The scoresheet continued to read as it has since early June at the Austrian Grand Prix. But Marc Marquez faced his stiffest test yet in a battle for victory from rivals edging ever closer to Ducati’s

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi led much of the race after starting from pole position before Marquez pounced. The Italian then succumbed to charging Gresini Ducati rider Fermin Aldeguer, who took his best MotoGP result with second place.

MotoGP returned after its summer break to the Red Bull Ring in Austria where Marc Marquez took his first-ever victory aboard his factory Ducati after years of being beaten by the Bolognese machinery.