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QUARTARARO TAKES MAIDEN MOTOGP WIN, MARQUEZ CRASHES OUT

Fabio Quartararo takes maiden MotoGP win - Photo: LAT

By Dan McCarthy

Fabio Quartararo takes maiden MotoGP win - Photo: LAT

Fabio Quartararo takes maiden MotoGP win – Photo: LAT

The 2020 MotoGP season kicked off with a bang at Jerez, through all the drama 21-year-old Fabio Quartararo kept his head and cruised to his maiden race victory as reigning champion Marc Marquez crashed out.

By DAN McCARTHY

Quartararo started from pole position, however in the opening laps of the race fell to fifth behind Maverick Vinales, Marquez, Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia, but soon got into a rhythm and marched his way back to the front.

Once he took the lead from Vinales on lap 9 Quartararo was able to gap the factory Yamaha rider and take a commanding 4.6s victory. The win was also the first victory for the satellite Petronas Yamaha squad in just its second season in MotoGP.

Despite leading for several laps in the early stages Vinales was still happy to come away with second position, as was Italian Andrea Dovizioso who picked up a very unlikely third on his factory Ducati.

Jack Miller held a podium position for much of the race but fell just short coming across the line fourth, 0.7s behind Dovizioso.

Six-time MotoGP champion Marquez had a rollercoaster of a race, after taking the lead from Vinales on lap 3, he tried to gap his fellow Spaniard before nearly crashing at Turn 4.

Remarkably Marquez kept his #93 Honda upright, but took a tour through the gravel trap saw Marquez plummet to the back of the field.

In one of the most memorable rides in MotoGP history, Marquez stormed back through the pack to third place. However, with four laps remaining when quickly catching Vinales, Marquez suffered a massive highside and was flung into the gravel before being collected by his Honda on the way through.

In the crash Marquez suffered a broken right arm and this has already put a severe dent in his MotoGP title defence.

The second Petronas Yamaha rider Franco Morbidelli was able to pinch fifth place from factory KTM rider Pol Espargaro at the final turn. Bagnaia, Miguel Oliveira, Danilo Petrucci and Takaaki Nakagami rounded out the top 10 finishers.

Valentino Rossi had a horrible start to the season failing to finish as his Yamaha suffered a technical issue late in the race.

Alex Rins and Cal Crutchow never made the start of the race, both riders were injured in separate incidents in the lead up to the Spanish Grand Prix.

You do not have to wait long to get your next fix of MotoGP action, the motorbike category returns to Jerez this weekend.

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