Marc Marquez claimed his 100th victory across all classes with a commanding win at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday at Balaton Park, less than a month after undergoing surgery on his shoulder and foot.
The 33-year-old Spaniard beat KTM’s Pedro Acosta to the chequered flag for his first win since the San Marino Grand Prix last year and his 74th in MotoGP.
The seven-time MotoGP champion’s triumph was particularly sweet as it also marked Ducati’s 100th victory while his teammate Francesco Bagnaia finished third.
“Super happy. Expensive win because after last year it changed everything,” said Marquez, who had also won Saturday’s sprint from pole position.
“But the sport is like this. From one day to the other, one can change everything. I learnt this in 2020 (after a season-ending crash).”
It became a nightmare race for Aprilia when Jorge Martin lost his balance on the first lap at turn one and crashed into three riders, including his teammate and championship leader, Marco Bezzecchi.
The crash also took out Gresini Racing’s Fermin Aldeguer and Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez, as three Aprilia bikes were taken out of contention.
“I didn’t do a good start and when I started to brake, I just saw something arriving so fast,” Bagnaia said.
“It was Martin arriving (at) double the speed, so maybe it was two (riders) on the inside and locked the front, because the new tarmac on corner one was very slippery.”
Both Martin and Bezzecchi were taken to the medical centre, with Aprilia later confirming Martin had bruising on his back and right foot while Bezzecchi suffered contusions on his right leg and hand, though neither rider showed visible fractures.
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