Pedro Acosta fought tooth and nail, delivered a fierce duel with Marc Márquez, but in the end, the world champion prevailed once again. KTM factory rider Acosta, just as in the sprint the day before, had to settle for second place behind Márquez in the Hungarian Grand Prix, but picked up a valuable 20 points and consolidated fourth place in the MotoGP world championship. “We tried everything; it was a good fight. I am really happy,” said the Spaniard, “now I need to unwind at home a bit.”
Márquez remains simply untouchable at the Balaton Park Circuit. The defending champion from Spain claimed the eighth round of the season, just as he did at last year’s inaugural event, securing victory in both the sprint and the main race and notching up his 100th win in the Motorcycle World Championship. Only Giacomo Agostini (122) and Valentino Rossi (115) lie ahead of him.
For Márquez, it was also his first Grand Prix victory in 266 days; the defending champion had been forced to miss two races following two operations and only returned last weekend in Mugello. He carved the way to victory on lap 15: after initially having to let Acosta go, the 33-year-old battled his way back to the front.
Francesco Bagnaia (Italy/Ducati) finished third. For the Ducati factory team, Márquez’s success marked the first race win of the season and at the same time their 100th in MotoGP. Meanwhile, Jorge Martín added championship drama: the Spaniard crashed at the first corner and took three rivals down with him, including Aprilia teammate Marco Bezzecchi. The Italian leads the championship with 180 points, 20 ahead of Martín (160). Behind them follow Fabio Di Giannantonio (138), Acosta (132), and Márquez (108).
