Ducati's Marc Marquez won his fourth straight sprint of the season at the Qatar Grand Prix to retake the lead in the MotoGP riders' championship while his younger brother Alex of Gresini Racing took second place yet again on Saturday.
The two brothers have finished first and second in each of the four sprints this season as Marc, who led from start to finish, moved up to 98 points while Alex is two points behind.
VR46 Racing's Franco Morbidelli came in third while Alex's rookie teammate Fermin Aldeguer had an impressive ride to come fourth for his best-ever MotoGP finish.
But the day belonged to Marc, who has made a habit of dominating Saturdays with four poles and four sprint victories this season. He took pole position with an all-time lap record at the Lusail International Circuit earlier on Saturday.
"The feeling was good. Unexpected weekend, honestly speaking, because as you know here in Qatar I normally struggle," Marc said.
"But I'm riding in a very good way. I was super consistent, controlling the gap. The last two laps I slowed down but I feel very good with the bike. Tomorrow, let's see if we can improve very small things for the race."
Marc had a blistering start off the line under the lights as he took the lead ahead of Alex while Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo was third in the opening lap.
But the Yamaha rider was soon overtaken by VR46 Racing's Franco Morbidelli who moved up to third.
As has been the case all season, Alex attempted to find a way past his elder brother but could just not find a gap to capitalise on in the 11-lap sprint.
"I tried in that first lap, I had a little bit more. I wanted to make the gap with the riders behind me, to be more calm and then to fight with him," Alex said.
"But he was better than me. It's just that he was more brave in some parts."
Lower down the order, reigning champion Jorge Martin was racing in his first sprint on the Aprilia after missing the opening three rounds due to injuries he sustained in a pre-season crash.
Martin had started 14th on the grid but soon moved up to battle with Francesco Bagnaia, who was visibly struggling for pace compared to his Ducati teammate Marc, as rookie Ai Ogura also passed the Italian.
But Martin, who is still coming to terms with his new machine having made the switch from Pramac Racing to Aprilia prior to the season, could not sustain that pace as he fell behind and out of points scoring positions.
Bagnaia, who is third in the championship, eventually finished eighth to score just two points and he sits 21 points behind Marc.
Ogura once again impressed for the Trackhouse team and the Japanese 24-year-old remains the best rider aboard an Aprilia bike, sitting sixth in the championship.
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