Marc Marquez moved back in the lead of the MotoGP standings with a fine victory in the Australian Grand Prix sprint, while his title rival Jorge Martin crashed out from second place.
The two Spaniards engaged in an epic battle for victory at Phillip Island on Saturday after the track completely dried out following earlier rain showers.
But just after the halfway point, Martin dumped his Aprilia while chasing Marquez for the top spot, handing the latter a 10-point lead in the championship to the Ducati rider.
Alex Marquez finished second for Gresini, while Fabio di Giannantonio completed a podium lockout for Ducati in third.
At the start of the race, Marquez got the holeshot from pole position, while Martin jumped from fourth to second to put himself directly behind his title rival.
Alex Marquez initially went in the other direction from second on the grid, before repassing Johann Zarco and Martin in quick succession on lap 2 to emerge as a potential reargunner for his brother.
But Martin quickly dispatched the Gresini rider and then launched an attack on the reigning world champion on lap 3, making the move stick at Turn 10.
However, just as it appeared that Aprilia had an upper hand over Ducati in dry conditions, Martin ran wide at Turn 4 on lap 5, allowing Marquez back through into the lead.
Martin passed Marquez again into Turn 1 on the following lap, only to cede the position again with an error at Turn 4.
The battle between the pair reached its head on lap 8, with the pair exchanging position at least three times in the first five turns – allowing even Alex Marquez to join the fight.
Just after dropping to second back to second, Martin threw it all away at Turn 8, sliding out into the gravel at 180km/h. The Spaniard was put on a stretcher by the marshals and taken to the medical centre, where doctors will assess his condition.
With Martin out, Marquez had no trouble keeping his brother at bay, taking the chequered flag with a three-tenth margin to secure his ninth sprint win of the season.
Di Giannantonio recovered from a low-key qualifying that left him eighth on the grid to finish third, securing his second successive sprint win.
With Martin crashing and Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez pulling into the pits due to pain, Aprilia’s charge was led by Marco Bezzecchi, who dropped to 12th on the opening lap before climbing back to fourth.
Pedro Acosta wound up fifth for KTM after running as high as third, while Ai Ogura finished sixth after starting 12th.
Acosta’s team-mate Brad Binder enjoyed a strong run to seventh, while home hero Jack Miller was again Yamaha’s best-placed rider this weekend as he bagged two points in eighth.
LCR’s Honda Diogo Moreira rounded up the points scorers in ninth, while the top 10 was completed by Iker Lecuona, who was standing in for the injured Fermin Aldeguer at Gresini.
Zarco’s brilliant qualifying effort was undone by a technical problem, the Frenchman retiring on lap 4 while running inside the top six.
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– The Autosport.com Team