to celebrate with their fans, dancing together to the delight of the crowd.

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Jose Breton - Pics Action - NurPhoto - Getty Images

Alex Marquez said: “Really happy. We minimised the damage competing with Marc for the championship in a really strong weekend for him.

“In Jerez, for me it was a super special Sunday, but I was missing Marc on the podium to celebrate together. “So today, we were able to celebrate in front of all the family, all the fans there in turn 13, and it was super nice.”

He then joked: “Happy for him because he took the victory, but he is our rival… so I don’t know.”