The sprint race played out exactly as expected at the Balaton Park Circuit. There was a big incident at Turn 1, which thankfully took out only the culprit of the crash himself, though it would have knock on effects later in the race. And Marc Márquez won without breaking a sweat, making it 13 out of 14 sprint races he has won.
The gods have decreed that Marc Márquez wrap up the title as soon as possible. Motegi is the most likely place for that to happen, but Misano is not impossible (despite Márquez’ protestations). Márquez currently leads his brother Alex by 152 points. To win the title in Misano, the Ducati Lenovo rider would have to extend his lead to 222 points, outscoring Alex by 70 points in the remaining three GPs and two sprint races.
That is a big ask. But Alex Márquez picked up a three-place grid penalty on Friday, then had a dismal qualifying on Saturday, dropping him down to eleventh, and meaning he will start from fourteenth on Sunday. At a track where it is almost impossible to overtake, the Gresini Ducati rider is likely to lose 20 or more points to his brother on Sunday. Misano would still be a reach, but feasible, if improbable.
