Sergio Busquets insists Barcelona are "looking to compete on all fronts" despite club legend Lionel Messi departing.

Messi was expected to sign a new contract but financial complications at Barca left the forward no option but to leave, with Busquets now assuming the captaincy role.

Prior to Sunday's Joan Gamper Trophy clash, the 33-year-old took the opportunity to reassure the Blaugrana faithful who were rocked by the news of Messi's departure on Thursday, with the Argentina international set to join Paris Saint-Germain.

"We'll do it with you [the fans]," Busquets said at the Estadi Johan Cruyff. "We need you more than ever. We need your help, your support, and we're sure you'll give it to us."

Busquets, who led the tackles and interceptions charts at Barca last term while also completing the second most passes, joins an illustrious group of players to have captained the Catalan club.

Carles Puyol, Xavi and Messi all came before the midfielder and Busquets acknowledged he must now "meet the standards" set by those club legends in a role which he is "very proud" to take.

Having made his debut four years after the Argentina captain, the Spain midfielder was also quick to pay tribute to his former team-mate, with whom he enjoyed a 14-year spell with.

"I want to give a special mention to Leo," Busquets continued. "Thank you, Leo, for taking Barca to the very pinnacle; for making history while being the best player in the world, and for beating all the individual and collective records [imaginable].

"We will always be very grateful for everything you have done. We will miss you and we wish you all the best."

While Messi, who netted 672 times in 778 appearances for the Spanish giants, edges closer to joining PSG, Barca begin their LaLiga campaign against Real Sociedad on August 15 as they begin the post-Messi era.

As the Tokyo Olympics bade farewell Sunday a year later than planned, organisers of the 2024 Paris Games looked forward to welcoming the world to France in three years. 

Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet, a three-time gold medallist in canoe slalom, praised everyone involved with the Tokyo Games for managing to hold the event amid a global pandemic. 

As the Olympic flag was passed from Tokyo to Paris on Sunday, though, Estanguet talked up his team's plans to host their first Summer Games since 1924.

"We waited an extra year for this moment, but we are already waiting 100 years to bring the Olympic flag back to Paris, so the excitement is very strong in our team and back home in France,” Estanguet said.

The Paris bid, awarded in 2017, features venues familiar to any tourist, with competitions to be held at the Place de la Concorde, Champs de Mars, Les Invalides and the Palace of Versailles, among other high-profile spots.

"Every host city must bring something new and contribute to the evolution of the Games," Estanguet said. 

"With Paris 2024, our ambition is to offer a new model to open the Games to more people. This starts with offering the Games to the city.

"Our plan is based on taking sport out of its traditional spaces and putting competitions at the heart of the city, in front of the most famous Parisian landmarks; the Eiffel Tower for beach volleyball, wrestling and judo, and equestrian at the Chateau de Versailles.

"The ambition is simple: invite the world, including the hundreds of millions of viewers, into the very heart of Paris.”

Thanks to that one-year delay, the welcome will occur relatively quickly. On July 26, 2024, Paris will take centre stage. 

Fans got their first glimpse of top NBA Draft pick Cade Cunningham in Detroit Pistons colors on Sunday as he scored 12 points in the Summer League.

The 19-year-old drained two early three-pointers in his 12-point haul along with six rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes for the Pistons, who went down 76-72 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Expectations are high for Cunningham with Detroit who finished bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 20-52 record last season and have not won a playoff game since 2008.

"It was fun getting to put the jersey on for the first time," Cunningham said after the game.

"Obviously, we wanted a win out of this, but we spent the last week beating on each other. It’s our first time being able to get to go and be with each other and really try to get this chemistry down.

"We got a lot from this game we can learn from. That’s the main thing you want out of your first game. Now we’re going to try to keep building off of that."

He added: "I wanted to step into the game confident, ready to shoot, ready to play. To see the first two go down, it’s a good feeling. Now it’s building off of that."

Cunningham played the first half alongside 20-year-old French guard Killian Hayes, who was selected seventh overall in the 2020 Draft, with the pair likely to be the side's main ballhandlers.

"I think more than anything, we’re on the same page mentally in where we want this team to be," Cunningham said.

"Now it’s about having a better feel for each other. We haven’t played a lot together."

He added: "We have so much time to build and grow from this. We are not going to hang our heads off of this one game."

Internazionale defender Alessandro Bastoni remains bullish about the club's Serie A title defence despite a tumultuous off-season which spilled over with fan protests in Sunday's friendly win.

Inter won 2-0 over Parma at Stadio Tardini as some of the approximately 500 fans in attendance brought banners and chanted abuse aimed at owners the Suning corporation, calling for president Steven Zhang to quit, barely months after their breakthrough Scudetto triumph.

Since lifting their first Serie A title since 2010, Inter have seen the departure of title-winning head coach Antonio Conte, who was frustrated as the club tightened its purse strings.

The Serie A champions have also sold Achraf Hakimi to Paris Saint-Germain with Romelu Lukaku set to depart for Chelsea. Lautaro Martinez has also been linked with a move to Tottenham.

The largest fan banner read "Zhang if you want to save Inter, then you have to leave". Another read "Zhang, the time is over".

Footage emerged on social media of ultras singing "you have to sell" and "we’ll give you the money" and waving €10 bills.

Fans did offer support to new Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi who has taken over at a difficult time, with expectations lowered for their title defence.

Italy centre-back Bastoni is one of numerous Inter players to recently return to the club following a delayed break due to his Euro 2020 commitments, with others also participating at Copa America.

"We’ve only joined up with the group recently – we’ve got a new manager and we need to grasp his system," Bastoni told Inter TV.

"We’re ready to put our trust in him so we can perform well this year."

Former Inter star forward Hernan Crespo told the Italian media on Sunday that the Nerazzurri are "starting from scratch", criticising their handling of the transition after winning the Serie A.

Crespo said Inter are unlikely to defend their title given their off-season tumult, labelling Juventus the favourites.

Bastoni added: "These friendly run-outs are key because we joined up with the squad only recently, so we’ve not got that much time to prepare for a league campaign in which we want to do well.

"We have a league title to defend and we will try to do that in every possible way."

Inter will commence their Serie A campaign on Saturday 22 August against Genoa.

Entering Friday's series opener in Philadelphia, the New York Mets had been in sole possession of first place in the National League (NL) East every day since May 9. 

They headed home on Sunday sitting third in the division after managing only two hits in a 3-0 loss to the surging Phillies, who have won eight in a row. 

Former Met Zack Wheeler went the distance for Philadelphia (59-53), retiring 27 of the 30 batters he faced while striking out 11. 

On the day the Phillies honored the late Hall of Famer Roy Halladay, Wheeler became the first Philadelphia pitcher to retire as many as 22 consecutive batters in a start since Halladay's May 29, 2010 perfect game against the Marlins. 

The Phillies got solo home runs from Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper for all the scoring they needed against New York starter Taijuan Walker. 

As the Phillies expanded their lead with the sweep, the Atlanta Braves (57-55) moved a half-game in front of the Mets (56-55) with a 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals. 

 

Springer, Jays power past Red Sox

George Springer's three-run homer in the eighth inning lifted the Toronto Blue Jays past the Boston Red Sox 9-8, recording their ninth win of an 11-game homestand at Rogers Centre. Boston had led 7-2 after four, knocking out Toronto starter Hyun Jin Ryu, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s 35th home run started the rally before Springer's big blow later finished it. 

Brett Phillips' second home run of the game, a grand slam in the eighth, lifted Tampa Bay past the Baltimore Orioles 9-6 as the Rays extended their division lead to four games over the Red Sox.

Brandon Belt tied the game with a two-run homer in the seventh and Tommy La Stella provided the winning margin with an RBI single in the eighth, giving the San Francisco Giants a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers to improve their MLB-best record to 71-41.

 

Hess mess for Marlins

Reliever David Hess served as the "opener" for the Miami Marlins against the Colorado Rockies and saw his ERA nearly double. Hess surrendered three homers in his one inning of work, allowing seven runs as his ERA jumped from 4.32 to 7.64. 

 

Turner flies past Angels

Trea Turner showed off his wheels to his new home crowd at Dodger Stadium, scoring from first base on a grounder that barely reached the outfield.

 

Sunday's results 

Seattle Mariners 2-0 New York Yankees
Chicago White Sox 9-3 Chicago Cubs
Toronto Blue Jays 9-8 Boston Red Sox
Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 New York Mets
Oakland Athletics 6-3 Texas Rangers
Tampa Bay Rays 9-6 Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox 2-1 Toronto Blue Jays
San Francisco Giants 5-4 Milwaukee Brewers
Cleveland Indians 7-5 Detroit Tigers
Cincinnati Reds 3-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
Minnesota Twins 7-5 Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals 6-5 St Louis Cardinals
Atlanta Braves 5-4 Washington Nationals
Colorado Rockies 13-8 Miami Marlins
San Diego Padres 2-0 Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers 8-2 Los Angeles Angels

 

Reds at Indians

The Cincinnati Reds (61-51) have won five in a row and 10 of their last 12 heading into a makeup game from a May 9 rainout at the Cleveland Indians (54-55).

With summer's main events about to begin, no one on the WTA tour is hotter than Danielle Collins. 

Two weeks after winning her maiden title in Palermo, Collins claimed the Silicon Valley Classic crown in San Jose, California by defeating Daria Kasatkina 6-3 6-7 (10-12) 6-1 on Sunday.

It was the 10th successive match victory for the American, who is ranked 36th in the world and poised to move up as the hard-court season intensifies with WTA 1000 events at Montreal and Cincinnati ahead of the U.S. Open. 

While it appeared for a while that Collins would cruise to another easy win, Kasatkina made it a fight in the 73-minute second set. 

The Russian had prevailed in the two previous meetings between the players, and she saved two championship points down 4-5 in the second and three more in winning the tiebreak. 

That marked only the second set Collins has dropped during her 10-match run, the other coming against Sloane Stephens in the second round earlier this week. 

Kasatkina's momentum was short-lived, however, as Collins broke her serve early in the third and never looked back.

Before her clay-court title run at Palermo, Collins had been 0-6 in semi-finals in her career. 

Italian teenager Jannik Sinner has claimed his third career ATP Tour title with a three-set victory over Mackenzie McDonald in the Citi Open final on Sunday.

The sixth seed triumphed in two hours and 52 minutes, winning 7-5 4-6 7-5 over the unseeded American, who was competing in his first ATP Tour final.

The Washington, D.C. victory was 19-year-old Sinner's first ATP 500 title and his third on tour, having triumphed in Sofia late last year and Melbourne earlier this year.

Home favourite McDonald put plenty of pressure on Sinner, forcing the Italian to save seven break points for the match.

McDonald also staved off 16 break points in an enthralling contest where the Italian sent down nine aces to the American's five.

Sinner lost his serve twice in the opening set and needed 11 set points but still won 7-5, before the American hit back, dropping further behind the baseline to good effect in the second, levelling it with a 6-4 win.

The Italian claimed an early break in the last to open up a 3-0 lead, before failing to convert two championship points at 5-2.

McDonald brought it back to 5-5, with numerous dramatic rallies throughout, before the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals champion broke in the 12th game to triumph in the third set.

Abraham Ancer thought he had blown his shot at his first PGA Tour win the first time he played the 18th hole on Sunday. Turns out he just needed two more chances on the hole to make it happen. 

Ancer birdied the second playoff hole from six feet and watched as Sam Burns missed almost the same putt to give him the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational title as the third man in the playoff, Hideki Matsuyama, also made par. 

After finishing as runner-up four times in his previous 120 Tour starts, Ancer finally prevailed in Memphis to become the ninth first-time winner this season and the fourth player from Mexico to win on Tour. 

"This is surreal," he told CBS. "I thought I left so many shots out there on the back nine, but you never know. Golf is crazy.

"There's been some times that I felt like I made enough birdies to win and I didn't win. This is kind of how it goes and I'm happy that I got lucky."

A significant portion of that luck came on the first playoff hole, when Matsuyama had a chance to win it but saw his long putt for birdie on 18 lip out, sending the trio back to the 18th tee for another go.

The 2021 Masters champion turned in the round of the day just to make the playoff, firing a bogey-free seven-under 63 to fly up the leaderboard on the final day. 

Burns was close behind with a 64, a double bogey on 13 his only blemish. 

Harris English, who held a two-stroke lead after each of the first three rounds, watched those three fly by him as he slumped to a three-over 73 and finished fourth after opening the tournament with rounds of 62, 65 and 65. 

English bogeyed the opening hole before regaining his stride with three birdies, but he did not make another after the eighth hole, posting double bogeys at 11 and 14 and a bogey at the par-five 16th. 

The American said afterward that a warning for slow play on the front nine knocked him out of rhythm and he felt like he was rushing the rest of the day.

His playing partner Bryson DeChambeau had an even more difficult time after working himself into contention with a 63 on Saturday. 

DeChambeau carded a triple-bogey six on the 11th and also did not manage a birdie on the back nine on the way to a 74 that left him tied for eighth at 12 under for the tournament. 

Rough as that triple was for DeChambeau, honours for worst hole of the day went to Kim Si-woo.

The South Korean hit five successive shots in the water at the 11th on the way to a 13 – the worst score on a par-three hole on the PGA Tour since 1983, not including majors.

Among other notables, Dustin Johnson (70) tied for 10th at 11 under, one stroke better than Rory McIlroy (66) and Jordan Spieth (67).

Phil Mickelson (68) finished at seven under along with Louis Oosthuizen, who floundered to a 74 in the final round. 

Sergio Garcia (72), Collin Morikawa (69) and defending champion Justin Thomas (72) were at five under, with Patrick Reed (70) and Lee Westwood (71) one back of them. 

Olympic champion Xander Schauffele (68) was at even par and Brooks Koepka (76) at two over. 

Gerard Pique has put Lionel Messi's imminent departure from Barcelona down to the former board's poor running of the club.

The Catalan giants announced in a shock statement on Thursday that Messi will not be extending his 21-year stay at Camp Nou due to the club's dire financial situation.

Messi, who scored 672 times in 778 appearances for the LaLiga side, is now expected to complete a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.

Despite the Argentina international agreeing to take a 50 per cent pay cut, Barcelona were unable to honour the new contract agreed with him due to LaLiga's salary cap limit.

Barca are estimated to be in around €1.2billion of debt, a hangover from the previous Josep Maria Bartomeu regime which spanned from 2014 until 2020 when he was ousted.

Pique has spent the last 13 years playing alongside Messi and believes the situation could have been avoided.

"This has not been one of the best days for us. We have lost the best of all time," Pique said following Barca's 3-0 win over Juventus in Sunday's Joan Gamper Trophy clash at Estadi Johan Cruyff.

"We knew this day would arrive, but the team was still touched, especially those of us who spent many years sharing a dressing room with him.

"The management of recent years has not been the best and that has penalised us."

 

Messi's name was chanted throughout the prestigious friendly with Juve, with goals from Memphis Depay, Martin Braithwaite and Riqui Puig earning Barca a routine victory.

Ronald Koeman spoke ahead of the game about an exciting future despite the loss of Messi and reiterated after the victory that it is important his side put the saga behind them.

"It is normal that when a player like Messi leaves it will be hard for everyone, but we have to turn the page because we cannot change this situation," he said.

"You have to play well and win, work more. Others can occupy that position and have a leading role. But we will no longer have Leo. We have to turn the page and be hopeful."

Messi's departure could have a knock-on impact for Koeman, with fellow Argentina international Sergio Aguero reportedly looking to leave Camp Nou before kicking a ball.

Aguero was ruled out of Barca's final pre-season outing with a calf problem, but Koeman denied suggestions the striker wants to terminate the contract signed just last month.

"That is not true," Koeman said. "He has signed and is excited. It is a pity that he was injured this morning. 

"We have to wait for his recovery. It happened in training. We know that when he is fit he can contribute a lot."

Among a number of positives on the field for Koeman during pre-season has been the form of new signing Depay, who took just three minutes to open the scoring against Juve.

The Netherlands international has three goals in four matches since arriving on a free transfer from Lyon, emphasising Koeman's point of there being life after Messi.

"Memphis showed again today that he can be very effective," Koeman said. "We know we must score more and the squad must improve.

"The best in the world will be missed, but you have to accept it. We are not living in the past. There is a future for this team.

"This result against Juventus was very good and achieved by playing some good football. We have taken another step and will only get better when other players return."

India captain Virat Kohli and England counterpart Joe Root both agreed rain had ruined the prospect of a fascinating final day in the first Test.

No play was possible on Sunday in Nottingham due to bad weather, with India having been due to resume their second innings on 52-1 in pursuit of a target of 209.

Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara had helped the tourists come through a tricky 14-over spell late on day four, the only setback for India being the departure of KL Rahul for 26.

Despite the disappointment on not being able to capitalise on the opportunity to push for victory, Kohli was pleased with the way his team had performed at the start of the five-match series.

"We were expecting rain on days three and four, then it chooses to arrive on day five," Kohli lamented in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.

"We thought we were in a good position to have a crack at the target. It would have been a really nice, interesting day of Test cricket, one that would have been enjoyable to watch and certainly enjoyable to be a part of, so it's a shame.

"This is exactly what we wanted to do – we wanted to start strong. Heading into day five, we felt like we had our chances in front of us.

"One good partnership and you know what happens when there's only 150-odd to defend.

"It certainly felt like we were on top in the game, we bowled well enough and batted well enough to stay in the contest, then getting that lead was crucial."

Root had made sure India did not have a straightforward task batting last, his 21st Test century giving England's bowlers something to work with. He had faith in his attack to create opportunities, too, only for persistent downpours to put paid to the home side's hopes.

"It was a great Test match. I think the weather has robbed us of what could have been a very exciting final day," Root told Sky Sports.

"It bodes well for the rest of the series. Hopefully we can take some of the good stuff out of this week into the rest of it.

"Having spent a lot of time on that wicket, it felt like there were going to be nine opportunities within play. It was just making sure we were smart to get the game to go long enough.

"It felt like there was going to be that opportunity there, it's just a shame the weather won today."

Root pipped Jasprit Bumrah to the player of the match award, the latter having taken nine wickets in the contest as India's decision to pick just the one spinner worked out.

Kohli revealed that it is likely they will continue with the same policy in the remainder of the trip, starting with the second Test at Lord's.

"Most likely it will be the template for the rest of the series, but adaptability has been a strength of ours, especially when we've played away from home," he said.

"We need to adapt quickly, according to what is in front of us. Pitches, conditions, pace of the wicket and so on, but this looks like the right template moving forward.

"It’s going to be an exciting series to watch and be part of – England-India is always a blockbuster. Expect a lot of exciting cricket ahead."

Gareth Bale was denied from the penalty spot as Real Madrid rounded off their pre-season preparations with a goalless draw against Milan in Austria.

Handed a start by the returning ex-Rossoneri coach Carlo Ancelotti, Bale was making his first appearance for Madrid in over a year after spending last season on loan at Tottenham.

But the Wales international could not mark the occasion with a goal, Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan guessing correctly to save his 41st-minute penalty at the Worthersee Stadion.

Maignan, who arrived from Ligue 1 champions Lille last month, is expected to start the season as Milan number one following Gianluigi Donnarumma's departure for Paris Saint-Germain.

The France international would have certainly impressed Stefano Pioli with his smart saves to deny Bale and David Alaba from distance.

He then went the right way to keep out Bale from 12 yards when the forward was brought down by Davide Calabria after a surging run into the box.

The breakthrough continued to elude both sides after the break, Luka Modric going close as he rattled the crossbar from 25 yards, while Brahim Diaz stung Andriy Lunin's palms at the other end.

Madrid launch their LaLiga season away at Deportivo Alaves on August 14, the same day that Milan complete their preparations for the forthcoming Serie A campaign against Panathinaikos.

Swimmer Caeleb Dressel led the way with five golds as the United States finished top of the medal table at the Olympic Games for a third successive time.

Team USA's haul of 113 medals at the Tokyo Games – comprising 39 gold, 41 silver and 33 bronze – was 25 more than second-placed China, while Japan finished third.

The 58 medals won by the hosts set a record for the most they have ever won at a single Olympics, including 27 golds – 11 more than their previous record from 1964 and 2004.

Italy (40 medals), the Netherlands (36), Brazil (21), New Zealand (20), Turkey (13) and Chinese Taipei (12) also enjoyed their best ever Games showings.

In all, 93 different competing nations claimed a medal in Tokyo, which is more than any other edition of the global showpiece, surpassing the previous record of 87 set in 2008.

That includes first ever Olympic medals for Turkmenistan, San Marino and Burkina Faso in weightlifting, shooting and athletics events respectively.

Indeed, with a population of around 34,000 people, San Marino are now the smallest nation to win an Olympic medal.

 


MCKEON IN SEVENTH HEAVEN

Twenty of Australia's 46 medals came in the pool, with swimmer Emma McKeon responsible for seven of those – at least two more medals than any other athlete in Tokyo.

In doing so, the 27-year-old became the second female athlete to claim seven or more medals at a single Olympics after Maria Gorokhovskaya in 1952.

Dressel swept up five golds in the men's swimming events, meanwhile, to become the 10th athlete to reach that tally at a single Games.

Away from the Aquatics Centre, it was an Olympics to remember for Elaine Thompson-Herah as the Jamaican became the first woman to win both the 100 metre and 200m sprint at two Games.

Further success came for Thompson-Herah in the 4x100m relay, making her only the second woman to win five athletics golds after Allyson Felix (seven).

The Netherlands' Sifan Hassan also wrote his name in the record books by becoming the first athlete to win a medal in the 1500m (bronze), 5000m (gold) and 10,000m (gold) at the same Games.

Indeed, Hassan is the first track and field athlete to claim a medal in three individual disciplines since Carl Lewis and Heike Drechsler in 1988.

 


AGE IS JUST A NUMBER

Japanese skateboarder Momiji Nishiya became the youngest Olympic gold medal winner since 1960 – and third-youngest of all time – with victory in the women's street event at the age of 13 years and 330 days.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, 62-year-old Andrew Hoy of Australia became the oldest medallist at the Olympics since 1968 with a silver and bronze in the equestrian competitions.

Judokas Hifumi Abe and Uta Abe kept it in the family by becoming the first brother and sister combo to claim gold medals at the same Olympics when winning the men's -66 kilograms and women's -52kg events respectively.

July 28 proved to be a day to remember in more ways than one for Olga Frolkina and Evgeniia Frolkina, meanwhile, as the twin sisters took silver in the 3x3 basketball on their 24th birthday.

Andrea Petkovic claimed her first singles title on the WTA Tour in over six years thanks to an emphatic victory over Mayar Sherif at the Winners Open.

Petkovic was far too strong for her Egyptian opponent in Sunday's final, easing to a 6-1 6-1 triumph after just over an hour on court in Cluj-Napoca.

The impressive result sealed the German a seventh tournament win in her career, though she had not reigned at an event since her success in Antwerp back in February 2015.

Sherif had become the first Egyptian to reach a singles final on the WTA Tour and received praise from her opponent during the presentation ceremony.

"This has been a great week, but not only that, what's really important is you're paving the ground for all the girls in a part of the world which doesn't appreciate tennis as much as we do here in Europe," Petkovic said to the 25-year-old.

"It's so much more important than winning every title every week, though I'm sure you will get there as well. 

"Just being out there competing, being the first Egyptian woman to make a WTA final, to break into the top 100, I think that's incredible. I want to congratulate you on that – keep going."

Petkovic raced into a 5-0 lead in the opening set before Sherif held serve; she also survived two break points to move ahead at the start of the second.

However, the second seed reeled off the next six games in a row, clinching the result with a forehand winner.

MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo enjoyed a "good day" at the Styrian Grand Prix, as his podium finish and Jorge Martin's win extended his lead at the top of the standings.

Quartararo finished third in a race that was suspended for half an hour due to an early crash, which saw two bikes engulfed in flames.

Both riders – Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo Savadori – escaped relatively unscathed, though the latter was unable to restart the race.

The restart benefited Martin, who had set a record time at the Red Bull Ring to take pole position in Saturday's qualifying session.

Francesco Bagnaia had overtaken the Pramac Racing rider but, despite an early attack from Jack Miller after the restart, Martin recovered to cruise to his maiden MotoGP triumph.

Behind Martin, Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) claimed second, with Quartararo nipping into third – Miller's hopes fading when he skidded off the track at Turn 7 with 10 laps remaining.

Quartararo (172) now has a 40-point lead over Johann Zarco, who finished sixth, in the championship standings, with Mir further behind on 121.

"It feels so good because when there is a red flag it is always tough," said Quartararo.

"I was extremely good on the braking on Turn 3. I knew that there was a possibility to overtake and did it.

"I don't really know the position of the other guys apart from Joan and Jorge finishing in front. I am so happy. The best goal was to finish on the podium and we did it. So happy for Jorge, he took some points off Joan, so a good day."

Martin, meanwhile, was ecstatic after achieving what he labelled the first step on his path to pushing for world championship glory.

"I can't believe it, I don't believe it, that's why I'm not so excited! I think the ride was amazing. I kept a really constant pace. I was super focused," said the 23-year-old.

"Even if I did some mistakes, my target was to win the race. Joan was impressive today, he was behind me almost all the race but then in the last laps I tried a bit more and I took a gap for the lead.

"The last laps I was thinking about things – everyone who has helped me to be here – that's why I did worse in the last laps but I had this gap to manage. Thanks to all my family, this is one big step towards my big area to be world champion."

Reigning world champion Mir said: "Today was close. I'm happy because all weekend we have been there, overall.

"I needed a couple of faster laps to fight with Jorge, he did a great job. We must push a bit more, find something more for next weekend if we want to be on the top of the podium.

"I am proud of the team, they have done a great job and finally, the performance is higher, so happy and proud of them."

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