Spaniard Marc Marquez, the MotoGP world champion, faced a penalty in the last lap that prevented him from winning the opening speed race of the season in Thailand on Saturday, so the victory went to his compatriot Pedro Acosta.
In his quest to achieve his eighth world title and equal the record, the Ducati driver finished the race in Buriram in second place, after falling one place as a result of a maneuver considered irregular, which allowed the KTM Acosta rider to achieve his first victory in speed races.
The 13-lap race saw Italian Marco Pizzitcki, who was starting from pole position, retire on the second lap after falling. While Marquez started from second place and shook hands with Acosta after the end of the race, he declared: “In my opinion, the race committee is the one who decides, and I just follow the rules.”
Acosta finished the race 0.108 seconds ahead of Marquez, while Spaniard Raul Fernandez, driver of the Trackhouse team, finished third.
Marquez said at the beginning of the week that he was still suffering from the effects of a shoulder injury that kept him out of the last four rounds of last season, but he appeared strongly in his struggle with Acosta. The 33-year-old said: “Unfortunately, I received that penalty, but nine points, a clean race, and after an injury is not a bad thing. I am happy.”
As for Acosta (21 years old), who started the race from sixth place, he considered that running a race at this level against Marquez was “very wonderful,” and added that he did not fully feel like the winner because he “allowed him to pass,” but he stressed that the opportunity was still available in Sunday’s race.
It is noteworthy that Betzicki had entered the sprint race with a clear advantage after topping the three free trials and finishing the qualifying rounds in the lead, but he suffered a severe fall at the end of the qualifying trials before his early exit from the race.
