Aprilia Racing's Italian rider Marco Bezzecchi has won both Grands Prix to start the season

Goiania (Brazil) (AFP) - Italy’s Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia won the Brazil MotoGP Grand Prix on Sunday at the Autodromo Ayrton Senna in Goiania.

Bezzecchi also won the season’s opening GP in Thailand three weeks ago and repeated the feat here by finishing ahead of his Spanish team-mate Jorge Martin and Italian pole-sitter Fabio Di Giannantonio of Ducati.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect to leave Brazil with a win,” Bezzecchi said, adding he was “super happy” with his performance, especially following Friday’s poor practice showing in which he was 20th fastest on the grid.

“We worked super hard in the box with my guys to try to adjust everything, including my riding the bike – we tried to make the perfect combination,” he added.

It was a milestone moment for the 27-year-old as it marked the first time in his career he had won four Grands Prix in a row, and was also the first time an Aprilia rider had done so.

Aprilia’s one-two in Brazil also means they lead the constructors championship with 64 points.

Spanish reigning world champion Marc Marquez of Ducati, who had won Saturday’s sprint race on the Brazilian circuit, had to settle for fourth place.

His compatriot Pedro Acosta (KTM), who had arrived in Brazil at the top of the championship standings, lost his lead to Bezzecchi after finishing seventh on Sunday.

Bezzecchi now boasts 56 points, 11 more than Martin in second, with Acosta a further three points adrift.

“Every day I’m closer to the top guys,” Martin said, but he nonetheless insisted his chances for a title run over the 22-race season were very slim “at the moment”.

The race was shortened from 31 to 23 laps due to the extreme heat, which was causing severe tyre degradation and raising safety concerns for the riders.