A master class by Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Álex Márquez secured a home race win for the Spanish star in today’s Catalunya Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Márquez’s history making victory, to a heroes welcome by home fans, came on the day the Belgian based team celebrated their 250th start in the Moto2 category.

From pole position Márquez led from lights to flag, leading all 23 laps to cruise to a 3.5s victory in heat wave conditions with track temperatures soaring to almost 50 degrees Celcius.

Márquez took control from the start and established a race winning advantage of 3.3 seconds with a stunningly fast opening five laps. Márquez set a new lap record for the 4.655km circuit on lap two on the way to winning his second race of the season.

The seventh round of the Moto2 World Championship was less satisfying for World Championship leader Franco Morbidelli, who struggled in the hot and low grip conditions to finish sixth.

It was damage limitation for Morbidelli who battled in the early laps for the podium with Mattia Pasini and Tom Lüthi before deciding to settle for points towards his title campaign.

Morbidelli leads the standings on 123 points ahead of Lüthi on 116 and Márquez on 103 points.

Álex Márquez: 1st
“A victory feels great anywhere but here at this race it feels amazing, just like my first win at Jerez just a few races ago. The last lap was incredible, I could hear the cheering of all the fans so thanks very much for that support. This is a really important victory for me in the championship and for the team on this special day for them. Now I need to keep this momentum for the next race in Assen, but first we will enjoy the win with a party tonight.”

Franco Morbidelli: 6th
“Today I was not very comfortable with the bike in these conditions so I had to step back and make sure I scored points for the championship. But the important thing is to understand why we are not fast at the moment and work to improve. I am a little worried my rivals have closed the gap in the points, but I am also motivated to keep fighting for the championship.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“This was a fantastic performance by Álex and the crucial part of the race was the opening five laps when he was half a second lap faster than anyone else. He made this race his own and it was special for him to win in front of his home fans. A year ago some people doubted Álex but today he showed how good a rider he is. Franco is not able to run the same pace as in the early races this season and we need to find a solution for him so that he can keep his lead in the championship going into the summer break after Assen and the Sachsenring.”