Marc Marquez pleased with ‘super consistent’ display in Grand Prix Austria Sprint win, Neil Hodgson questions Francesco Bagnaia 'gamble'

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Marc Marquez moved 123 points clear of his rival and younger brother Alex Marquez when the Ducati Lenovo rider won the Grand Prix Austria Sprint, starting from fourth spot at the starting line. Marquez was pleased with a "super consistent" performance. TNT Sports pundit Neil Hodgson also had questions after Francesco Bagnaia's retirement following a poor start.

'It is Marc Marquez in the saddle' - Ducati Lenovo rider wins at Grand Prix Austria Sprint

Video credit: TNT Sports

Ducati Lenovo's Marc Marquez celebrated a "super consistent display" as he won the Grand Prix Austria Sprint, while team-mate Francesco Bagnaia was forced to retire.

Bagnaia was in third spot after qualifying, while Marquez was in fourth spot at the green light.

The Italian endured an awful start and slipped well down the pack without ever recovering, and ultimately had to retire with what appeared to be a steering problem.

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Marquez’s afternoon went far better, and in the initial stages of the race he positioned himself behind his younger brother, Aprilia racer Alex Marquez. He then pounced on Alex’s mistake to take the lead.

Speaking after the race, the older Marquez told TNT Sports that he had made life harder for himself with a poor result in qualifying.

He said: "The mistake of the quali penalised, a bit, the race, because I was super consistent on the start, and then I was able to be second.

'That's all he needed, one mistake!' - Marc Marquez moves past his brother Alex in Sprint

Video credit: TNT Sports

"But I saw immediately that it was quite difficult to be close to Alex.

"Then I decided to wait a bit and when the tyres started to drop, that's when I felt better, and I started to push."

Gresini BK8 rider Alex Marquez was pleased with the overall result, despite giving up the lead to his brother once again.

He said: "I'm super happy. Today, I had quite a clear target, [which] was starting well and then pushing the Sprint race.

"So it was quite good. Marc, obviously, [was] behind, and I know that he was faster than me.

"I did a mistake out of 2B, and he overtook me, and then, nothing more to do.

"But at the end, we were there. We have a great level again, so I'm really happy to come back like this after the summer break."

‘What can you say?’ - Hodgson left speechless by Marquez performance

'Bagnaia's got a problem' - Former world champion forced out at Grand Prix Austria Sprint

Video credit: TNT Sports

After the race, TNT Sports pundit Neil Hodgson was left taken aback by another excellent display from the world title leader.

He reflected: "What can you say? What can you say that we haven't said a million times? I don't know what to say."

Turning to Bagnaia’s problem, he suggested that a change by the Ducati team to the bike setup might have cost the former world champion.

He explained: "He blocks them, and doesn't have much room. That definitely was - where they were - the cleanest part of the track. Did the Ducati engineers gamble, give them a little more torque, a bit more power?"

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