Alex Marquez woke up after a “sleepy” start to hold off a late charge from Marco Bezzecchi and win the British MotoGP sprint race at Silverstone on Saturday.

Maverick Vinales completed the podium as world champion Francesco Bagnaia suffered a rare day off on his factory Ducati finishing down the field.

“It’s great to start the season again with a sprint win,” said Marquez, with MotoGP resuming after its summer break.

“I knew before that today was the day to win the sprint,” added the Ducati-Gresini rider.

“I was a little bit sleepy in the first corner but later on I said I need to push as I was feeling really good.”

Read full story on sport.timesofmalta.com

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