Agencies
Marc Marquez ended three years in the MotoGP wilderness after dominating the Aragon sprint race on Saturday.
The six-time MotoGP champion led from pole on his Ducati-Gresini bike to crush his rivals, taking the chequered flag by almost three seconds from Jorge Martin with Pedro Acosta in third.
"I feel so very good,” beamed Marquez.
"The most important day, of course, is tomorrow. Looking forward to it!”
Reigning double world champion Francesco Bagnaia suffered a miserable time, finishing ninth to relinquish the overall riders’ lead to Martin.
But the afternoon belonged to Marquez.
The Spaniard made a lightning start from pole to lead Martin into the first bend as Bagnaia suffered a slow getaway.
The 31-year-old Marquez had cruised to pole in qualifying. He quickly pulled clear by over a second from the chasing pack, to the delight of tens of thousands of his home fans.
At the midway point of the 11-lap dash, the only potential obstacle between Marquez and the chequered flag was Marquez himself.
In the end, his winning margin was a yawning 2.961sec - celebrated by his supporters waving flags marked with his race number 93 - the year of his birth.
This was the Spanish star’s first-ever sprint success after five runner-up finishes this campaign.
On Sunday, he will start hot favourite in the grand prix itself after knocking at the door having finished second three times in the first half of the season.
Victory ends a long painful wait, stretching back to October 2021 and his last grand prix success at Emilia Romagna, after a series of crushing injuries and crashes and a misfiring bike.
"It’s already been a fantastic weekend, but the race is the race,” reflected Marquez who towered over the pack in qualifying. You can’t make any mistake. It was a bit tricky in the opening laps but then I of this fantastic crowd.”
MotoGP sprint and Grand Prix after qualifying on SaturdaycColor:>
Front row
Marc Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini), Pedro Acosta (ESP/GasGaS-Tech3), Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati)
2nd row
Jorge Martin (ESP/Ducati-Pramac), Alex Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini), Franco Morbidelli (ITA/Ducati-Pramac)
3rd row
Brad Binder (RSA/KTM), Miguel Oliveira (POR/Aprilia-Trackhouse), Raul Fernandez (ESP/Aprilia-Trackhouse)
4th row
Johann Zarco (FRA/Honda-LCR), Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Aprilia), Maverick Vinales (ESP/Aprilia)
5th row
Marco Bezzecchi (ITA/Ducati-VR46), Enea Bastianini (ITA/Ducati), Jack Miller (AUS/KTM)
6th row
Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA/Ducati-VR46), Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha), Takaaki Nakagami (JPN/Honda-LCR)
7th row
Augusto Fernandez (ESP/GasGaS-Tech3), Luca Marini (ITA/Honda), Alex Rins (ESP/Yamaha)
8th row
Joan Mir (ESP/Honda).