Marc Marquez will have the chance to win his eighth MotoGP title on Sunday after storming to victory in a thrilling sprint race in Qatar.
Starting from second on the grid, Ducati's Marquez needed to finish Saturday's sprint with five more points than closest rival Jorge Martin in order to have his first shot at retaining his title, and he did exactly that.
Marquez is now 49 points ahead of Martin, who put in a brilliant performance to finish third on his return from a broken right wrist, with two weekends to come in the season following Sunday's Grand Prix.
The 33-year-old overtook pole-sitter Marco Bezzecchi on the first lap of a race which had to be restarted after his team-mate Francesco Bagnaia was sent flying off the track by Fermin Aldeguer.
But Aprilia's Bezzecchi -- who posted a record lap time in qualifying -- is no longer a title contender after crashing out while trying to overtake Marquez.
In the meantime Bezzecchi's team-mate Martin worked his way up from 11th on the grid to be on Marquez's wheel, and a second-placed finish would have been enough to ensure the title race be pushed to the next GP weekend in Portugal.
But Martin, clearly in pain due to his wrist, slipped back to third behind Fabio Di Giannantonio on the final lap, giving Marquez his chance to win his eighth world crown -- one more than his great rival Valentino Rossi.
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