Marquez closes in on championship leader Martin after winning Japanese Grand Prix

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/marquez-marc/UPhfij2b/"]Marquez[/a] pushed pole-sitter [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martin-jorge/zBBka6dR/"]Martin[/a] into second place in Motegi after overtaking his fellow Spaniard midway through the race.[/p][p]It put seven-time world champion Marquez back within touching distance of the championship lead after losing ground in the previous race in Austria.[/p][p]Marquez completed the double after also winning Saturday's sprint race in Japan.[/p][p]He said it was "very important" to claim maximum points from the weekend.[/p][p][b]"The race was tough, especially when I was behind Jorge, but I knew that if I was able to lead the race the pace was good,"[/b] he said.[/p][p]"Jorge tried to attack but then I just increased the pace and it was enough to do the last two laps more relaxed."[/p][embed guid="eb761a3d-e549-4649-a850-81c86c9cde18" url="https://x.com/MotoGP/status/2106623475892772988" social-type="twitter" /][p]Italian [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bezzecchi-marco/EXzAZEse/"]Marco Bezzecchi[/a] finished third and slipped further behind in the title race.[/p][p]Marquez dropped to the tarmac to fire off a round of press-ups before the race in a new warm-up routine.[/p][p]The Ducati rider then flexed his muscles on his bike, biding his time behind Martin before making his move in lap 11.[/p][p]Martin said he had "a good package to fight for the rest of the season" but admitted that Marquez was the better rider on the day.[/p][p][b]"I think today to win was really difficult,"[/b] said Martin.[/p][p]"It was one of the days when I rode almost perfectly, I was really smooth, really confident, and even then I couldn't win."[/p][p]It was Marquez's sixth grand prix win of the season, despite missing the races in Le Mans and Catalonia to undergo surgery on his foot and shoulder.[/p][p]A sunny day in Japan clouded over and cooled considerably shortly before the race but the rain held off.[/p][p]Marquez never looked in any trouble once he had gone past Martin, who in turn looked comfortable in second place.[/p][p]Bezzecchi had to fight a furious rearguard action to hold off fellow Italia [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bastianini-enea/ht1WUmo9/"]Enea Bastianini[/a], who finished fourth.[/p][p]Spain's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/acosta-pedro/KrGeaHq5/"]Pedro Acosta[/a], who chalked up his first ever victory in MotoGP in Austria, finished seventh.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ogura-ai/A3AtM47b/"]Ai Ogura[/a], who was bidding to become the first Japanese race winner in Motegi since 2004, was sixth.[/p][p]Brazil's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/moreira-diogo/jgqvgUFi/"]Diogo Moreira[/a], who finished second in the sprint when Martin was demoted to third due to a penalty, crashed out of the grand prix.[/p]