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       GRESINI Racing MotoGP’s Spanish rider Alex Marquez in action during the Spanish Grand Prix at the Jerez racetrack on Sunday.—AFP

       JEREZ: Gresini Racing’s Alex Marquez claimed his first MotoGP race victory at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday to snatch the championship lead from his elder brother Marc, who crashed early in the race and finished 12th.

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       After seven second-place finishes in sprints and races this season, Alex claimed a dream race win on home turf in front of over 100,000 fans, with the Spaniard imploring them to increase the volume even when he had a few corners left on the final lap.

       Fabio Quartararo finished second to give Yamaha their first podium since the 2023 Indonesian Grand Prix while Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia came in third.

       Marc squeezed his way through the crowd to embrace Alex in the winner’s circle as the two Spaniards became the first brothers to win in MotoGP.

       But the day belonged to the Gresini rider who leads his elder sibling by one point in the standings after taking the chequered flag, which was waved by Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz.

       “The best birthday present, amazing. The first one in Jerez is something amazing,” said Alex, who celebrated his 29th birthday earlier this week. “I cannot ask for more. It was a race where I was really clever in all the movements.”

       An action-packed opening lap had polesitter Quartararo get a perfect start off the line to take the lead into turn one while Saturday’s sprint winner Marc fell behind to fourth place.

       Alex attempted to overtake three riders in front of him early on by threading the needle between bikes, but he braked too late and fell behind, while Marc and Bagnaia collided while jostling for position.

       With Marc running in third and looking to overtake his team-mate, the Spaniard then crashed at turn seven and rejoined in 22nd place with a damaged bike as thousands of fans around the circuit collectively groaned.

       Bagnaia did not have time to relax, however, as Alex came up behind him and elbowed the Italian out of the way to move up to second and put Quartararo in his sights.

       The Yamaha rider tried his best to keep Alex at bay, but on lap 11, the pace of the Ducati bike proved far too superior as he overtook Quartararo to draw a roar from the Marquez Grandstand.

       Once Alex was in the clear, he began to disappear into the distance while Bagnaia could not catch up as he struggled to overtake Quartararo, who doggedly held on to second place.

       Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2025